When I crave a weekend getaway requiring minimum effort that yields maximum satisfaction, Whidbey Island is high on my list.  Whidbey is 35 miles long and the fourth longest island in the country.

Here are my criteria for a low maintenance/highly enjoyable weekend:

• Convenience: A 25 minute drive on I-5 from Seattle to the Mukilteo ferry, 20 minute ferry ride, and then you are there.  You could even squeeze your excursion into a one-day adventure if you feel like sleeping in your own bed.

• Hiking/Biking options: Since I sit on my arse all day with my office job, I crave as much physical activity as my body can tolerate on the weekends.  Fort Ebey State Park fits the bill.  The Bluff Trail and Lake Pondilla Trail, located just steps from the Fort Ebey Campground, conveniently connect to the Kettles Park Trail System where endless hiking and mountain biking trails await.  Featuring panoramic views of the Puget Sound and Olympics, the park and campground are also an ideal destination for picnics, beach walking, and fresh water fishing in Lake Pondilla.

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  The trails at Whidbey Island's Fort Ebey bear a striking resemblance to our trek around the Queen Charlotte circuit in New Zealand. Not too shabby, Washington state.

• Good eats:  The island towns of Coupeville and Langley both rank high in the charm factor.  Owned by the Kroon family since 1974, walking into Coupeville’s Knead and Feed is like walking into the cozy living room of an old friend.  Operating as both a bakery and restaurant, the two window seats looking out into Penn Cove have got to be the best seats on the entire island.

• 

  The Knead and Feed building has been around since the 1800's, initially functioning as a pharmacy

  

  Knead makes all of their baked goods onsite, including the thick slabs of ooey gooey cinnamon swirl bread for their French toast. Locals also gravitate to the marionberry bear claw and the equally satisfying cinnamon roll.

Head to Local Grown Espresso on the pier, where you can look out and catch a glimpse of Mount Baker on a sunny day.  Owner William Bell says on a windy day, it’s trippy because you can feel yourself swaying along with the pier underneath you.

Evening hike along the bluff - Best part about camping in Washington this time of year: You get to enjoy nature all to yourself

 Reading is sexy:  In Langley, I always make a pit stop to the two-story house where Moonraker Books resides.  I will never tire of the enjoyment I get from walking into a mom-and-pop bookstore, sifting through the books and looking at the covers.

I know I am not the only one out there as Moonraker just celebrated their 40th birthday.

Farmers markets: The Coupeville Farmers market is now up and running. Bayview’s Farmers market , located on the south-end of the island, will kick-off on April 27th.

Some hard-core lady hauls salmon to the farmers market on her bike

Where to stay: Whidbey is flush with both bed and breakfasts and campgrounds.  I can never seem to deviate from Fort Ebey campground, where you are steps away from the bluff and each campground is landscaped with trees to provide the perfect amount of refuge between you and your neighbor.

For more Seattle weekend getaways, check out Bainbridge Island and Lopez Island.

If you like what you are reading, follow me on Facebook and @rollwithjen on Twitter.  For tips on my favorite places to eat in town, download my free iPhone app.

Off to a good start at Art of the Table with fresh flowers and prosecco

Dear Jen,
My husband likes a dark booth, great beers and minimal eye contact with waiters. I, on the other hand, would love to go out for a really great and kind of fancy dinner. Any suggestions for a place that would do it for both of us?

Thanks,
-k

Dear k,

I feel like beer is just starting to secure a name for itself in the fine dining world, but wine and fancy cocktails still tend to prevail at upscale restaurants. As a result, food enthusiasts who love beer are oftentimes left with a grueling choice of whether or not they are craving fine dining enough to forgo any decent beer options or if they should opt for a bar scene with mediocre pub food to quench their thirst for beer.

Here are three places that come to mind:

1) Elemental Next Door (E.N.D) – I am providing you with three options, but I secretly really want you and your man to check out E.N.D.  I love the concept of this restaurant which is the younger sibling to prix fixe Elemental.  The fun begins when you walk in and one of the staff hands you a complimentary glass of bubbly.  Just like that. No questions asked.

