Chef Kerry Sear has been working in Northwest restaurants for many years, most recently landing at the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in downtown Seattle as executive chef at ART Restaurant and Lounge. It’s a place we frequent since it’s right across the street from our condo; the Lounge is particularly inviting for a glass of wine and heavy appetizers.

You can order from the Lounge or dining room menus, but often we opt for Chef Kerry’s Salmon, Vegetarian, and Beef Sliders. Three come to an order, and you can mix or match as you desire. For example, I’m not into beef, so I order two salmon and a veg. My hubby, on the other hand, manly man that he is, goes straight for the beef, along with an order of Truffle Fries, of course.

Our drive back from Lake Chelan over the North Cascades Highway was truly spectacular. We drove through two mountain passes (highest was 5,500 feet!) that had only been open for the season for only two days. 

While on the road to the Yakima Valley, we happened upon this glacial scene just before we hit Snoqualmie Pass. And this was on April 23!!!

On our recent jaunt to the Yakima Valley and Lake Chelan, we had a lovely stop for lunch driving from Seattle at Suncadia Resort. We were lucky enough to be at Suncadia’s grand opening last fall and had a delightful experience, albeit neither the construction nor the landscaping were quite finished at that point.

Glad to report that the property is now complete, and the restaurant in The Lodge, Portals, is going full steam ahead. Service was smooth, the dining room on a Thursday around noon had several two-tops, a big party of eight, and a couple of four-tops, and it was a cool, sunny, windy day.

Here’s the main dish that both Spencer and I enjoyed: Swift River Trout. The rosy pink trout was flappin’ fresh and perfectly cooked; a brown-almond butter and sautéed haricots verts kept things (fairly) light and simple.

Even something as seemingly simple as a Green Salad was special at Portals with nary a wilted or blemished leaf (one of my all-time pet peeves in so many “upscale” restaurants these days–can’t the chef even sort through a bag of greens?!?!) and lagniappe of razor-thin radish and English cucumber slices. 

We always love wining and dining around Vancouver, British Columbia, and inevitably start our culinary journey with lunch at Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House, a long-running seafood restaurant just off Robson Street, the main artery in downtown. 

But sad to report that my entrée, actually an appetizer dish called Joe’s Raw Plate and designed for sharing, was a muddled mess of tasteless pumpkin-seed vinaigrette (that looked more like a pesto sauce), overly sweet pomegranate molasses, and too many pickled onions. At least the fish itself, smoked salmon and albacore sashimi, were okay. 

Still, you just gotta love the wine list here, which features an incredible selection of BC wines by the glass and by the bottle. 

Much better was the Seafood Salad at O’Doul’s in the Listel Hotel (where we stayed). 

The Duck Salad, a lunch special of the day, was another winner, and quite beautiful to boot. 

Triple Soy-Seared Tuna Tataki, an appetizer at the venerable Diva at the Met in the Metropolitan Hotel, was one of the most beautiful presentations we’ve ever seen. Its multiple layers included cucumbers, pickled shiitake salad, and soy “caviar,” while the dots on the plate included a kazu emulsion. This dish paired nicely with a cool glass of Blue Mountain Pinot Grigio. 

More beautiful presentations, of a Nigiri Sushi Sampler plate, at Blue Water Cafe & Raw Bar in trendy Yaletown. Among the yummy nibbles: Unagi, scallop, salmon, halibut, tuna, mackerel, shrimp, and a California roll in a glorious egg wrap. I enjoyed sipping glasses of 8th Generation 2006 Riesling and See Ya Later Ranch Brut with this dish. 

The just-opened Market in the glittery Shangri-La Hotel in downtown, the creation of Jean-Georges Vongerichten, was a delight. . .and packed. Definitely the “hot” reservation to have during the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. Here’s a lovely appetizer–Seared Scallops with Caramelized Cauliflower and Caper-Raisin Emulsion–the perfect fusion of sweet and salty. 

Vancouver may be the city of cool restrooms (or washrooms, as the Canadians say). Market’s had black granite slabs for walls and square milky glass sinks with square fixtures. 

We’ve been remiss in writing much about our four-day stay in Carmel-by-the-Sea last Christmas. So when a good friend and colleague from British Columbia spilled the beans by telling us he’d scheduled his wife’s 50th birthday celebration there, and asked for restaurant recommendations, we couldn’t help but jump in. Following are the highlights from a very long e-mail we shot back to him with places to be sure to go (and some to skip).

