The Herbfarm is a Seattle treasure — just a few miles from our doorstep, they serve spectacular dinners featuring local ingredients and starring luscious herbs. Amanda and I have had the pleasure of dining there each year we’ve been married (I, II, III) and each visit has been a new revelation to our tastebuds. We’ve never had food so lovingly prepared.
For my 28th birthday, we gathered a few friends together and shared dinner during Herbfarm’s “A Mycologist’s Dream” theme, featuring wild mushrooms foraged from the Pacific Northwest.
I was overwhelmed by the flavors, textures, and aromas coaxed out of each dish by Chef Luce and crew… matsutake mushrooms, duck tongues, black truffle ice cream, douglas fir, and madrona tree bark tea all danced on our tastebuds.
Herbfarm’s wine pairings are consistently excellent, but this evening held a particularly special treat — a glass of Madeira from 1795! According to the sommelier, our wine was produced in the fall of 1795 (while George Washington was president), stored in casks for ~100 years, then bottled. This particular bottle found its way to the Queen’s castle in Scotland, where it was forgotten about until recently — when it came up for auction and was purchased by the Herbfarm’s own Ron Zimmerman. It’s served in fractions of an ounce (!), so when it’s gone it’s gone — and we leapt at the opportunity.
Words can’t do it justice, so I won’t try to describe the spicy, rich flavor of the Madeira… it was outstanding.
We were also delighted to discover via Twitter that Ron himself took the time to make special placecards for us!
The six hours that we spent laughing and dining under the staff’s gentle care was nothing less than the perfect birthday dinner.
I can’t recommend Herbfarm highly enough… go read about the restaurant, choose a theme that excites your palate, and have the best dining experience of your life. It’s worth every penny.
