Cruise Ship-style Dining
This past Saturday was one of those that had Farmer Paul and I out running around town all day. We started out heading into town (Snohomish) to do a couple of things. For lunch, Paul wanted to get seafood at Chuck’s on 1st Street. Chuck’s is a character restaurant. Not in the “Mickey Mouse” kind of way, but in the “sitcom” kind of way. Sitting at the bar, dunking my fish & chips in tartar (delicious!), enjoying show. Andy cooked up a storm in front of us in the open kitchen…keeping everything perfectly synchronized, the waitress was running to keep up with the busy Saturday lunch crowd and Chuck greeted everyone coming through the door, alternating between the pleasant remarks for the average customer walking in, to the familiar “gruffer” greetings for the regulars (which includes Paul). Good, enjoyable small-town comfortableness.
After lunch we wandered through some of the shops as we made our way down to where we parked the car. In one of them, an Italian import shop, the owner offered us a taste of truffle oil (I’ve always wondered what it was like…and the answer is…very good! But $17 a bottle good? not until I’m rich!) and a taste of balsamic vinegar. Of course, I’ve tasted balsamic vinegar before…there’s almost always some in the cupboard. The one he was sampling was a 10-year-old vinegar and it was very nice. As we talked a bit more, he must have decided he liked us, cause he pulled out the good stuff. It was, he said, a 20-year-old bottle of balsamic. The difference in taste was surprising. The older vinegar was candy-sweet with the tangy bite of vinegar still there. It was also $60 for a bottle. Paul and I came up with the idea of drizzling it over our Christmas morning french toast. Don’t be surprised if it ends up wrapped under our Christmas tree this year!
Well, the day went on into the evening. After haircuts, dishwasher shopping and other random errands, we found ourselves thinking of eating dinner. We were near a bar & grill we’ve enjoyed several times, so we stopped and went in. At this point, it was almost 8 and the place was full with people waiting outside. We put our names on the list to get a table in the dining area, but then went and stood near the bar tables which were seat-yourself. All available tables in the area were taken, and there was another couple ahead of us waiting also. After 15 minutes or so, a table opened up and the couple started to head over, but then the man turned around, asked if it was just the 2 of us waiting, and suggested we join them at the 4-top table rather than waste the extra 2 seats.
So we cruise-shipped it. Sat down at a dinner table with another couple that were complete strangers and had a fantastic time introducing ourselves and being socialable. Kelly’s a truck driver who went to Spring Creek Barbeque in Fort Worth a while back while visiting his sister in Dallas (oh, for some of Spring Creek’s fresh hot rolls!!!), and Margie works for an insurance company and shared some proud-mom stories of her kids who are mostly grown up and out on their own. Over the hour or so we were there, we talked about chicken farming, construction going on in Seattle and the surrounding area, and lots about classic rock.
It certainly was not the dinner experience I thought we would have when we went into the building. It was better.
Maybe next time we’ll extend the invite.
Tidbits | greengrassliving | 
October 14, 2008 10:36 am
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