Dinner with Dinosaurs!

Dinner with Dinosaurs...what is that?

Kirk had gave me a couple hints on Sunday of a special date he had planned. The hints were dinosaurs, a picture of a farm, and a picture of my herb pots. I must admit dinosaurs threw me off, but the other clues helped give it away. We were going to the Herbfarm! We had gone once over a year ago for their mushroom dinner, and loved it, but for being so pricey it really is a special experience that you can't have regularly. Kirk follows the Herbfarm through Facebook, and they had a little contest where they posted a picture of a dinosaur, and whoever got it correct first won a free dinner, and well ladies and gentlemen, my husband knows his dinosaurs!

The Dinner with Dinosaurs was a play on a fantasia of modern fowl. I never usually order fowl at a restaurant, since it is so easy to overcook, so I was pretty excited to try some fancy AAA 5-Diamond version of modern fowl.

The Herbfarm and I share beliefs that no dish can be better than its ingredients, and the best ingredients are usually local. And that supporting local farmers, foragers, cheesemakers, wineries, and fishermen, it helps preserve local food.

 We were greeted with house made strawberry basil soda, than headed upstairs to get a preview of the dining room, and look around their chef's library. FILLED with amazing cook books. Someday I will have to figure out my own little library. I could seriously spend hours looking through the pages!

Pre-garden tour, Kirk and I spent some time cheesin' it up in their lovely wine cellar

Garden tour was so beautiful, and such an inspiration to new gardeners. Hmm.. maybe that's what gave me the final push to get the move on my garden..

We had front row seats! I was in heaven. In the background, that's Sous Chef, Ben Smart. Ben was a former geologist who ended up going to culinary school so he could make his passion his work. If that's not rad, than I don't know what is. Seriously - DO WHAT YOU LOVE!

First Course, The Early Bird: Dungeness Crab Salad with Dill and Deep-Fried Egg Yolk

First Course, The Early Bird: Mille-Feuille of Boletus, Egg, House-Cured Berkshire Pig Prosciutto, Fried Quail Egg, and Marjoram Bechamel

First Course, The Early Bird: This Morning's Eff Soft Scrambled, Whipped Big-Leaf Maple Creme Fraiche, Smoked Quinault Indian Steelhead Roe, and Chives

Second Course, Poached Poussin: Poached Breast of Bernie Nash Poussin, Artichoke Heart, Pearl Onions, Poached Leek, Crispy Artichoke Chips, Lemon Thyme Sauce & Chervil. This course was my favorite, the sauce was heavenly!

Third Course, Squab Goes Round & Round: Wood Grill Rotisserie Squab with Chili, Garlic, Clove, and Basil, English Peas, Pickled Red Onion, and San Juan Island Spot Prawn Sauce. This was Kirk's favorite dish.

Fourth Course, Poulet a la Presse: Crown S Ranch Pastured Chicken Presse, Wild Morels, Lardons, Roasted Radish, Just-Dug New Poatoes, English Thyme, Whole Bird Broth (poured table side)

Fifth Course, A Moulard: Pan-Roasted Moulard Duck Breast with Greek Oregano Crust, Cracked Grain, Caramelized Kohlrabi, Cavolo Nero, Sorrel Drops, Black Currant Sauce

Sixth Course, Fat of the Land: Terrine of Puyallup Duck Foie Gras with Black Pepper Shortbread, Rhubarb, Ripe & Green Pickled Strawberries, Rosemary Balsamico *I will side note this and say I am not, and will never be a foie gras fan, I HATE the mouth feel. However, the rosemary balsamico was amazing :)

Seventh Course, Raspberry Flattery: Sorbet of Dinkum Raspberries, English Lavender Gelee, Spearminted White Chocolate, Raspberry Cream, Raspberry Pearls

Eighth Course, Back to the Nest: Ancient Heritage Camembert Panna Cotta Eff with Apricot-Anise Hyssop Yolk, Phyllo Nest, Duck Fat Crumble, and Bing, Montmorency, & Rainer Cherries

The menu was awesome, and we had a really great time, and our taste buds and palettes were pretty darn happy.

Oh man, one last picture. These are the Herbfarm's two little pigs named Borage and Basil. Anytime during dinner you can let your server know you want to feed them, and they will prep a fun little veggie basket. They are darling, and Kirk almost convinced me we should get a pig..almost.

The Herbfarm is an incredible experience. If you make the commitment to go, go for a menu with some pizzazz! They do a potato menu that I am sure is delicious, but if you are going to spend the dollars, you might want to go for a very unique menu to get the entire Herbfarm experience!

xo