One of our very favorite cities in the world is Vancouver, British Columbia.

It’s easy to reach from Seattle thanks if you take the Amtrak Cascades train (a pleasant, four-hour journey), clean and cosmopolitan, and one of the best places to wine and dine we’ve ever encountered. Here’s a view from the train on our ride back from Vancouver. 

Last month we headed up north for the 31st annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, which we’d been hearing about for ages but never had the pleasure to attend (until now). It was everything and more than it had been billed. . .as two huge trade tastings proved, with distributors from around the world.

We saw some familiar faces, such as Stephen Cipes, owner of Summerhill Pyramid Winery, located in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. 

And, from closer to home, Gilles Nicault, from Washington State’s Long Shadows Vintners. 

We also ran into Joe Dobbes (center), from Oregon’s Dobbes Family Estate.

The neatest thing about this year’s fest was that the theme was British Columbia wines. This was a first in the venerable festival’s history. . .only one before had Canadian wines been the center of attention. And for BC wines to finally take their place front and center stage was a real feather in the cap for a wine industry that has really just gotten up and running during the past decade. 

One of the most fun workshops I attended was entitled, “Blind, Blind,” during which we did a blind tasting of wines while actually blindfolded! It was a challenging exercise not only to not knock over the nine wine glasses (!) but to try to figure out what was in each glass. In the photo above, I am “listening” to the wine to determine if its is still or sparkling. 

In an upcoming post, we’ll give you a rundown of the restaurants we tried and liked, and those that didn’t fare as well. 

The Blue Cheese Mussels at Voilà Bistrot in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood never fail to please, especially when paired with a hearty California Zin. Here’s the before dish (above).

And the after. . .nothing is left but artfully arranged shells! You’ll find the recipe for Blue Cheese Mussels in Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining, where Voilà Bistrot chef/owner Laurent Gabrel suggests pairing them with a good-quality Washington-State Merlot. 

Last night I tried a very interesting wine from Olympic Cellars Winery, a long-time Washington-State business located on the Olympic Peninsula.

The Olympic Cellars Winery 2006 My Sweet Syrah is a blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Riesling. With four-percent residual sugar, it is definitely sweet, yet lush and light on the palate with soft tannins. This may be something for dark-chocolate lovers to consider next time they want a workable wine pairing. I may almost like it better than the more traditional Port.

Although Benoit Murat, the French-born winemaker for Olympic Cellars was hesitant to make a slightly sweet red wine, customers were asking for it. And the wine has been a big hit, according to winery owner and self-described “bar maid and cellar rat,” Kathy Charlton. In fact, it’s outselling all other wines at Olympic Cellars. 

Here’s a new word to add to your vocabulary: “glamping,” a combination of “glamour” and “camping.”

And to kick off “glamping” season in May 2009 (according to a recent press release), “Lakedale Resort at Three Lakes, nestled between Roche Harbor and Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in Washington State, will offer new ‘Glamping Survival Kits,’ a collection of outdoor necessities for the glamorous camper (’glamper’). Each package was developed to be enjoyed while staying at one of 13 ‘glampsites,’ featuring canvas cabins furnished with a queen bed, full-size sleeper sofa or lounge chairs, bed and bath linens, and beautiful hickory furniture.”

The Happy Hour and Rekindle “Glamping Survival Kits,” both priced at $70, sounded good to us:

Happy Hour: Two folding pilsner or wine “glasses;” one 10-ounce unbreakable hip flask; a freestanding wine bottle and glass holder; a bottle of Happy Camper wine (naturally!); one six-pack of beer and one Lakedale Resort logo corkscrew. 

Rekindle: One FireCone Eco Saucer fire starter basket; a bundle of firewood; one package of gourmet marshmallows; two gourmet chocolate bars; one box of graham crackers; one giant roasting fork; two folding champagne flutes and one bottle of sparkling wine. 

The press release goes on to say that, “Lakedale ‘glampground’ is open annually from May 1 to September 30. ‘Glamping’ rates start at $149 a night. Each custom built 225-square-foot canvas cabin features a queen bed with pillow-top bedding, a full-size sleeper sofa or two lounge chairs, pillows and a flannel duvet, a table and four chairs, one cordless lantern and bath linens. Every ‘glampsite’ also includes two Adirondack chairs, a picnic table and a fire ring. Continental breakfast is included.”