Face-Packing...With Class

On Thursday night, I had the pleasure of joining some friends of mine on a dining adventure known as The Herbfarm. This restaurant, actually more of an experience, is famous throughout the Pacific Northwest for its culinary excellence. They only use ingredients from the region and everything is fresh and organic. Although I've lived in Seattle for almost ten years now, I had never visited The Herbfarm so I figured what better opportunity than to see what all the fuss was about.

Now my good friend Tony Chor (see Tony's Blog) and I have known each other since my early days in Seattle and one of our favorite things to do is eat. In fact, we had once started an eating club at work (E.A.T. - the East Asian Tong) which involved feeding our faces a lunch. Going to The Herbfarm with Tony would be a treat because foodies enjoy the company of other foodies and it makes a meal sooooo much better. I couldn't wait! The meal would be a 9-course affair complete with wine pairings and of course, ambience.

I arrived at the restaurant just in time to take part in the Fireplace chat. Here, one of the proprietors talked about the restaurant's history (it began as a restaurant in a tractor shed) and showed us some of the herbs that would grace our meal that evening. We were then seated and thus began the face-packing.

Course One: We started with an herb-infused champagne - a 1999 Argyle Brut. I chose lemon verbena to enhance my tastebuds. Our beverage was quickly followed by a triumverate of appetizers:

• Smoked Sturgeon and Sorrel Benedict - a dainty play on the traditional eggs benedict with a tiny quail egg smothered with a light mushroom sauce and placed over the sturgeon and a thick biscuit (mmmm...)
• Montana Paddlefish Caviar on Salsify Flan - the salsify root was made into a thick custard on which a spoonfool of flavorful caviar was placed (yummy...)
• Shrimp with Burdock and Carrot Sauce - - two perfectly, and I mean perfectly, cooked spotted shrimp paired with stewed burdock root and draped in a sweet carrot sauce which enhanced the shrimps' flavor (uber-yum, my favorite)

After this enticing taste of food, the service was broken by a very long, drawn-out description of what the rest of our meal would consist of, including the perfect wine pairings. I would have been more excited if they just kept the food coming. The talk would have been more entertaining if the proprietor would have stopped talking to the spot on the floor - I don't think he looked up once, except during a nervous hesitation. If he rubbed his hands together more vigorously, he would have shed a layer of skin. Considering this man does this every night during the dinner, his delivery sucked. Get on with the meal already!

Course Two: This was my favorite course of the evening - the one I'd ask for a "do-over" at the end of the night. It was the Dungeness Crab Handkercheif laced with Oregon White Truffle butter. The big hunks of crab were placed inside this very delicate handmade pasta and drizzled with the flavorful butter. After two hankies, I wanted more. Absolutely deliciously paired with a 2003 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Chardonnay, "Arthur".

Course Three: About 20 minutes later, the Rabbit Crepinette arrived with Savoy Cabbage, Poached Prunes, and Glazed Shallots. This was a really different taste from the previous course. The rabbit was stuffed into a sausage-like crepinette and served with a few slices of tender pork loin. The pork was awesome, not over-seasoned and a nice accompaniment to the rich rabbit. The sweetness of the prunes, cabbage and shallots added all the flavor. The only downside to this course was the pairing of 2003 Poet's Leap Riesling. It was far too sweet a wine for this course and it would have been better used as a dessert wine.

Course Four: We waited a loooong time for the next dish. Maybe it just felt that way because it was the most eagerly anticipated dish at the table. But when the 2001 Domaine Serene Pinot Noir, Evenstad Reserve arrived, we knew the evilness which is foie gras was just around the corner. Sure enough the Seared Duck Foie Gras decorated with Sweet Potato Latkes, Roasted Quince and Blackberry Sauce did not disappoint. There's something a little wrong with eating an ounce of pure fat. But that didn't stop us from devouring it with vigor. Since Michelle did not like foie gras (she said it was like eating a big tablespoon of mayonnaise), Tony and I got to split the piece of artery clogging delight. Aaahhhh...

Sidenote: The original Herbfarm was burned down due to an electrical fire. This new location was designed to embody that country ambience. The high ceiling and wooden beams are a nice touch, as is the open kitchen. However, there's something to say about the actual color and decor - that something would be "ewwwww". I'm thinking that the Old Country Roses pattern barfed in here. A little more country and my dinner would be ruined. There's a weird combination of roccoco art and baroque gold-guilded frames and modern water colors. The patterns upon patterns gives me a headache so I try to focus my attention on the people around me and the food. Michelle and I laughed that MTV should come here and run an episode of "Pimp My Barn".