Instead of relying on wait staff to dictate where you sit and when you get a menu, you take destiny into your own hands.  There is only one menu in the entire restaurant and along with the bubbly, it greets you right when you walk in.  You can also sit wherever you would like.

The appetizers, main courses and dessert items are simply laid out on a long sheet of butcher paper.  Unlike big sister Elemental, you choose what you want to eat.  In fact, the chef selects menu items from the butcher paper to serve patrons at Elemental.  This is the optimal place for people looking for a casual cool setting with top notch food, which is a slight deviation from the ~2.5-3 hour food and booze extravaganza at Elemental.

Menu at E.N.D. - Changes on a weekly basis to keep you on your toes

After selecting a seat, I always head to the wall on the far left side of the restaurant to select my beverage of choice.  The wall is lined with hand-picked bottles of beautiful wine and beer and it is fun picking out your own bottle.  If you can’t down a bottle, they have half bottles or a small selection of wine by the glass.  Don’t be shy about asking the wait staff for a recommendation.

Thanks to co-owners Laurie and Phred, the food enthusiasts of Seattle finally have a place to get high quality and inventive food without the traditional fancy formalities.

Two notes: 

• I adore the “bring me anything and I will eat and drink it” approach at Elemental, but I am recommending  E.N.D. over Elemental to you , due to the fact Elemental’s drink focus is cocktails and wine, whereas your man can have his pick of beers at E.N.D.

• Elemental and E.N.D. are famously known for being hard to find, which I think makes the experience even more satisfying. I love a challenge. They are located in the Regatta condominium building at the top of the Wallingford Steps in the Wallingford Avenue cul de sac.

Click here to read more about Elemental in my “ask jen” date night post.

2) Local 360 - As a general rule, I try to steer clear of directing people to restaurants or any venue in Belltown, but sometimes a restaurant comes along that warrants an exception. This Belltown joint opened up a few months ago in the old Flying Fish space with the guiding principle of attaining over 90% of their raw ingredients within 360 miles of Seattle. They even have the names of their favorite vendors on the chalkboard, one which includes their favorite rabbit vendor (Mickey’s USA).  Titillating.

I think the set-up of the restaurant would satisfy both you and your hubby’s needs. I am envisioning you guys sitting either in one of the cozy booths on the restaurant’s perimeter that is nicely separated by wood or grabbing a table upstairs where it is quieter, more private, and overlooks the main level so great for people watching. I would avoid the non-booth tables on the main level as they are louder and not as intimate.  The staff is attentive without being overly chatty or overbearing.

Local 360: Seek out one of the booths or upstairs tables for a more private experience

Local 360's special of the day: Razor clam gnocchi with morels, chiles and greens

Ronspies has even started looking out for beers with a higher alcohol content not due to customer demand, but due to his own personal interest in checking out different types of beers.

Now, this restaurant is small and cozy so if that is a bit claustrophobic for your man, you may want to take a pass. However, the food is really top notch and your husband could engage in interesting and passionate beer conversation with Dustin.

Art of the Table offers prix fixe on Fridays and Saturdays where they take reservations (I would request not to sit at the communal table so you can have more privacy for your man) and they do a fun a la carte menu on Mondays and Thursdays where they have $3 beer specials.

First of the season" local Washington strawberries from Billy's "always sunny in the Okanagan" organic produce stand

Hi Jen,

I have some “foodie” friends coming over for dinner in two weeks and I need help! Two weeks might seem like a lot of time to prepare but I’m already nervous that I won’t have enough time to come up with the perfect menu. I’d love a late spring/early summer seasonal menu that is cohesive, creative, delicious, and unique… I’m not afraid of complex, but of course would prefer simplicity with the *sense* of complexity. So where do I start?

- o

Dear o -

I totally get wanting to create something delicious and impressive without spending hours and days in the kitchen.

I recommend making a trip to your local farmers market  and picking up some fresh goodies as most food enthusiasts agree the base of any impressive meal starts with the freshness of the ingredients.  My personal favorites are the University farmers market and the Ballard outdoor market.

