Home Again

Many of you know that Hubband and I were gone last week on a wonderful vacation with friends T & A, of Memorial Day fame. Yes, I pre-wrote the pancetta and cookie posts and scheduled them to go up while we were gone. Why? Because I knew that my hard-core readers (ha ha!) needed their fix. Also, because I'm sneaky like that. 

Anyway, last Saturday morning, August 23rd, we headed to the airport and began our journey. After one layover and a few time zones, we ended up in Seattle. Once established in a hotel, we met up with our friends and went for a walk to explore and find dinner. We ate at Etta's Seafood on Western Ave, after ogling Pike Place Market. 

I tried their Manila clams with Washington Chardonnay; the description is so simple and unassuming that you might pass it up, but you would be missing out. The bowl is heaped with beautiful tiny clams, and the broth below them...wow. Not just Chardonnay. Butter, salt, garlic, and a wonderful hit of chile pepper lent great depth and flavor. Bread for dunking: an absolute must. The cornbread pudding was also interesting. Everyone enjoyed their dinner, and we continued with our explorations. 

The next morning, Hubband and I woke up early (darn you, time zones!) and were incredibly hungry, so very unwisely we went back to the Market. It had been near to closing time the day before, so we hadn't gotten to see everything, which was our justification. Our growling bellies prompted us to look at everything with favor, and when we got back to the hotel, this is what we found ourselves carrying:

Ok, so that's kind of alot for just two people. And no, it's not a complete carb fest...there is spinach, egg, and cheese in that piroshsky (top right corner) and there is BBQ pork in the hambow (bottom right corner). And surely there must be some eggs in the custard of the rhubarb tart (central wedge). Other players were (clockwise from top left) a cinnamon palmier, a blueberry scone, fresh strawberries, pain du chocolat, a cinnamon-cardamom-walnut braid, orange-honey bread, almond-filled croissant, almond friand, and fresh raspberries, along with great coffee for me and ice tea for Hubband. Everything was good, but of course we had favorites: the piroshky and the hambow. Both had incredible savory fillings, and I could happily devour one of each just about every day. If you ever find yourself near Pike Place Market, do yourself a favor and pop into Piroshky Piroshky and Mee Sum Pastries. I will be dreaming about that hambow for the rest of my life. We also loved the rhubarb tart and the friand, both from Le Panier. Don't get me wrong, everything was great, but those were the standouts. 

It's probably a really, really good thing I don't live anywhere near that market, as I would be there every day buying fresh vegetables and flowers. 

As tempting as all the beautiful bouquets were, Seattle was only the beginning.