I just found out about a food and wine guide that will be useful to anyone contemplating a trip around the Pacific Northwest, or even just for vicarious “travel” for armchair travelers.

The Northwest Food and Wine Guide features page after page of restaurant descriptions and menus for Portland, Seattle, Vancouver (British Columbia), and northern California.

Following the restaurant descriptors comes touring information for wineries, distilleries, and breweries in the same areas.

I loved “leafing” through the magazine’s pretty pages while viewing them on my new computer’s crisp and vibrant retina display.

The magazine’s editors are based in Portland, so the magazine skews heavily toward that town. I’m sure as they sign up more advertisers, and people find out about the Guide, that Seattle, Vancouver, and Northwest wine regions will get more play in the merry mix.

When Spencer and I first moved to Seattle more than 22 years ago, we knew nothing about Pacific Northwest food and wine.

Wanting to learn more, we often attended monthly meetings and events hosted by The Enological Society of the Pacific Northwest (ES).

The last ES event we went to was at the Woodmark Hotel on Carillon Point. It was one of those gorgeous, sunny Seattle nights you never forget, thanks in large part to spending the evening sitting next to winemaker John Bell while sampling through his and many other talented Washington winemakers’ prize-winning wines.

Cut to today, when ES will end its run after an impressive 35 years! ES will go out with an evening of wine appreciation featuring a gourmet dinner, distinguished guest speakers, and an open mic opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments of the organization.

The event takes place Thursday, November 8, in the Chateau Ste. Michelle Ballroom (14111 NE 145th Street Woodinville, WA 98072). Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Historical Exhibit at the Walter Clore Center in Prosser, WA.

According to ES board member (and our buddy) Gerry Warren, “This event will serve as the grand finale for the organization and celebrate 35 years of education and awareness that the Enological Society brought to its members.”

The celebratory evening begins with hors d’oeuvres and a wine-tasting reception followed by a three-course gourmet dinner paired with wines from the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates portfolio.

Guests speakers for the evening include Ted Baseler (President & CEO, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates). Brian Carter (Winemaker, Brian Carter Cellars), Myron Redford (President & Former Winemaker, Amity Vineyards) and Allen Shoup (Founder, Long Shadows). Warren will serve as the event emcee for the evening.

Individual tickets for the event are $125; tables of eight can be purchased for $1,000. Visit the ES website to reserve your seat for this exclusive event.

More about ES: 

Started in the mid-1970s by a diverse group of wine enthusiasts, the Enological Society of the Pacific Northwest (also known as the Seattle Wine Society) is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to the appreciation of wine and food through educational events in the Puget Sound region. The society was incorporated as an educational organization which gave it considerable latitude in its ability to program events around wine and food.

For 30 consecutive years it presented a Northwest Wine Festival that incorporated a world-class judging, and the Wine Fairs for many years allowed members to explore outstanding old and new world wines. Regular monthly meetings provided educational programing at times for hundreds of attendees and the very popular Regional Dinners were outstanding experiences especially when presented by a volunteer crew.

The society’s educational programming and its prestigious wine judgings had a well-recognized effect on the growth and maturation of the Northwest Wine Industry as it focused the attention of consumers on the pleasures they would experience through their interest and consumption of wine.

During our recent birthdays, Spencr and I let down our guards just a little bit while still trying to remain on our low-carb/high-protein diet.

One Sunday last month, after a rather unsuccessful morning trying to tour Pioneer Square galleries for inspiration (most were closed on Sundays), we decided to treat ourselves to lunch at Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant, about midway between Pioneer Square and our condo.

We’d eaten at Fado before, and knew that the Pub has yummy main-dish salads. And although we’d normally go for the grilled chicken as our protein addition, this day (again, to celebrate our birthdays, and with the urging of our server) we opted for fried-chicken tenders.

My salad–augmented with sliced pears, mandarin oranges, spicy nuts, and blue cheese–was a lovely combo of sweet, salty, and pungent flavors. The crispy, perfectly fried chicken contrasted nicely with soft, super-fresh local baby lettuces.

I had to laugh when I perused the seasonal beverage menu and discovered under the Shots section both Pickleback (Irish Whiskey with a pickle-brine chaser) and Irish Breakfast (Irish Whiskey and Butterscotch Schnapps with an orange-juice chaser and bacon garnish.

