Oh, the Places You'll Go: Seattle

Went to the Best Coast last week for meetings with locals and almost ridiculous amounts of wine with les amigos. Got slightly delayed en route, spending a night here before landing here at long last. The Renaissance Man took me to his new fav spot for Mache Salad (roasted Oregon maitake mushrooms and soy black truffle vinaigrette), a beautiful chardonnay (I'll get you the name, I promise), and a delish seared scallop dish. We closed the place (this is starting to be a thing with the FG).

Friday was the adult version of a pub crawl. I met The Scot and TK at Barolo (which I'm confident will feature prominently in my next Seattle visit), where they were finishing up a bottle of wine and appetizers at the early happy hour. Then on to Black Bottle (which is a longer walk than any of us anticipated), picking up The Law Student en route. We met Kale and TK's other half, Auslander, at the restaurant, and fought to hear one another over the noise made by the denziens of Belltown - the tanned, the lifted, the tightly clothed. The food was, as always, divine, and another several bottles of red promptly disappeared.

We decided we couldn't take the noise a moment more, and headed off to Marjorie for dessert. There was an art gallery en route, and you know an open art gallery at 10 or so on a Friday means free alcohol. It wasn't bad, but the desserts at Marjorie were better, especially the brioche bread pudding with bourbon caramel sauce. And, of course, there was another round of drinks, featuring Lagavulin.

And then, after Auslander bid us adieu, we were back to Barolo, to await the arrival of My Fellow Canadian. He was leaving the next day for the City by the Bay, home of the Scottish Cowgirl and Cookie Monster, and a new job. We waited and waited, and The Scot ordered more wine, and it was almost 1 when he arrived. We laughed and ate and drank more wine, closing the place (this is what I'm saying) at close to 2 a.m. And caught cabs home. Delightful.

The rest of the weekend was family oriented, and then a final brunch with mes amis at Cafe Campagne. I picked up some smoked salmon for the Fabulous Parents and the Bostonians (that's next weekend), and headed for the airport. You can't say I don't eat well.