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Secrets and Surprises from Our Corner of the World
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You know spring has sprung when you see ramps on a menu, am I right? O.K., so it's not your every day ingredient, nor would you expect to find it on a menu of a restaurant called Public House 124 unless it was deep fried and served with ranch dressing. But there they were. Pickled ramps perched atop grilled gulf prawns, with a romesco sauce worthy if its Tarragona, Spain roots. I was trying to give up carbs, but it was absolutely necessary that I slop up the remaining sauce with a grilled baguette. You could be arrested in some countries for not. Back to the ramps. This onion, similar in appearance to a scallion, adds a sweet and sour tang to a dish, and it's the kind of accouterment that makes the food at Public House un-pub-like.
Don't get me wrong - you can still get a burger here. But it will be made with killer Blue Valley ground beef, bacon (don't get me started - did you see last month's blog?), cheddar and aioli - Public House served 824 of them in their opening month.
The truffle fries should be called yuppie crack. ...
Posted by: Kirsten Telander in Food, Business on
Apr 12, 2012
 This was legendary fashion editor Polly Mellen's response to Angelica Houston's overdone, ostentatious jewelry at the Oscars a number of years ago. Clearly Michelle Adams and her partner Michelle Giannunzio channeled this when naming their breakfast spot simply Bacon & Eggs. Giannunzio, longtime chef, and Adams converted a downtrodden convenience store into a Dwell Magazine-meets-Saveur worthy breakfast joint. The atmosphere is simple and urban - waxed cement floors, recycled wood counters, and retro light fixtures serve as the backdrop to food that is farm-to-table fresh and straightforward. I had the Huevos Rancheros, which is a good example of B&E food that is simple, fresh and delicious. The dish was the opposite of tortillas floating in an ocean of canned ranchero sauce, eggs barely visible from the surface as if lost at sea. Being a savory gal, I also had a good look at the Chorizo con Huevos, which was refreshingly absent of dark pools of chorizo grease. My friend was feeling sassy pants that morning (she had just gotten a "promotion" - which is a foreign term to me) and ordered the Crab Cake Benedict and the Brioche French Toast. The Brioche was bathed in an orange-cinnamon batter before grilled perfectly, the result a divine texture combination: a wee crispy on the outside unfolding to light and fluffy yumminess. The restaurant didn't skimp on the syrup -Vermont maple.
Posted by: Andrew Holt in Food, Downtown, Business on
Mar 20, 2012
 Meet the Willy Wonka of Walla Walla . . . Paul Jenes, a mild mannered version of Roald Dahl's famous classic candy character. Although the University of Washington grad does not possess the flamboyance of Mr. Wonka, his passion for making life much sweeter for the world, and particularly the Walla Walla Valley, is just as evident.
Jenes is the proud owner of Bright's Candies, which he transformed into an old-fashioned candy shop back in 2005 when he moved it to Main Street from its cubby-hole existence on 1st Avenue. When you meander through the doors of Bright's, you step back in time - a pleasant step - into the full service candy store one used to find on every main street of an America gone-bye, replete with a popcorn machine, spilling out buttered, cheese and the coveted caramel corn, the long glass case of freshly made chocolates, ranging from turtles to peanut clusters to wine filled cordials, the colorful wall of jelly beans, the swirling lollipop table, and every child's favorite - the candy making room that resides in full view, enabling youngsters to stare through the window as Paul Jenes works his magic, creating chocolate wonders as the rivers of chocolate pour out of the machine.
Not to be overlooked is the ice cream counter with the traditional offerings of Rocky Road, Chocolate Chip and Bubble Gum flavors. Families sit on the patio, licking their cones or drinking their shakes in the early summer evenings. Where is Normal Rockwell? He'd paint this scene in a heartbeat.
Posted by: Kirsten Telander in Food, Business on
Mar 15, 2012
Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen
 I wrote about Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen for Northwest Palate several years ago, and at the time, I thought Chef/Founder Chris Ainsworth was bonkers: In the course of a year, he had moved to Walla Walla, opened Saffron, then opened Pho Sho, got married, and bought a house. I waited for his reality-show-worthy meltdown. It didn't come. Instead, he saved his drama for the plate, and was named a semifinalist for a James Beard Foundation award (top chefs Northwest). Apparently bonkers is the new winning.
