Two mountain passes, kielbasa, and beers

Its official...spring has sprung.
This past weekend Emily and I made the obligatory trek to the middle of Washington state to dust off our little summer place, clean the boat, and soak up a little sunshine.
We left on Saturday around noon with no real plan other than grab a coffee and point the wagon east. Lacking any sort of real agenda we decided to travel over Stevens Pass via Hwy 2 then stop in Leavenworth for a late lunch.
The plan could not have been better! We were greeted with nice spring temperatures which ranged from the low 60s when we left to 70 degrees when we arrived at our final destination at Crescent Bar
The views along Hwy 2 are spectacular this time of year. The high peaks such as Mt Index are still snow-capped and seem to tower miles above the winding road. If you travel this route be sure to leave some time to stop, stare, and take a few pictures. I can't imagine a more beautiful place on earth than Washington in spring.
The rivers are running quite high right now and the amount of whitewater visible from the road is awesome to say the least.
a little less than two hours into our trip we reach the Bavarian-themed tourist village Leavenworth. Yes, it is cheesy. No, I wouldn't want to spend more than a day or two. But all the same I enjoy stopping in, checking out the sights, and grabbing a bite to eat.
Since we were traveling with our dog Fletch we really wanted to find someplace dog-friendly and preferably outdoors. Our prayers were answered when we walked into Munchenhaus a purveyor of German sausages and brew. This place is fantastic! Excellent Kielbasa, great German and American micros on tap, seven varieties of mustard, and a big vat of steaming sauerkraut at your disposal.
The seating is outdoors and features big communal picnic tables, some shade, some sun, and best of all they are dog friendly. My kinda spot.
We left Leavenworth around 4PM and made a beeline for Wenatchee where we planned to connect with one of the wineries we work with at Northwest Exclusive, CR Sandidge .
CRS was pouring wine at a new coffee and wine bar called Tastebuds in Wenatchee. Great little place with an emphasis on small plates of interesting food, coffee, and Northwest wine.
After this short stop we made our way up to Crescent Bar for the night, a little pub grub and some bad dancing before we called it a night.
On Sunday we did some Spring maintenance, went for a walk, then headed out to I-90 and decided we'd find a nice hike on the way home. There are so many trails along the I-90 corridor there's no way you can go wrong...right? Well, without a decent guidebook it is not necessarily easy to identify a good trail that is a) somewhat near the hwy and b) accessible in spring.
We spent some time exploring Lake Cle Elum and after driving quite a while, exploring several dead ends and running out of time we packed it up and headed home over Snoqualmie Pass.
The drive over Snoqualmie is not quite as dramatic as Stevens, but it is still pretty amazing and you can peg the cruise at 75 and get home fast.
If you haven't enjoyed Central Washington recently I highly recommend a spring road trip, you'll be glad you did it.

The Herbfarm vs. Austin, Texas

Over the past couple of weeks I've been on an absolute tear!
Emily and I went to Austin for a few days and fully loaded up on Tex-Mex and Margaritas.
If you haven't been, I highly recommend a trip to the lone star state's capital. Between the **truly** friendly nature of folks, the amazing food, and non-stop music, Austin is a phenomenal place to visit.
A few places you should check out if you go:
Gueros is pretty freakin cool. this south Congress Ave joint is packed with a very eclectic mix of folks and the energy is palpable. Margaritas are served in a tumbler with limes, tequila, and salt...that's it!
Shady Grove is a great spot for a lazy weekend brunch. In Austin, brunch includes many tex-mex options such as Migas and Huevos Rancheros. I went around 1:30 in the afternoon and 90% of the Shady Grove diners seemed to be just waking up...Good times. If you don't feel like brunch, try the brisket burrito
If you're out for a special meal, it would be hard to go wrong at Eddie V's We went with a large group and enjoyed top shelf service, dry-aged Prime steaks, and a fantastic wine list. No, its not unique to Austin...but if you need your steakhouse fix this is the place.
I really enjoy Austin's laid-back, chilled out, friendly southwest vibe and can't wait return!

About a week after returning from the southern swing I had a chance to take my Mom to the Herbfarm It was my second visit and her first. If you love food, wine, and celebrations then I suggest a trip to the Herb Farm is mandatory.
Dining at the Herbfarm is kind of the antithesis to eating Tex Mex in Austin...

1. Reservations: in Austin most restaurants seemed to prefer "walk in and wait". At the Herbfarm they ask you to call months in advance and put a deposit on your meal
2. Libations: Austin offers great margs and bottled beer...Herbfarm offers rose geranium infused cocktails and a 23,000 bottle wine cellar
3. Crowd: Austin draws UT coeds, funky musicians, and tech workers...Herbfarm draws food critics, surgeons, and tech workers
4. Food: Austin offers chipotle-laced dishes served with beans, rice, and tortillas...Herbfarm offers nine courses of preparations you've never heard of much less tried
5. Cost: Well, lets put it this way I could go to Austin for the weekend (airfare included) for the equivalent of dinner for two at the Herbfarm

So which one did I enjoy more? Both !

