Monday, July 27, 2009

Floating the Snoqualmie River

On Sunday Mike and I gathered a group of friends to float the Snoqualmie River. We had it on our calendar to float a river for more than a month - it was something I had done with a group of people the summer after my senior year of college, but I've yet to do it since. We knew there was a ton or rivers to float in the area, but we were a little skeptical about which one would be the best length and time. (If you go too late in the day, you run the risk of being in the water still when it's dark. The perfect float time is between 4-6 hours, in my opinion).

We decided to float the Snoqualmie since it's near Mike's house (just up the Redmond-Fall City Road). The night before, we bought the appropriate beverages and tied a cooler to a single-person floaty with rope. It's essential to have a cooler, and don't forget snacks and water! It's a long day in the river if you're hungry and dehydrated. We tried to research how long it would take, and where to park, but there was minimum information besides one blog we found that talked about how floating from the top to Fall City was only an hour and a half! We wanted a way longer float, so after parking down Fish Hatchery Road (near the top of the river/below the Snoqualmie Falls. Follow it until you see a parking lot with cars), Mike and another friend we were with drove the cars down and struggled to find a place past Falls City where we could all jump out.

Turns out the float from the top to Fall City is more around 4-5 hours, so you don't need to park past Fall City at all. Everyone who was floating (and there's a lot. It's a popular spot in the summer) was getting out at Fall City. Next time we'll just do that.


Final Verdict: Most definitely go back. The drive was quick and easy, and the river was a perfect speed and length for a great day of floating in 90-degree weather with friends! When it's that hot in Seattle, the best way to spend it is in the water all day with laughter, food and drinks!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Belltown Wine Walk

This week, Mike and I headed to the Belltown Wine Walk - a new wine event that some of the restaurants and bars in Belltown are doing on the second Tuesday of every month, from 5 - 9 p.m.

I first heard about it on Twitter - and quickly gathered my boyfriend's approval for a night of $5 tastings in the neighborhood just down from my house in Queen Anne. Because of traffic, Mike was a little late to my house after work, so we didn't get started until 7 p.m.

While the list of places participating in the wine walk are as such (starting in order from North to South)...

Urban Wine Cafe: Corner of 2nd & Denny
Local Vine; Second Avenue [ 2nd & Vine Street ]
Seattle Cellars: 2505 2nd Ave # 102 [Between Vine & Wall]
El Gaucho: 6:20 - 7:00: 2505 First Avenue [On First, between Vine & Wall ]
Branzino: 2429 2nd Ave [Between Wall & Battery]
Rob Roy: 5:40-6:20: 2323 2nd Avenue [Between Battery & Bell]
Rendezvous: 5:00 - 5:40: 2322 2nd Ave

...we decided to skip the Urban Wine Cafe since it was quite a bit further distance to the other bars, and we just wanted to park and walk. We first hit up The Local Vine, which is great wine bar we've been to a couple times before. The Local Vine had CMS from Hedges Winery as their tasting for white wine. CMS is a blend of Chardonnay, Marsanne and Sauv Blanc. The wine was quite versatile and mellow - it probably could have been paired with a number of summertime dishes. The Local Vine paired it with a thyme & ginger polenta with carrot frisee salad.

We thought the dish and pairing was quite impressive! The bartender told us that The Local Vine chooses a new wine and food pairing each week - and for only $5 for both! Five bucks for both a full-sized glass of wine and a small plate is more than worth my time!

From TLV, we moved onto Seattle Cellars, but were kinda surprised to see that it closed at 7 p.m. We had read the wine walk went from 5 to 9 p.m., and there was no word that one of the places closed early! Sort of a bummer, but we'll have to remember that if we do it again.

So, we continued onto Branzino, which is what I was most excited about. Branzino is the restaurant of Chef Ashley Merriman, one of the two Seattle chefs chosen to be on Top Chef 6! I cannot describe how excited I am to watch local chefs. We sat at the bar at Branzino and were given the choice of a white or red for our wine walk tasting. We chose the white - a chardonnay from Airfield Estates, a winery in Yakima. Branzino didn't have a dish for the pairing, which we were more than a little disappointed about. But, we decided to split a bar plate anyway. We ordered the crispy meatballs with creamy polenta.

Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic! The lighting was dim.

Two dishes of polenta for us! (I'm kind of a polenta fan). We both agreed that we enjoyed the polenta at TLV a little better, but that says nothing about our thoughts on Branzino! We want to go back to try it out for the full-meal dinner! While we were at the bar, I was able to watch Ashley Merriman in action and even went up to her before we left, to personally congratulate her on her Top Chef placement. I'm such a dork! But it's like a local celebrity! I love that show!

From there, we only had time for one more stop - Rob Roy, formally known as Viceroy. Rob Roy didn't have a food pairing either, but they did have complimentary Goldfish crackers! Ha! We dug right in! The white wine they offered was a Riesling from Clean Slate wineries. (Come to find out, it's won Best Riesling at the 2007 San Francisco International Wine Festival). It was GOOD. We definitely gave it the vote for Best Wine of the night. I will probably try to seek it out in a grocery store. For overall experience and money value though, The Local Vine gets our vote x 1,000!
Final Verdict: Probably go back. We might hit up the Belltown Wine Walk again, but this time we'll try to go to the places we skipped. I imagine El Gaucho will have a great pairing! We'll most definitely go back to TLV for the $5 wine walk deal, but will probably pass on the other two places we went. We were expecting more of a tasting experience, not just a $5 glass of wine. Overall though, it was something fun and different to do on a Tuesday.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Paragon

Generally, Mike and I love to check out new places in Seattle. We think it's much better to try something new rather than go to the same ole places over and over. However, there are a few places that we'll sneak back to time and time again, and one of those places is The Paragon on top of Queen Anne hill.

We've been to The Paragon for breakfast and dinner, and every time it doesn't fail to impress. The food is always yummy and high quality, especially their brunch, which is served from 11:30-3 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 - 3 p.m. on Sundays. Mike and I are HUGE breakfast fans. Unfortunately for my waistline, and our wallets, it's hard for us to go a weekend without snagging eggs and bacon at a local jaunt. While we've been to handfuls of Seattle breakfast hot spots, we continuously go back to The Paragon - their bacon is some of the best in the city, their portions are HUGE and their food is just plain yummy. How can you argue with this:

Eggs Benedict - a personal favorite of ours

The "Scramble Special" - Jalapenos, bacon, tomatoes and onions

Dinner tends to be a little bit more on the spendy side, but The Paragon is a great date night destination - the atmosphere is a little swanky, they have great drinks and there's live music five days a week. (Plus, the bread you get before your meal is to.die.for! It is warm and melty with a little Asiago cheese inside).

The Paragon even just revamped their happy hour, which they're calling Tini Time. Classic martinis such as a Lemon Drop or Cosmopolitan are only $5, and their food menu boasts $7 treats such as fried green tomatoes, beef short ribs, Mongolian chicken, corn fritters and calamari. We'll be checking out happy hour soon - it's our goal to try out new spots, but we like to support the local spots too!
Final Verdict: Most definitely go back! We already have!
Where: The Paragon
2125 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 283-4548
Web site
Category:
New American
Neighborhood: Upper Queen Anne
Atmosphere: Swanky casual
Price range: Dinner: $13-24. Breakfast: $9-15
Service: It tends to be a little slow. Don't go starving for breakfast! Each time we have kinda waited around a long time for our breakfast to be served, but we still think it's worth it!
Cool features: Live music five days a week!
 
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