The laid-back Ainsworth was just named a semi-finalist for the fourth consecutive year, so it seemed only fitting to visit the restaurant for our inaugural Beyond Bread blog.
There is no host stand, so when you walk into Saffron, it's as if discovering a locals-only find in Marrakech. In fact, Ainsworth, who draws inspiration from his travels, recently returned from a trip to Morocco. The restaurant has remained small despite a full reservation book since opening. Despite its minimalism, the earthy green color on one wall and exposed brick on the other, custom woodwork, and star-shaped hanging lights keep the space warm and bistro-like. Old Champagne riddling racks serve as the table bases.
I sat at the chef's table - an intimate table for two that allows for an insider's view of the open kitchen. Tonight was chilly, and I welcomed a view of the fire in the wood oven, and the smoky aroma of mesquite from the grill.
Posted by: Andrew Holt in Wine, Business on
Jan 31, 2012
 Meet Chuck Reininger, passionate winemaker and passionate outdoorsman. Born and raised in Bellevue, Wash., Reininger calls the Walla Walla Valley home mainly due to his love of the outdoors, the region's spectacular geography and rich history. The former mountain climbing guide says all of this passion is reflected in his wine. Hence, nearly every vintage of Reininger Winery has been made solely from Walla Walla Valley fruit.
"I am proud of the Valley. I am proud of the Northwest," says Reininger. His adoration for the area is seen not only in his wine, but also in the winery's tasting room. Basalt columns from a local farm, created by the great flood thousands of years ago, serve as the wine pouring counter top. A grapevine weave serves as the bar's exquisite façade, and local barrel staves form its columns. The spacious tasting room is highlighted by wooden plank flooring, salvaged from the old potato sheds that now house the winery and tasting room (see photos below).
Elements of the Walla Walla Valley and the Pacific Northwest are apparent everywhere at Reininger.
When Chuck Reininger is not plying his trade as a winemaker or chatting with tasting room guests, you'll find him skiing down the steep face of a snow laden mountain, backpacking up a challenging trail, or out on his bike gliding through the Valley's rolling hills of wheat and vineyards. His steely frame, tanned face and agile movements all reflect a man who has spent his life actively immersed in Mother Nature and recreational sports.
Posted by: Andrew Holt in Food, Business on
Nov 08, 2011
 To say that Nimal Amarasinghe, Executive Chef of the South Fork Grill, is far from home is a grand understatement. The likeable head of the kitchen is some 15,000 miles from his native country of Sri Lanka. Yes, the small former British colony in Southeast Asia is where Chef Nimal spent his childhood, swimming with his friends in the ocean and playing cricket with bats constructed of coconut tree remnants.
Studious and ambitious, Nimal became a computer programmer and set his sights on climbing the tech corporate ladder, the idea of being a chef never entering his mind. He earned a scholarship to study Japanese for a year in Tokyo, in preparation for upper management - Japan was the main computer client of Sri Lanka. But that's where the story takes its turn.
To earn money, Nimal worked in a restaurant kitchen on weekends and soon found himself enraptured by the art of cooking. The chef showed Nimal a few basics and when the young student caught on quickly, he began to be a part of the cooking operation. When his year of study was over, Nimal decided to forgo his computer career and become a chef. By this time, he had gained fulltime work in the kitchen which began a six-year culinary stint in Japan.
During that time, Nimal became schooled in French, Korean and Japanese cuisine, becoming a valued member of several restaurant kitchen staffs. Yet, his aspirations were to receive an actual degree in culinary arts and also to someday master the art of baking. Those desires brought him to South Seattle Community College to study at its respected culinary school. While in the Emerald City, Nimal worked under critically acclaimed chef Thierry Rautureau at Rovers. There, he learned the nuances of French cooking. Ascension in the Seattle culinary world followed along with marriage to a pastry class colleague.
