Ba Bar Breakfast

Breakfast in Seattle is a curious thing. Great breakfasts are few and far between. The places that are really great have 2 hour waits and are always clear across town. With my schedule it makes it hard for that scenario to work. 

There is a restaurant near us that has good food and even better pastries. What they were missing was breakfast. Not any more!! Their pastry chef invited me and Mr. Ramon to a friends and family breakfast to try out the new menu and offer feedback. Yes please!

Ba Bar is the creation of Sophie and Eric Banh. They grew up together eating street food in Saigon and that inspired Ba Bar. Their lunch and dinner menu are full of soups, noodles and delicious small plates. Karen their pastry chef makes a mean almond croissant! 

We showed up for breakfast with open minds and empty stomaches. Mr. Ramon had the - Eggs Benedict with Black Forest ham, housemade brioche, caramelized onion, hollandaise.

I could not resist the temptation of biscuits and gravy with poached eggs. 

I was really overwhelmed with the flavors of this meal. I can say it was probably one of my top 5 breakfasts of all time. So well seasoned with a depth that was unexpected. Love! 

The rest of the menu looks just as good. From omelette and granola to steak and eggs. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed my breakfast. I hope you get a chance to check it out soon!

Wandering Goose Seattle

Mr. Ramon and I popped in at the Wandering Goose on their first day open. This cosy spot in Seattle's North Capitol Hill is the work of Heather Earnhardt. Heather is many things and one of them is an amazing baker. I know her work well from Volunteer Park Cafe - she is one half of the talent that brought us this amazing gathering place full of meals to remember. 

I have never met Heather but think I would like too. I love what she is creating here. She seems to have had a rich life that really shows itself in the atmosphere and food at Wandering Goose. The space is small - no more than 30 seats. It fills quickly and has a buzz about it that feels like a family gathering. The tables are raw blonde wood and butt up against pews that line the walls. Every piece in the space feels found and useful. 

The bakery case is full of gorgeous rustic delights. On our visit we enjoyed the Plum Galette. A superb crust and the delicious fragrance of roasted plums with a hint of almond. We fought over every last bite. 

Who am I kidding though - we came for the biscuits. We just missed breakfast and chose two things of the menu to share. "The Easy" a classic egg, bacon biscuit sandwich and "The Sawmill" a  fried chicken biscuit sandwich with the road house gravy. Both of these left me totally satisfied in buttery, salty goodness. 

It was nice to see some familiar faces within the staff and the service was genuine and warm. Both Mr. Ramon and I look forward to making it early for breakfast and trying a few other things off the menu. If you have not had a chance to go yet - do. I know you will enjoy it as much as we did. 

Relax

It is the end of July already and I feel like summer is sliping away. Here in Seattle summer is short and unpredictable. Knowing that, people start booking their calendars way in advance which makes me feel like time is going by faster. Add that to working 6 days a week and always being on the go and about now I begin to get nervous that I am going to miss out on summer. 

I know - slow down, chill out and relax. Today I tried to do just that at least for a couple of hours. I asked my amazing friend Kalin if she would open the store for me today so I could have a couple of hours with Mr. Ramon. A friend of mine has an adorable store filled with refinished furniture, up cycled items and Etsy type finds called Persnickety's Awesomeness Emporium. I wanted to drag Mr. Ramon there to see if anything caught our eye for the house. 

The one room we are working on right now is the bedroom. Slowly but surely we are developing a theme. We found a nice pair of black bedside tables with mercury glass tops. For $40 for the pair I could not resist. 

To finish of our time together we decided to go to one of my favorite little spots in Seattle - Volunteer Park Cafe. Eating here in this bustling cafe always feels like home. Filled with community and conversation over local, fresh and delicious food. We showed up at 1:00pm this Saturday and breakfast was still being served along with lunch. A hard choice to make. 

Mr. Ramon started with a bowl of Matzo Soup. Delicious light broth with shredded chicken and tender carrots. The matzo ball was a "sinker" and dense and flavorful. A great soup for a summer lunch. 

I went for breakfast choosing a bacon egg panini with melted gruyere. Yum. 

This lunch left us ready for a nap. It was so nice to spend some quality time with Mr. Ramon on a summer day.