Lara Ferroni Photography

I miss my kitchen. I’ve been working on a restaurant project now that continues through the next month, and eating out almost every night has been a requirement. And the meals, in order to get a good sampling of the menu, have been big, necessitating not only some sort of daily exercise but doing what I can to avoid consuming calories in other meals. Which is why it’s a bit funny that today, when I could have made something small at home for lunch, I chose to go out.

See, my daughter and I have a pact. Whenever she has time off from school (and she has the week off for President’s week), we must make time in the day and room in our stomach’s for a trip to Sitka & Spruce for lunch. We share three of their daily selections… almost always a soup, a salad and something meaty, and I sip away at an expertly pulled latte while the dishes are being prepared. We talk about food, and how fortunate she is to get to join me and how unfortunate it is on a more normal basis she knows what she is missing. And, almost always, I sit and lament that yet again, I’ve forgotten to bring my camera and capture a few of these bites in the beautiful light that illuminates the tiny space. It has become a family tradition, and one that we both have grown to love.

Ah, but today! Today, I remembered my camera. So, while you don’t get a recipe, you do at least get some shots of the cafe that I drive everyone nuts with, going on and on (and on) about how truly wonderful it is. I sometimes think that people I tell think someone is paying me to rave, or perhaps that I have some stake in the business. But, no. I am just a Sitka and Spruce zealot. And, I have spoiled my daughter to be one as well.

Today’s meal consisted of a heavenly chowdah with a super light citrus-scented cream, a melange of seafood and freshly crisped croutons; a sinfully buttery white bean salad with a wonderfully mild cured tuna; and a bucatini with a meaty ragù topped with a finely shredded parmesan. Everything, as usual, unbelievably delicious.

Finger’s crossed that I can whip up a little something-something in the kitchen tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: About Me, Coffee, espresso, Food, Latte, Photography, Restaurant, Seattle, Tips