Posted by: Andrew Holt in Business on
Sep 20, 2011
 How would you like to drink the wine from the barrel you are sitting on? Sound impossible? Not in the eyes of Ian Crawford and Doug Gisi, co-owners of Vinoture, a thriving furniture company whose artistic and tasteful products are solely comprised of used wine barrels. As Crawford puts it, when sitting on a bar stool made by Vinoture, you are experiencing the full cycle of the Walla Walla wine process with all of the wood coming from local wineries. There is even a vintage Leonetti Cellar set - Walla Walla's most prestigious and first winery.
The ebullient Crawford and the soft spoken Gisi complement one another perfectly. Crawford exclaims, "I am the idea man. Doug is the engineer and artist. I also call him the ‘metal god,'" referring to Gisi's ability to transform barrel rings into sturdy furniture supports and artistic ornaments such as the silver orbs -- tasteful as indoor and outdoor decorations.
Sitting in the shop and listening to Crawford and Gisi talk, one senses an undeniable genuineness towards their "life's passion." Both are self-taught. Both took a tremendous chance on this endeavor, and both are obviously infatuated with the prospects of transforming wine barrels into sturdy, long lasting furniture.
Crawford, a native of Flathead Valley, Montana, was in the wedding planning business before launching into barrel furniture. After moving to Walla Walla in an effort to enhance his business, Crawford asked the talented Gisi to join him. Gisi whose day job was carpentry, accepted the offer. "Vinoture was a great business name," says the Walla Walla native. "It was a great concept, a great product, and great wood with wonderful patina - the possibilities are endless."
 I'm married to a librarian. From a young age, he found joy in organizing and reorganizing anything he could find, including his Matchbox cars and baseball cards. Especially his baseball cards. He had dozens of them, and now, at nearly 30, he has hundreds. He doesn't collect them for their monetary value; instead he collects them simply to be able to keep current with the cards he has, and to be able to better organize his teams. This same personality trait caused us to spend two hours one evening pulling all of our books off their shelves (we own a lot of them; we were both English majors in college), organizing them according to genre, and then alphabetically by the author's last name. We even started putting them into an online personal library program, and stopped just short of printing out our own Library of Congress labels to put on the book spines. That is why places like Earthlight Books, a used book shop at the east end of Main Street in Walla Walla, are dangerous places for us to visit. This shop is a popular haunt for many people I know; it practically whispers their name anytime they're near downtown, and, like a true magical entity, Earthlight Books is difficult to refuse.
 Last week my dad and I took my daughter the coolest house ever. One room is a party room with a big, butterfly-shaped table. Across the hall is a miniature Italian restaurant, stocked with cheese, pasta, vegetables, and every kitchen appliance imaginable (including an espresso machine). Next door is the veterinarian's office, where exotic animals like owls, toucans, seals, and even a dinosaur fill the cages next to cats, dogs, birds and lizards. Across the hall from that is the grocery store, complete with pint-sized shopping carts and functioning produce scales. Shelves and baskets host mounds of plastic pears, tomatoes, loaves of French bread, cans of tomato sauce, jars of pickles, and boxes of crackers. In two large rooms nearby is a large artificial tree you can get inside and peer out through a knot-hole, musical instruments, a dress-up stage where you can be on TV, a plethora of puppets, miniature tool benches, a painting corner, water tables where you can shovel sediment into islands to divert the "river," a "fishing" hole, miniature dams, and more. And I haven't even told you about the backyard yet. (It features playground equipment, an old fire truck, a huge wooden boat, and a place to build your own miniature log cabin.)
Posted by: Becky St. Clair in Food, Business on
Dec 15, 2010
 Ever wondered what an oak tree would taste like in a truffle? How about chili pepper? Mango citrus? Lavender? I'll be honest and say I never did, but the answers are delicious, strangely sweet, luscious and perfect, respectively. Just in case you were wondering.
With the cooler weather settling in as the official end of autumn acclimates us for a Walla Walla winter, many minds turn their thoughts to indoor activities. The Walla Walla Valley offers plenty of opportunities for outdoor entertainment in the warmer months - farmer's market, an aviary, the fair, multiple parks, a gorgeous Main street for perusing on foot - but when winter arrives, it's time to evaluate options for indoor diversions.
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