We headed out for lunch at Rawbert’s Organic Garden Cafe.

We both weren’t really sure what to expect at this cafe, but we knew that it was a mix of raw and organic cuisine using dehydrators and low-heat ‘cooking’ in order to preserve the food’s enzymes.    I knew that this place was perfect for me and after looking at the menu, we were both pleasantly surprised!

Everything on the menu sounded delicious, it was a really hard decision as to what we should get.  So, we went all out and got a bunch of stuff!

Brant immediately browsed the organic beer selection, while I went straight to the juice menu.

This gorgeous drink was a mix of Apple, Carrot, Celery and Beets.  It has been awhile since I have had a fresh squeezed juice and this was awesome.  Time to start making that at home again!

For our appetizer, we decided on Kale Chips.

These delicious and crunchy kale ‘chips’ were dehydrated with cheesy sunflower and red pepper dressing (website).

For lunch, I had the Thai Spice Wrap.

A lavash filled with sunseed croquettes and bean sprouts with an almond butter sauce and sweet chili date sauce (website).

It was awesome.  So flavorful, and the sunseed croquettes were perfect.  They almost tasted like an un-fried falafel.

Brant ordered the Monk Bowl, which was so interesting to both of us…and SO good!

From their website:

As the tradition goes, Monks make their rounds once daily before noon for alms of food
offerings from householders. Living on the charity of others, they can focus all of their
energy on spiritual development. With their bowl in hand they gratefully accept what
is given. In keeping with this tradition, you may accept our daily monk’s bowl special.

Lettuce, choice of brown rice, quinoa or bean sprouts, and a choice of topping.
Our toppings include a choice of either gaucamole, avocado, sunseed burger,
portobello burger, or falafel. Covered in a soup d’ jour.

He decided on lettuce and brown rice topped with corn chowder, veggies and pumpkin seeds.  The soup acts as the sauce, which is delicious.  Definitely something to be recreated at home.

We had such a great meal, but couldn’t leave without trying some of their raw desserts.  They were, in fact, why I wanted to try out this restaurant in the first place!

Tirimisu

Apple Pie

Holy moly!  Both desserts were absolutely delicious!  The tirimisu was a special, but I am dying to know what it was made out of.  It was better than a ‘real’ tirimisu…creamy and delicious.  The apple pie was their exotic take on an American classic made fresh with organic native apples, apricots, raisins, ginger and spices, set in our walnut/pecan cinnamon crust (website).  It had so much flavor.

Both desserts were so good, but so rich and delicious that we basically had to be rolled out of the cafe!

The atmosphere inside was great too.  It’s a small restaurant with table service, but they move people in and out pretty quickly.  We arrived about 1:30pm on a Saturday and got a table right away, even though it was pretty full!

We would go back to Rawbert’s in a second…especially for the desserts!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before heading the the airport, we had some breakfast and checked out the famous Eastern Market which features a flea market, farmer’s market and craft fair!

Breakfast was first..at Le Pain Quotidien.

The restaurant is all over the world in various countries, including the USA.  I have been to the NYC location before, so I was excited to see it directly across from our hotel.

They use all local and sustainable ingredients in their meals.

Everything on the menu looked great, but I decided on the Harvest Porridge and some toast.

Farro with almond milk, cranberries, mixed nuts and garnished with strawberries.

And, a side of toast with their amazing hazelnut spread and jam!

A bit later, I ordered a Hot Chocolate while waiting for others to finish up breakfast.

Oh my gosh!  Delicious!

My hot chocolate was served as a cup of steamed organic milk and a side of melted chocolate.

I poured in the chocolate to get the best hot chocolate yet!

Once we were fueled for the day, we headed to Eastern Market.

If you haven’t noticed recently, my favorite thing to do while travelling is to check out the local farmer’s markets.

This one had a variety of produce.

And, holiday vendors.

We strolled through the neighborhood eyeing the adorable houses.

And, our view of the Capital.

And like that, I was off to catch my flight…

It was a wonderful few days in Washington DC!

Don’t mind the half eaten cake!  We forgot to snap photos before digging in.   It was delicious chocolate cake (my favorite!) from Party Favors!  Yum.

We celebrated with a low-key weekend with family.  It was great!

On Saturday morning, Brant took me out for breakfast to The Friendly Toast in Cambridge.

(Source)

I loved the atmosphere of this old school diner and the very extensive menu!

I started with a coconut hot chocolate.

And, ordered the Huevos Rancheros for my meal.  It was delicious!  A thick slice of anadama bread with avocado, poached eggs, melted cheddar and homemade salsa.

Brant ordered the Mexican Mash, which also looked great!  Mashed potatoes, eggs and sausage with cheddar chipotle toast.  Yum!

