Bucket List

I turned 34 this year and apparently this was the magic number to make me start freaking out about my age. I've done a few things to combat this, including joining the office diet bet and upgrading my face cream, but the best was starting up a practical bucket list.


Fortunately, Jenny and I already jumped out of an airplane, so I've got this one checked off.

Practical bucket list you ask? I didn't want it to be loaded up with too many things that I can't do this year, so I have it divided up by short, near and long term things. SO I've got the obligatory qualify for and run the Boston Marathon as well as see Machu Picchu at sunrise on the long term list, but I also had a bunch of simple stuff like parks i'd like to visit, plants i'd like to buy, and like any good foodie: restaurants i'd like to eat in! Happily, I have excelled at this last one and quickly checked off quite a few of these from the bucket list.

First was Teatro Zinzanni - we spent a lovely evening there with my brother and his girlfriend. I swooned over the vertical tango, laughed my way through the drag comedy routine, and savored the delicious four course meal. The parsnip soup and herbed spaztle were particularly good. If I were going to go here again though, I would skip the wine flight as it came at odd times, was not very good quality for the price, and I really didn't want any with dessert. Check out www.goldstar.com for last minute deals.

Next up, Restaurant Week at Canlis! What a delight! Long have I wanted to visit this Seattle institution. We got a window table and superb service. They really treat you like royalty there. My favorite were the amuse bouche items that come along before dinner and after dessert. The tiny almond cake blew my mind. As delightful as the meal was, what really stands out to me was the attentiveness of the staff and how small portions of very rich food can be so satisfying. The wine flight here was also out of this world. But you should see the wine list they choose from, it's like a giant phone book.

Maybe the best yet? Preservation Kitchen. This place catches your eye from the road as it's in a historic home once owned by a former Mayor of Bothell. They focus on seasonal northwest cuisine and had unique ingredients like popcorn shoots, which are the seedling of a corn stalk - like a slightly sweet microgreen. We started off with onion gnocchi to share, absolutely decadent and then I double starched (day off from diet bet) it with the supremely delicious mushroom marsala risotto topped with local asparagus. It was so good that I took painstakingly small bites to make it last longer. We were also able to couple this with a trip to the Yakima Fruit Stand next door, which also has caught my eye from the road for some time. They appeared to have great prices on vegetables etc, but what drew me in were the plants. I couldn't resist the tomato plants and tiger lilies :)

So yeah - a great month for the bucket restaurant list and I will have more to report soon, charlie and i have a few more plans made that will satisfy list items including a hike and trip to the farmer's market. Lovely!