Although my father’s side of the family is Irish, and I do love my wine, neither of these tickles my palate, although imbibing one or the other would make me or anyone want to do an Irish jig.

It’s time to buy your tickets for Elliott’s Oyster New Year, which will be held on Saturday, November 4.

VIP Champagne Reception ticket holders  can enjoy passed appetizers and champagne beginning at 4 p.m., followed by the main event at 5 p.m. ($125 per person plus tax).

General admission tickets (from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m.) cost $95 per person plus tax.

During this exciting annual event, guests can choose among:

• 30+ varieties of local oysters

• Oysters shucked to order along our 90-foot oyster bar

• Fresh seafood buffet

• Over 40 wineries

• Local microbrews

• Live music

• The famous Oyster Luge

• Shucking demonstration and contest

• People’s Choice “Most Beautiful Oyster” contest

In keeping with Elliott’s eco-friendly practices, the restaurant reuses or recycle everything possible from the event, and composts all shells and food waste in partnership with Cedar Grove.

All proceeds from the Oyster New Year Bash will benefit the Puget Sound Restoration Fund. Since 1997 this non-profit organization has been dedicated to restoring the Sound’s water quality and native marine species and their habitats.

Elliott’s is Seafood WATCH®-compliant and actively participates in the Puget Sound Restoration Fund’s Henderson Inlet Project , The Humane Society, and Wild Salmon Supporters.

The “Fresh Faces of the Future” tasting menu kicked off at the Space Needle’s Sky City restaurant on October 1, and boy, was it delicious!

Fresh Faces partners professional chef  instructors and students from Seattle’s most esteemed culinary programs with SkyCity Executive Chef Jeff Maxfield. Each group prepares one original dish to contribute to the five-course tasting menu.

It was fun to see long-time Seattle culinary authorities including Linda Pal Chauncey, associate dean of Seattle Culinary Academy (SCA) at Seattle Central Community College, and Will McNamara during the evening. I first met chef McNamara years ago when he was working at Place Pigalle in the Pike Place Market. More recently, he served as exec chef at the Washington Athletic Club, and is now sharing his wisdom with students at South Seattle Community College (SSCC).

The other schools represented on the menu are Seattle Le Cordon Bleu and FareStart.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of the month-long tasting menu ($62 per person) will benefit each participating school’s scholarship fund.

Views from Sky City were gorgeous, especially since we arrived at 6:45 p.m., right around sunset.

The Fresh Faces menu was colorful and inviting. . .

As was our first course of Potato “Pinxtos” (Saffron Scallops, Coriander Lox, and Fennel Mojama) created by SCA student Claire Elise Mitchell. The dish was adapted from an award-winning tapa Claire created using Northwest seafood and produce as inspiration.

Next up? Roasted Wild Mushroom Salad, an intriguing juxtaposition of duck rillettes and a dinosaur kale salad rife with chanterelle mushrooms. Douglas-fir gel balls added an interesting textural touch. This dish was created by Varin Keokitvon from FareStart.

Chef McNamara offered up the evening’s third course, and perhaps my favorite: Dry-Rubbed Seared Scallops, spicy good with Moroccan-style garbanzo beans, grilled peppers, spinach, and Charmoula dressing. Chef McNamara feels that, within the next 50 years, the African continent will become a major player on the world stage. His dish was an ode to flavors from those countries.

Sky City’s chef, Jeff Maxfield, served up the evening’s main course–Hay-Roasted Carlton Farms Pork. Because I don’t eat pork, he was nice enough to substitute my favorite protein, wild Alaskan salmon.

The kingly fish danced atop the plate along with black garlic, beet spaetzle cake, creamed collard greens, and huckleberry jam. Chef Jeff describes hay roasting as an old European technique in which meat is roasted in freshly harvested hay; his spaetzle cake was a modern twist on a classic dumpling; and other parts of the dish inspired by home-style canning recipes passed down through the generations.

Richard Carpenter and Brian Figler of Le Cordon Bleu gifted us with an exceptional seasonal dessert. Jones Orchard Apple Financier was accompanied by artistic squiggles of Whidbey Island Port syrup and dressed with cardamom crème Chantilly. Ooh-la-la!