We will definitely be back for the laid back atmosphere, the great prices and the amazing milkshakes I heard about.

The Reading Terminal Market was huge!  It is filled with vegetables, crafts, places to eat, etc.  I loved all of the fresh produce.

Baby Apples!

Cactus fruit?!

Peppers

Honey!!

After checking everything out, we stopped for lunch – I had a falafel wrap and a fresh squeezed juice!

Yum!

Then, we stumbled on this Magic House which took 15+ years for the designer to complete.

It was all made of tiles, stone, bottles, etc.

And, then hit up Max Brenner’s Chocolate Restaurant for dinner and dessert.   The best part of the meal was the Spicy Hot Chocolate I had fordessert…served in a Hug Mug to keep you toasty.

Delicious!

Tilth is set in an adorable little house right on the main street of the neighborhood.

The goal at Tilth is to serve all local and organic ingredients to their customers.  And, they did a phenomenal job!  This was by far our favorite meal on our vacation (with Farm to Fork coming in a very close 2nd for me. ).

Everything was local and organic!  I loved it!

The food was so fresh everywhere that we ate in the Pacific Northwest, that honestly, it is hard to come back to the East Coast and be excited about a dinner menu!  Time for a lot of cooking in my own kitchen.

Anyways, back to our dinner…I won’t describe each course because they were all the best I have ever had!  So, just remember that when you see the pictures.

They started us with a cold carrot soup, compliments of the chef.

Next up, we split two appetizers:

Chilled Billy’s Gardens Tomato Soup  basil/grilled cheese sandwich/heirloom tomato

Full Circle Farm lettuces  lemon cucumber/rogue river blue cheese/ mustard vinaigrette

For my entree, I decided on a homemade pasta.

House Made Pappardelle  fava bean/walla walla onion/sous vide egg

Brant ordered a beef special for his entree, which I forgot to photograph!

On to dessert:

White Corn Crème Brulée with candied bacon

Yes, you saw that right – candied bacon!

This meal was unbelievable!  It was the perfect place for an anniversary dinner.  The atmosphere was wonderful, the meal was delicious and the service was superb.  It you are ever in Seattle, definitely try it out.  You will not be disappointed, I promise.

Before dinner, we checked out the Fremont Troll who lives under the bridge.

He is crushing a real VW Bug!  That’s how big he is!

On Friday, we headed straight to the Olympic Sculpture Park.

The park was situated right on the water, in front of Myrtle Edwards Park, which had great running/walking/biking trails and views of the Puget Sound.

The sculptures were scattered throughout the park, some larger than others.  Many of the pieces of art were a little too modern for my tastes, but it was still awesome to be exploring all of this art right in a park!

This enormous sculpture was one of my favorites.

And this, was not really art in my mind…

Tha famous red eagle.

And, a few other highlights.

After the park, we headed on to do more touristy stuff!  We rode to the top of the Space Needle, Seattle’s landmark!

Even though it was a cloudy day and we could not see the mountains in the distance, the views of the city from the Needle were 100% worth the trip up!

We enjoyed the views for a while, then headed back down to hit up Homegrown for lunch!

Homegrown has a few locations in Seattle, we headed to the Fremont location.  We went there when we first got to Seattle and I knew that I had to go back.  They use all local and sustainable ingredients.  Check out the theory from their website:

Our goal at Homegrown is not only to create sandwiches out of sustainable ingredients but also to make sandwich creation sustainable itself.

This goes beyond using fresh, sustainable ingredients in our gourmet sandwiches, salads and soups. Homegrown strives for sustainability as a local business through the green materials we print and serve on, to our rejection of bottled water, to our 100% compostable and recyclable product.

We consider our environmental impact for every ingredient choice, often between two competing theories: eating organic and eating local.

We take the best from both worlds to create our sustainable sandwiches. We like to call this sandwich environmentalism. Enjoy.

They list where their ingredients come from right on the wall!

Their menu is different and they offer a variety of vegetarian options!  But, also offer meat options that my husband was psyched about!  The best of both worlds.

I ordered The Veggie, which was unbelievable, along with a side of their homemade chips.

The Veggie – hummus, avocado, cucumber, sprouts and tomato served cold on toasted french or wholegrain

All of my favorites in one spot!

Check out how fresh those ingredients look.  Mmmm…Homegrown was my favorite sandwich shop, for sure!

After lunch, we headed down the street for a Chocolate Tour!!  More on that to come.

Did you know that over 90% of hazelnuts are grown in Oregon?  I had no idea!  But, once I saw them on every menu, I knew that I have to bring some home.