Here are some vendors who I think stand out and will help make your menu so memorable  your friends will want you to cook for them everyday

• Wilson Fish - Halibut and salmon are back in full force and Wilson Fish is just the place to get ‘em.  I have been buying fish from Wilson for the past year and they never lead me astray.  Once Gene and his crew catch the fish they try to have the fish to market within 12 hours.  One of my favorite restaurants “Art of the Table“  gets their fish from Wilson.  Gene is quite friendly and sells out of fish pretty quickly so I would hit them up when the market first opens.  Last Sunday, I picked up their second last piece of halibut and it was only 10:21am.

 

• Pasteria Lucchese – I am madly in love with the wild boar plin (think ravioli, only smaller and slightly puffier).  This dish is always a crowd pleaser and requires minimal preparation.  Boil water, throw in the frozen pasta pillows for 5 minutes, melt some butter with sage (I think Golden Glen creamery even sells a sage butter if you don’t want to mix up the sage butter concoction yourself) and then serve it up.   I am not generally a fan of pasta (let alone frozen pasta), but I always crave Lucchese’s selections.  The pasta tastes like the big guns just made it.  He also sells marinara and puttanesca sauces.

 

• Nash’s Organic – You can’t go wrong by picking up whatever the Nash crew is growing –  asparagus, lettuce, carrots, whatever.  Just go with it.

 

• Billy’s “it’s always sunny in the okanagan” produce – They currently have petite “first of the season” Washington strawberries and I am going ga-ga for them.

 

• Rockridge Orchards – This Enumclaw-based business has a wide breadth of cider flavors ranging from the standard apple to rasberry apple, strawberry apple and honeycrisp apple (seasonal).  I alternate between buying the non-alcoholic cider and the hard cider, depending on my sassiness level.

Here are some menu options for the goodies you pick up:

Main course options:

• Fresh fish with asparagus – Grill it, bake it, poach it.  You can’t go wrong, unless you overcook it;-)  I also don’t think fresh fish needs a lot of adornment so I would stick with some dill and lemon.
• Wild boar with sage butter – Serve it with salad filled with arugula and an ensemble of other fresh veggies you gather at Nash’s or Billy’s .

Dessert:

• Strawberry shortcake – PCC and Whole Food sell pre-made biscuits that are pretty decent if you don’t feel like making biscuits from scratch.  The “first of the season” strawberries will definitely earn you some street cred, and if you want to go above and beyond, I would pick up a pint or two of Parfait’s organic artisan ice cream.  Maybe a vanilla bean (made with real organic Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans) for the traditionalists and a pint of Meyer lemon for the more adventurous eater.  You can track them down in their mobile truck, but they even offer home delivery with only a two-pint minimum.  Now, THAT’s service.

Copper River sockeye salmon grilling on a boat

Dear Jen -

• Sitka and Spruce: I am still dreaming about a halibut dish I ordered with a group of friends a week and a half ago at this Capitol Hill restaurant, which was served with wood sorrel, dukkah, hazelnut and stinging nettles.  All 10 of us seated at the table were mesmerized by the creative preparation and perfect texture.


Still dreaming about Sitka's halibut

 

• Art of the Table – This week, chef Dustin has salmon (albeit not the Copper River kind) on the menu:  King Salmon with Sea Beans, Wheatberries and Coriander Yogurt, Dustin gets most of his fish from Wilson’s Fish which means the fish will taste like it has just been caught because it likely has just been caught.  Check out the prix fixe on Fridays and Saturdays or order the salmon a la carte on Mondays and Thursdays.
• Anchovies and Olives - The grilled whole branzino (sea bass) fish came highly recommended at Ethan Stowell’s loosely seafood themed restaurant in Capitol Hill and boy was it tender and flavorful.

Anchovies and Olive's grilled branzino (European sea bass) and stuffed with fresh herbs and lemon

 
• The restaurants on the islands are always a great source for getting fresh seafood:  Allium on Orcas Island, Willows Inn restaurant on Lummi Island, and the Inn at Ship Bay on Orcas Island.