Course Five: Okay, this was the biggest bummer of the night. Before our main course (the previous four didn't really count), the Douglas Fir Sorbet was served to cleanse our palette. And it was the surprising delight of the evening. I was expecting to taste something equivalent to a snow-cone drizzled with Pine-Sol, but I was pleasantly taken aback by this delectable snowball of yumminess. Problem? The thing was about the size of a postage stamp. It took a very, very small spoon to make this more than one mouthful. It looked very lonely huddled in the middle of a dessert plate. Now, I know with the other dishes, the richness of each demanded a smaller calibration, but this was water, sugar, and essence of tree, we could surely have more than a dollap!

Course Six: This was the main course of the evening - a Rib Eye of Wagyo Beef with Truffled Leakes, Boletus Bread Pudding, and Chard Gratin. The four thin slices of beef were incredibly tender and literally melted in your mouth. Supposedly it's the same caliber as kobe beef. The accompanying bites were also great - chard is one of my favorite greens and when you add cheese it just gets that much better! The 2000 Buty Winery Cabernet Franc-Merlot from Woodward Canyon Vineyard, Walla Wall was robust and made my mouth tingle. I preferred the subtlety of the earlier pinot noir, but thought the boldness complemented the meat very well.

Sidenote: our table has started to heckle the poor classical guitar player. He's very good and his playing has definitely added to the dining atmosphere. However, I'm sure there's only so much music the man knows how to play - does he really know 6 hours of music? Case in point, he's started to repeat songs. We've begun daring each other to request Stairway to Heaven or Freebird. How funny would that be?

Course Seven: You can't go wrong with cheese. And when the cheese is made from the milking of one over-worked cow, it has to be good. Sally Jackson Guernesy Cow Cheese was wrapped in chestnut leaves and served with a light and flaky Tart Cherry Turnover. The cheese was wonderful! It was mild and creamy with the consistency of a firm brie. The pale yellow color probably indicated that this was a happy cow which only ate fresh grass its entire life. The turnover was very good, not too sweet, and bursting with the stewed cherries hidden inside.

Course Eight: Well, we're almost done and it's been four hours since we first sat down. I didn't know if I had room for dessert but I just couldn't say no to these three samples of sweetness:

• Huckleberry Cobbler with Rose Geranium Ice Cream - I was first introduced to Huckleberries in Hood River, Oregon and have loved them since. This was a tart cobbler that had more bite than the earlier cherry turnover, but was mellowed out by the refreshing ice cream.
• Caramelized Pear and Chocolate Chip Souffle - Served in a tiny tea cup, we were encouraged to smother this with creme anglais. It was good but not what I expected. The taste of pear was completely obliterated and the souffle was a bit too goopy.
• Chocolate Pave with Currant-Armagnac Ice Cream (my favorite) - I loved this combination of chocolate and fruit, especially tangy ones. The thick pave added structure and a nice texture for the ice cream. A little 2" x 2" piece of heaven.

Course Nine: Well, we're at the end of this five-and-a-half hour marathon dinner. I'm so tired I could fall asleep in my coffee. But I summon up the courage to complete the task. A selection of three coffees and six teas were offered to us. A small tray of sweet treats were left on the table and the crowning touch - Intage 1916 Barbeito Malvazia Madeira was supplied. Supposedly these madeiras are so rare that an ounce is worth its weight in gold. Shots all around!! I've never drunk anything 88 years old before and it was...well...raisin-y. No other way to put it. I'm sure I'm just lacking the refined palatte to appreciate it, but after eight courses of food, five wines and coffee, I can't taste anything anymore...and I'm going to have to roll myself home.

All I can say is WOW. I've never eaten so well. Never has a face-pack session been so classy. When I got home that night (at almost 1am) I couldn't sleep. I suppose I could have just held my stomach and moaned for a while. I just sat there dumb-founded. I don't know if it was because I was so full, or whether I was playing all those dishes back in my mind again. Whatever caused my stupor it lingered into the next morning. I was still full at 7am. I spent the morning walking around the office, up-and-down the stairs and around the building. God forbid if I ran that morning - I think I would have passed out. That foie gras could have easily spun out and clogged an artery. I spent the day fasting and imbibing enough green tea to flood a small room. I'm so glad Tony invited me on this food journey, but it's also a good thing this isn't the kind of thing one does frequently. But I'm sure I'll get this out of my system before spring...hmmm...