Back in Seattle, we opted to stay in a different area for this half of our stay – Seattle Center.  After being in the car for 3+ hours, we needed a walk!  So, we walked around the center, which is home of the Space Needle, Monorail and Fountain built for the World’s Fair in 1962 (?).

Walking around Seattle Center reminds me of a carnival!  There are carnival games, like skiball.  There are video games.  There are popcorn carts.

And, there is the Space Needle, which is actually pretty cool!

That night, we headed to The Triple Door for dinner and a concert.  The Triple Door is a fun music venue that serves food from Wild Ginger upstairs, a delicious Seattle restaurant.

The tables are big booths that you can relax in while you eat, drink and watch the concert.

We decided on 3 plates to share – Orange Chicken, Seven Spice Beef and Vegetable Pad Thai.

The show was very fun!  I loved eating dinner while watching a concert.

We jumped on the Monorail to get back to Seattle Center after the show.

We walked back to the hotel with a view of the Space Needle at night!

We started out by exploring the Pearl District and all of it’s loft’s, cafe’s and boutique’s.  And, stopped by Powell’s bookstore, which takes up an entire city block!

After visiting with some family, we hit up another trendy area – North Mississippi Ave.  This street is lined with shops, cafe’s and food carts!

Food carts are a big part of Portland’s food scene.  They are not like any cart’s I’ve seen, but instead, they serve a bit higher end food.  They were all packed!

I decided on something sweet and hit up The Sugar food cart for a brownie sundae!

They had quite the menu for a food cart.

All of the sweets were handmade and everything else used was local.

After some more exploring and hitting up a local farmer’s market, it was time for Brant’s treat – a brewery tasting at Rouge!

As I mentioned before, Portland is known for their brewpubs, so this was a must-stop on our list.

We went with a sampler to make sure we tried a variety.

Verdict?  Everything was pretty good!

We hit up Meriwether’s in NW Portland for an early dinner before meeting some family at a swanky wine bar!

They use only local ingredients, many of which are grown in their garden.

We started with a sampler plate – risotto fritters, lamb meatballs, chickpea fries, tomato ricotta toast and gorgonzola stuffed dates.

And, a salad with ingredients solely from their garden.

For my entree, I chose a homemade pasta dish with mushrooms, tomatoes and Parmesan.

Brant went with the crab risotto.

We had a great time exploring Portland!

Situated in the lobby of the Inn at Red Hills, you would almost never know this gem was here!  Dundee, OR does not have too many restaurants, but the ones that they do have are apparently all very good.

They pride themselves on serving only local and seasonal ingredients.  The menu changes daily in order to accommodate those needs.  Every ingredient that they use comes from very close by.  Some, like the hazelnuts, come from a farm less than .5 miles away!

The decor of the restaurant is very fun.  They have a bar in the back with lower tables surrounding a fire place.  In the main dining area, all of the tables are antiques and are slightly different.  In the front of the restaurant they sell many of the local products that they use, as well as, local jams, dried fruits, nuts, etc.  I love the vibe!

I started our with the seasonal salad.  Simington Farms Mixed Lettuces with House Vinaigrette, Toasted Hazelnuts, Herbed Chevre Crouton.

Brant started with the special salad of the day – Tomato Salad with Homemade Mozzarella.

For my entree, I decided on the pasta when I found out it was homemade pasta!  Tagliatelle with tomatoes, corn, basil and parmigiana cheese.

For dessert, we split the Chocolate Pudding with peanut brittle and the Blueberry-Orange Sorbet with biscotti.

Our dinner was phenomenal!  The food was simple and as fresh as you could get.  Why can’t we have places like this in Boston?!

We arrived in Dundee, Oregon around noon-time, grabbed a quick lunch at a Mexican restaurant and spent the afternoon wine tasting in the Willamette Valley.  It was wonderful!  The Willamette Valley is known for their Pinot Noir grapes, so we made sure to try the majority of those.

We started at Argyle, right on the main drag in Dundee.

Argyle is known for their sparkling wines, so they offered a tasting that combined everything.

Their sparkling and dessert wines were delicious, but we didn’t love any of the Pinot’s.

After finishing our tasting, we headed up the road to our favorite vineyard – Sokol Blosser.

The views of the vineyards were stunning!

The vineyard was started by a husband and wife team in 1977, who purchased 87 acres for their grapes.  They have different sections that grow different types of grapes and produce a variety of wines.

We really enjoyed their wines, especially the Pinot Noir.

Not only was their wine great, but they add small touches to the bottles that I loved!

Next up on our list was Erath Winery.

The views from this winery were also just gorgeous!  There is so much land out here that the vineyards just go for miles and miles.

Their wines were good, but we still liked Sokol Blosser better.  Just more our style.