• Steelhead Diner - This restaurant on 85 Pine Street is a bit of a tourist trap since it is so close to the Pike Place market and the service can be spotty, but I am generally satisfied with the food.  They are currently serving a 7 oz Copper River King for $45
• Flying Fish – I don’t dig the interior of this restaurant in their current South Lake Union location (at least they have high ceilings going for them), but the food is always spot on and is probably the only seafood specialized restaurant I hold with esteem.  Fly ing Fish has been serving Copper River King on and off for the past three weeks.  I would recommend calling ahead to see if they will have Copper River that day. The price can vary, but I saw the price listed as $35 for 7 oz when I was there.
• Herbfarm- This Woodinville fixture consistently has an annual copper river themed menu,where the majority of their 9-course, ~$200 per person meal includes the Copper served with various cooking techniques:  crudo, smoked, and seared. I think last week was their final week serving Copper so you may have to wait until next year to indulge.

Refreshing strawberry guava nectar drink served in a cosy

Dear Jen,

My husband loves Hawaiian food, and has been jonesin’ for some good pig ever since our recent trip to the Big Island.

Mahalo!

- k

Dear k -

I recently hit up Wallingford’s unassuming-looking Hawaiian Breeze.  From the minute I walked through the door, the hollowed bamboo chimes, hula competition playing on the flat screen and traditional Hawaiian music triggered a Pavlovian response bringing me back to endless days spent in flip- flops and breathing in Pacific Ocean air.

Try not to be discouraged by the unimpressive weather-aged peeling sign that marks the entrance across the street from the Wallingford QFC.  The owners clearly put more emphasis on the inside of the place and the interior is really a cute little gem with its bamboo walls, ukuleles, and other Hawaiian trinkets mounted on the wall.  Hawaiian Breeze has a calming casual feel and is also kid friendly.

I start with one of the 8 Hawaiian non-alcoholic juice drinks -  strawberry guava nectar.  The juice is from a can, but they serve it in a tall glass encompassed with a vibrant orange wicker cosy.  I like this little starter detail.

This 6-year old restaurant, owned by two sweet ladies – Karen Law and Junko Yamamoto- has a diverse menu with items such as the Hawaiian Saimin noodle soup and kara-age chicken (ginger boneless fried chicken) , but the BBQ short ribs ($11.95) and your man’s island dish of choice – kahlua pork ($10.95) - are the specialty items.

The short ribs are marinated in a homemade specialty sauce for hours so it’s tender.  The sauce is wickedly good.  I generally prefer less fatty cuts of meat, but my eating companion disagrees and ate every single bite.  The ribs are served atop cabbage and accompanied with two scoops of rice on the side and mac salad.  The mac salad is palatable, but nothing memorable.

I, on the other hand, prefer the kahlua pork which had a hint of smoke and retained some of its salty juice.  The portion size of both dishes is large so we probably could have shared one entree to fulfill the USDA’s newly rolled out myplate food allotment (which just replaced the food pyramid), but hey, sometimes overeating is fun!

Kahlua pork - I love the orchid on the side

I inquire about the origins of the memorable BBQ marinade sauce and Yamamoto recounts her childhood days in Oahu, learning everything she knows about Hawaiian and pan-Asian cooking through her Japanese aunt and native-Hawaiian uncle.  In addition to shave ice, Law and Yamamoto round out their large menu with Auntie Louise’s (aka – their friend) homemade coconut cake.

Is the place as good as the eats your man is coveting from Hawaii?  I wasn’t so sure, until a customer next to us convinced me otherwise.  This customer just moved to Seattle after living in Kauai for 30 years.  When visiting Seattle last year to scope out places to live, she came upon this restaurant and after eating here, felt comforted in her decision to leave paradise for Sea-town, knowing Hawaiian Breeze was there for her every time she needed a Hawaiian fix.  She conveniently picked a place two blocks from the restaurant.

