1. Around 9:00 this morning, I leapt in the Camry and barreled up Hiway 99 to Bill and Diane's condo in Shoreline. I got to see Val! We've seen one another's faces on ZOOM frequently and we've been in touch in other ways, but I hadn't seen Val in person since she and Mike catered Dave V's wedding reception back in 1993!
I joined Val, Diane, and Mike at the dining table and we fell into easy conversation about home purchasing, home improvement, and a bunch of other topics, including some reminiscing about Whitworth.
Diane baked a superb crustless spinach and feta quiche served with sausage and Val brought fresh melon, mango, and (I think she brought them) blueberries.
We had a splendid time together enjoying one another's company, having great conversation.
2. I returned to my room and scratched out as much of my blog post as I could before Hugh swung by shortly after 1:00 and we were off into the wilds of the International District and then Georgetown to enjoy some treasures in Seattle.
Hugh knows I enjoy Asian food and so he drove us to Uwajimaya, a dizzying Japanese supermarket, copiously stocked with Asian food goods and kitchen appliances and cookware and a variety of bowls, plates, and other dishes and utensils.
I loved seeing all the varieties of fish, produce, sauces, rice, noodles, and other foods and was very impressed with the wide range of prepared foods a shopper could buy to eat on the spot (or back home).
After our tour of Uwajimaya, Hugh and headed to Georgetown, home to such legendary breweries as Elysian and Georgetown. We drove past an impressive row of well-established taverns and made our way to an old and former Ranier Brewing building (I think), now the home of Machine House Brewing.
The Troxstar had alerted me to Machine House. He and I used to enjoy trips up to Oakridge, OR to drink cask conditioned ale at the Brewers Union Local 180 and he told me that Machine House specializes in brewing cask conditioned ale.
It's rare to find a brewery devoted to what's known in England as "real ale", naturally carbonated, no gas added, and served at cellar temperature.
I started with a half pint of Cambridge bitter. I didn't enjoy its flavor a lot and so I tried Machine House's Oatmeal Stout. Ahhh! Yes! I loved this beer and could have sat here all afternoon drinking one half pint after another.
For what I like in a tasting room, this one was perfect, essentially a room in the warehouse. I prefer these tasting rooms with cement floors, exposed brick walls, and with no sign of gentrified remodeling. I could imagine being as comfortable in this space on a regular basis as I was at DC Brau and at the original Atlas Brewing in Ivy City, Washington, DC -- or, for that matter, the original tiny Oakshire tasting room out near the Train Whistle neighborhood in northwest Eugene before the brewery opened their Public House in the Whitaker neighborhood.
3. Hugh and I left Machine House satisfied and headed to his and Carol's house in Renton.
Carol joined us and we were off to West Seattle where we had a table reserved at La Rustica, a handsome and cozy neighborhood Italian restaurant.
Upon being seated, I ordered a glass of refreshing and slightly sweet Rose wine, a wine I enjoy a lot and don't often get to drink.
La Rustica serves focaccia bread sliced into sticks of varying width seasoned with garlic and herbs. These were terrific and no matter how much of this bread customers eat, the servers always bring more.
I was very grateful when it came time to order that Hugh and Carol were up for tonight's oyster appetizer special. I always think, when I order oysters on the half shell, that I'm going to want them raw, but just like at Sushi.com in Spokane a couple of weeks ago, these oysters were broiled and swimming in an exquisitely delicious sauce that I wish I could adequately describe. I loved this dish and, as a bonus, we enjoyed dipping our pieces of focaccia in the sauce left over once we'd eaten the oysters.
La Rustica offered an excellent menu and our server told us about several specials that were available.
Well, I really like baked pasta and I decided to try La Rustica's Mostaccioli con Zazzicchia. It's penne baked with marinara, cream, and mozzarella accompanied by a delicious sausage. I also ordered a Caesar salad as a second course.
It's a rich and flavorful dish and the sausage pairs perfectly with the pasta and its sauce.
I couldn't eat the entire serving, so, as a bonus, I have a box of this splendid pasta and sausage sitting in my room refrigerator, just waiting for me to dive into it again. I also got to bring home several pieces of the focaccia bread!
It was all right with me that the restaurant had run out of spumoni ice cream because our server offered me a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce as an alternative.
The scoop was more generous than I could comfortably finish, but I loved the several spoonfuls I had room for.
Hugh and Carol and I had a superb time together talking about a variety of things and closed our evening together hoping that it won't be too long until we can see each other and dine together again.
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