We chose to drink one of Sky City’s featured Winery of the Month wines, a crisp, well-balanced  Woodinville Wine Cellars 2011 Sauvignon Blanc that partnered perfectly with each and every course. Had we wanted red, the menu also included Woodinville Wine Cellars 2009 Little Bear Creek Red Blend.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Les Dames d’Escoffier, Seattle Chapter will host its annual fundraiser, Fish Tales & Pike Ales, on Thursday, September 27, from 5:30 to 8:30 at the Pike Pub in downtown Seattle.

And now is the time to PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS if you haven’t already done so!

Here are some of the latest details about the event, which promises to be both educational and fun (and how often can you say that after a big night out)?!?!

*Bubbles Bar (sparkling-wine bar) during the Reception, which will feature Taylor Shellfish oysters on the half shell, smoked salmon, snow crab claws, Salumi charcuterie, and an assortment of breads from Le Panier Very French Bakery.

*Seafood industry speakers include Karl Uri of Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), Mark Tupper (Triad/Bruce Gore Seafood), and John Martin (Intersea Fisheries West).

*Attendees will “schooled” in how seafood is caught, flash-frozen at sea, then distributed to our tables.

*Dames chefs for the evening will represent the culinary side of things, with ideas on how best to prepare and serve Pacific cod, Dungeness crab, and sockeye salmon.

*Dames dishes include King Crab and Corn Chowder, Thai-Inspired Cod Lettuce Wraps, and Spicy Wild Salmon (stuffed with a Dungeness crab cake!).

*Beer pairings for the Reception and with each of three courses generously supplied by our host, Pike Brewing Company.

*Wine pairings include wines from such well-respected Washington-State wineries as Chinook Wines, McCrea Cellars, and Domaine Ste. Michelle.

*Two types of gelato from Gelatiamo, including Pike XXXXX Stout and a brand-new seasonal flavor created just for the event, topped by a specially designed cookie[box] fish-shaped cookie!

So PLEASE buy your tickets today. . .100% of proceeds will continue to fund Les Dames, Seattle’s culinary, beverage, and hospitality scholarships; community-outreach programs; sustainable-agriculture projects; and Green Tables grants.

And if you are unable to attend yourself, please consider buying a ticket (or three) for family members, friends, or colleagues.

Tickets to Fish Tales would also be a nice gift idea with the holidays fast approaching.

After a visit to Washington State’s ever-expanding wineries east of the mountains, do you ever worry about how you will get all those cases of specially chosen wines back home?

To the rescue comes Washington Wine Country’s Taste and Tote promotion, which makes it easier and more affordable to taste and travel the vineyards of Washington State in the Yakima Valley, Tri-Cities area, and Walla Walla Valley.

This new collaborative effort is in conjunction with Alaska Airlines and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. And, as part of this new partnership, Alaska Airlines will expand its existing wine check-in program “Taste and Tote” (which originated in the Walla Walla Valley in late 2011) to the Yakima and Pasco/Tri-Cities Airports.

The Taste and Tote program allows outbound passengers to check their first box of wine free on their return flight. In addition, Enterprise Rent-A-Car will waive rental car drop-off fees for visitors flying on Alaska Airlines into Yakima, Pasco/Tri-Cities, or Walla Walla Regional Airports who wish to fly out of one of the other two airports.

“The ‘Taste and Tote’ program has been a big success in Walla Walla and we feel our expansion to the Pasco and Yakima airports shows our dedication to being Washington Wine Country’s airline of choice,” said Clint Ostler, Alaska Airlines’ manager of retail advertising and sponsorships. “Washington State’s tourism and wine industries are so closely connected and we are committed to making it easier for travelers to visit our award-winning vineyards.”

In addition, visitors will be able to sample wines at participating Washington Wine Country wineries and pay no tasting fees by showing a current Alaska Airlines boarding pass from one of the three airports.

Organizers hope that with these added incentives, visitors from the Seattle and Portland metropolitan areas and others served by Alaska Airlines will utilize air service for their trip to Washington Wine Country.

A Corks and Canvas class held this summer on the patio at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood

With September comes the start of school for children, but what about classes for adults?

If the thought of trying your hand at something new inspires you this fall, consider attending a Corks and Canvas event, which combines a lesson in painting with Washington wine tasting!