They are opening up a sushi counter in the next few weeks so I will definitely be back to check out that action.

Happy Eating, k!

Hi Jen -

My husband and I are looking forward to a quiet (yet still hip) night out without the kids to celebrate our anniversary.  We live in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle.  Any suggestions?

Thanks,

-m

Spinasse's Ragù: Delicately-thin hand cut egg noddles give angel hair pasta a whole new meaning.

Hi m -

Happy Anniversary!  Here are my thoughts on cool places to have a relaxing dinner with your man.  The first two are even in walking distance.

1) Book Bindery - You and your man could enjoy a nice walk to this Queen Anne restaurant that is right over the Fremont bridge (not far from Ponti).  This modern American restaurant has a cool interior and unique food (and yes, the space used to be a book bindery!).  Unique and original cocktails, too.  Chef Shaun McCrain (former executive sous chef at Thomas Keller’s Per Se restaurant in NYC) serves up a fair share of crudo and carpacio so take a pass if you don’t feel like raw seafood, but the menu is well-balanced with cooked seafood, meat, vegetables and pasta so I think there is something for everyone.  I would not miss ordering the cavatelli with foie gras emulsion.

2) Cantinetta – Although this Wallingford restaurant has been in service for 2.5 years, Cantinetta still has a local’s feel. The modern rustic space with their dark wood bar is relatively intimate. I always order the grapefruit/avocado salad and whatever pasta the server recommends. This vibrant Tuscan-inspired establishment can get a bit loud for such a small restaurant so I recommend sitting outside on their patio to enjoy the sunset and some peace and quiet.  Cantinetta is an easy 10-12 minute stroll from the center of Fremont.

Cantinetta's rabbit-filled pasta with fiddlehead ferns

3) Pair – I like this understated restaurant quite a bit and it is the most initimate of the four choices on the list. Located just north of the U-Village in a residential area, you won’t have to fight other Seattle-lites for parking. Food is fresh, seasonal and served small plates style. I had a brussel sprouts dish last fall that was so good I still think about it.  The staff is always super kind and service is always efficient and friendly, yet not over-the-top. If you are able to get out of work by 5pm, Pair has a nice happy hour on Tuesdays-Saturdays from 5pm-6:30pm where you can save a few bucks on adult beverages and appetizers. Frank’s Oyster House is just around the corner if you want to stop there before or after. Frank’s has a cute bar area with comfy seats. Great for lounging

4) Spinasse - Not only does chef Jason Stratton serve up the best Italian food (including spectacular desserts!) in Seattle, this petite Capitol Hill restaurant is rustic and charming.   Spinasse specializes in northern Italian food from the Piedmont region.  Equipped with a resident on-staff pasta maker, Spinasse takes pasta seriously.  If you are not a carb lover, no worries as Spinasse doesn’t just focus on pasta dishes.  Although I go ga-ga for their ragu dish, I also really enjoyed two non-pasta dishes the last time I was there:

• Duck superbly cooked at medium with a thin layer of crispiness and perfectly pink and fleshy inside.   The accompaniments of  greens and juicy turnips perfectly balance the decadence of the duck.
• Savory cauliflower flan with bagna caôda sauce. Bagna caôda translates to “hot bath” and is a typical Piedmontese dip.  Spinasse has creatively paired the sauce with their milk creamy flan.

I am not the only person who digs this place so I would definitely book as far in advance as you can and maybe ask to not get seated in the two-banger that is right in front of the doorway (drafty and disruptive as people enter and leave the restaurant).  On Friday, May 27th, Spinasse unveiled their newly expanded restaurant so maybe there is less chance of getting shut-out.  Same location with an additional 24 seats).  This restaurant has the loudest acoustics out of the bunch, but the intimate farmhouse setting always makes me feel like I  am escaping to an Italian countryside.

To read more on Spinasse, click here.

Happy eating,

Jen

Chef Dustin putting finishing touches on his tostada creation (housemade tortilla, cabbage slaw, radish, cilantro, green mole aioli, and um...ox tongue. Delicious.

Dear E.,

Jen