Its really kind of silly to even compare the experiences, but if you know me or have read my blog you know I am big on value. The one thing eating Tex Mex in Austin and going to the Herb Farm have in common is value. For twelve bucks you can spend an afternoon chatting with Austin locals and enjoying some amazing grub and a pint of beer. Or you can splurge on a very memorable experience at the Herbfarm where each member of the staff is the best at their role, each ingredient has been chosen on it's own merits, and each bite is better than the last. To some the latter may not seem like a great value, but if you really love food I think you'll get your money's worth.

Right now the Herb Farm is offering their "Chambers of the Sea" menu featuring an amazing array of Northwest seafood and wine, check it out.

Whirlwind tour

Since I last posted I've been on kind of a crazy journey!
It would take hours to provide the kind of detail I'd like to, so I think I'll create a bulleted list of the highlights of the last month in terms of food/wine

1. Birthday! My wife threw a fantastic little dinner party for me and a few friends on March 9. On the menu were five spice duck, a vertical pinot noir tasting, and pear tart from the Dahlia Lounge followed by some sloppy Guitar Hero. Great stuff indeed
2. Birthday! My wife followed up the amazing dinner party on Friday with a really fun dinner with friends at http://www.baroloseattle.com The space is great, I love the lighting, and the menu looks great. The food was just ok and the service kinda sucked. Luckily I was with great friends and it just didn't matter! If you're considering Barolo...point your car northwest and hit http://www.volterrarestaurant.com/ instead.
3. Vancouver. This is a very special city for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that Emily and I were engaged there. We went up for a night on our way to Whistler and had a great time. Met with some old mobile game cronies and then hit http://www.cincin.net for a nice little dinner at the bar. No, its not the newest, trendiest, or most interesting choice in Vancouver...but it is always good and the service rocks. We started with the Gnocchi con cinghiale (red wine braised wild boar) then followed it up with a large helping of Gnocchi con cinghiale! The wine menu is great, both by the glass and by the bottle. We tried a couple different things but settled on a barbera that was just right with the boar. Next time you roll Robson, stop at the Cin Cin bar for some boar and barbera, you won't be disappointed
4. Whistler. We went up for a nice little vacation with a heavy maintenance component. Had to get our act together and make some improvements to the condo and so we did just that. Didn't get everything done we wanted, but we are well on track. While in Whistler we actually ate in more than out, but we had one noteworthy meal with our friends Rob And Missy at Elements. This PACKED little tapas joint isn't much from the outside, but on the inside its absolutely buzzing with energy and the food was phenomenal. Its an eclectic mix of small plates with Asian influence and Canadian sensibilities (ie: great and varied meat)
5. Orlando. Yes, that's right, Orlando. Went for the big mobile show CTIA and while the show itself was pretty stale, the fact that I can go to a party thrown by MTV, featuring Grandmaster Flash and hang out with everyone I've ever worked with is pretty freakin fantastic. Great to see Levin, Alex G, Drew, Kate, Jeff C, Golden, Flanders, Aunkur, Peachey, a bunch of old Jamdat folks, and so many others was a blast. I did have one good meal while in Orlando, and it did not occur in a theme park. Drew and Kate invited me to http://www.sambaroom.net/ which serves solid Latin-fusion cuisine and the atmosphere is really fun. I had the skirt steak and some great Argentinian wine, Bodega Norton Privada which was a cab, malbec, merlot blend....niiiiice
6. Scotland, Part I: long story short, I went to my sister's wedding in Northeastern Scotland. The wedding was followed by a great dinner/reception where they featured Angus beef which is from the Angus region of Scotland. Great meal followed by very bad dancing.
7. Scotland Part II: Stayed two nights in Edinburgh and enjoyed some local fare. I can't say i'm going to miss meat pies or haggis, but I tried them and they're ok. The liver with bacon I think I'll probably skip next time.
8. London: $40 for a greasy breakfast complete with cold toast, beans, and something puck-like they call pudding? Blech. Here's my advice for eating in London: if the meal is on someone else's dime, find the Timeout magazine, select a restaurant that is expensive and highly rated, and be prepared to be underwhelmed. If you are paying out of your own pocket think about having something less than traditional such as pizza...http://www.strada.co.uk/ serves solid if less than inspiring Italian fare, some decent pizza, and good wines by the glass without breaking the bank.

So now I'm back, jetlagged, and glad to be within the range of Pagliacci. Hope life is treating you right.