Corks and Canvas Events, a local company that combines wine tasting with painting, was co-founded by Washington wine enthusiasts Lisa Cryder and Stefanie Hare.

In a local winery or hotel and nonjudgmental atmosphere, you spend the evening sipping Washington wine and painting a beautiful acrylic masterpiece.

Cost: Corks and Canvas events cost $45 per person, which includes art instruction, supplies, and the first glass of wine for inspiration. Everyone goes home with their very own masterpiece.

When: Check out the Corks and Canvas calendar page for specific dates and times.

An actual Corks and Canvas painting done by Spencer Johnson

Monthly Event Locations:

Apex at Alder Ridge Tasting Room, Woodinville, WA

J. Bookwalter Tasting Studio, Woodinville, WA

Matthews Estate Winery, Woodinville, WA

VoVina Wine and Vodka Tasting Martini Bar, Kirkland, WA

Urban Enoteca, Seattle, WA

Pan Pacific Hotel Lobby Bar, Seattle, WA

Vino at the Landing, Renton WA

Wine Styles, Bothell, WA

Our friends at Tourism Vancouver have released a new destination iPad app designed to be an inspirational trip-planning tool and travel companion for visitors from around the world.

The Visit Vancouver app – available for free download from Apple’s iTunes store – is interactive, fun to use, and developed to take full advantage of the iPad platform by showcasing bold video and imagery that inspires travel to Vancouver.

The app includes information on dining, accommodations, activities, transportation, events, and weather. It also allows users to take photo tours of the city, book hotels, peruse online videos, read travel articles, bookmark and share “Favorites,” and search a continually updated calendar of Vancouver events and festivals.

Visit Vancouver is differentiated from other city travel apps in that it is free of advertising and was designed to provide optimized experiences both online and offline. Users who don’t have a wireless internet connection, or who are concerned about data-roaming costs while traveling, will find that the majority of content is available offline.

In addition to this new app, Tourism Vancouver already has a strong online-marketing program that includes the award-winning Inside Vancouver blog, an active social-media presence, and the Vancouver Specialist Program (an online travel-agent training tool). And, the organization will soon launch a mobile website.

Sooke Harbour House

Our friends Sinclair and Frederique Philip, co-owners of Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island, have been raking in an impressive number of awards lately. And as always, they are very well deserved.

Sinclair and Frederique Philip

According to a press release, “This year Travel and Leisure Magazine Readers’ Poll has dedicated a category exclusively to Canadian properties for their World’s Best Awards. In the last decade Sooke Harbour House has been rated close to the top several times in this poll for continental North America.

“Today, Travel and Leisure has recognized Sooke Harbour House as Canada’s #2 best resort for 2012, and on its list as one of the World’s Best Hotels and Resorts. This recognition comes with a ‘budget’ annotation signifying that the resort offers rooms under $250. Vancouver Island was selected as their best island travel destination.”

In a previous edition, Travel and Leisure Magazine described the 28-room Sooke Harbour House as a “charming clapboard inn overlooking a dramatic Pacific beach and the Olympic Mountains, 45 minutes from Victoria.” The cutting edge, as stated in the T+L 500, is the “inventive Pacific Northwest cuisine that has made this a legendary food and wine destination.” Two of the highlights mentioned were “bald eagle-spotting on the nearby protected Whiffen Spit” and the “Blue Heron Room, for its large balcony and panoramic ocean views.”

You may remember that I profiled Sinclair and Frederique in “Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia,” and included their recipe for Coriander-Crusted Albacore Tuna with Spicy Buckwheat Noodle Salad in the book.

Sooke Harbour House also took home two awards at Taste: Victoria’s Festival of Food and Wine. The Best Showcase of Island Wines award recognizes the wine list that best showcases the wines of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. It has a diversity of producers, styles, and price points – and innovative pairing with the restaurant’s menu.

Sooke also won for Best Overall Wine Program thanks to its wine list, which “offers a fabulous selection of quality producers that complements the menu in price, size, and style. The wine program is innovative and promotes wine knowledge and appreciation through by-the-glass offerings, seasonal features, and special tastings and events.”

Congratulations to the Philips on all these coveted awards.

Isn’t it time we all planned a trip to our neighbor to the north (British Columbia and Vancouver Island) and, specifically, Sooke Harbour House?