Restaurant Bliss

We roamed the aisles of Uwajimaya today. The Bellevue, WA Oriental supermarket moved, after thirty some years, to a new location near downtown Bellevue. All the years we lived on the East Side (around here what we call communities across Lake Washington to the east of Seattle). The old location was across from a restaurant we used to frequent in the 1980’s, Kamon of Kobe. Husband loved the sushi, and I loved the tempura, Udon soups the side salads with a sweet tangy sesame dressing and sometimes the soupy beef of Sukiyaki. It was a familiar Wednesday night destination. The rich and peaceful ambiance, the laughter and quiet conversation in a favorite booth--what memories.

Eating out has been hobby and since Husband cooks gourmet and went on to write a food column for two magazines for eight years, food has been a serious hobby. McCormick’s on 4th Avenue in Seattle was another favorite place and the site of our first date. They have a Bouillabaisse with a deeply satisfying broth. They won’t serve it until the broth has aged a couple days. Oh, and their Chocolate Decadent, a small round dense and moist indulgence.

Another type of restaurant memory comes from the Farmhouse restaurant in Anacortes, ninety minutes north in the San Juan Islands. Living weekends on our ketch up there, Sunday mornings, especially Seahawk mornings, would find us relaxed in the bar having breakfast. We were football fans then, in the era of Craig and Largent. Husband would always get a few pull tabs (he’s from Vegas and sometimes they would buy our breakfast). He loved their perfectly appointed Eggs Benedict, always enjoyed with shakes of Tabasco. I enjoyed the breakfast buffet and can almost taste the fried potatoes and thick smoky bacon. If we lunched there it was always the hot turkey sandwich (they roasted turkeys daily). And, it was one of those places with homemade pies piled high with perfectly browned meringue, oozing with berries, or the pumpkin pie with huge dollops of fresh whipped cream. The only trouble was their meal portions were so large there; you’d have to stop by for dessert only.

We’ve been fortunate to have many memories of enjoying delicious food together starting with the thick and juicy stuffed pork chops from a local meat market that husband cooked on the Weber grill for our first serious evening together. Yes, I was seduced by pork chops, but you’d have to taste my husband’s pork chops to really understand.