The Harvard Day in Review

No, you haven’t stumbled on the wrong blog. The title of tonight’s episode is in honor of my dear friend, Sheila, the Harvard graduate, with whom I got to spend a bit of the afternoon. A rare occasion because she lives in San Diego.

Why is this food-worthy? Well, we did meet for lunch. Originally intending to go to Serious Pie, Tom Douglas’s pizza restaurant, as we drove up First Avenue from Pioneer Square, we crept past the Seattle Art Museum and I was reminded of the wonderfully peaceful, tasty meals I’ve had there. So we amended our plans and ate lunch at Taste, the restaurant in the museum.

It was the quiet place we both needed. And the classy comfort food wasn’t bad, either. I had a burger and fries, which were very good, suitably messy, but nothing remarkable. The dipping sauce for the fries, however, I could eat by the gallon. Sheila had their take on grilled cheese and tomato soup, which looked and smelled delicious. According to her the soup was very flavorful and had a good body to it. It was a beautiful, deep red soup with flecks of herbs floating in the broth. The cheese in the sandwich looked wonderfully melty and pulled like it was mozzarella.

I had a nice glass of tempranillo with my burger and then had their Black and Tan ice cream sandwich for dessert. This was the most interesting part of the meal for me. It was an ale ice cream and a stout cookie with an herbaceous sugar syrup drizzled on the plate and a pool of mustard crème anglaise underneath the sandwich.

Mustard crème anglaise? What? Wait a minute. Yep. Those little things are mustard seeds.

The mustard flavor was subtle, but added an amazing dimension to the dish. And there were three little little salty, toothsome crackers in the corner of the plate.

So my dessert? Was beer and pretzels with mustard. Now that’s a creative dessert!

We ran a couple of errands and headed back to Elliott Bay Café where she was helping family and friends prep for a breast cancer fundraiser event tomorrow night.

It was a delightful afternoon topped off by just chatting while we buffed glassware for tomorrow night’s party. I am really looking forward to reading my new book, Tender, Chef Tamara Murphy’s cookbook. It looks beautiful and the recipes I’ve looked at sound delicious!!

Spending the afternoon with Sheila reminded me of a concept that is not new to anyone, but that I think we all forget sometimes. Food is best shared in the company of loved ones. Sitting around a communal table is one of the most pleasurable and intimate things we do as human beings.

It is a place of peace, of ideas, of joy. Even the saddest of occasions is lifted when people gather around to share a meal. It is humbling, it is equalizing. It can be an education, as it has been many times at the tables of my friends. I always learn to like new things when I eat food prepared by my friends.

So thank you, Sheila, for reminding me of one of the reasons I love to eat and cook. Because it is a place and a reason to bring together the people I love and spend quality time with them. Next time you’re in town, karaoke! We will make it happen!!