Penny Profiler #20

Jamie Peha.  Circa 1997 her title was Marketing Director to the Washington Wine Commission.  Mine, intern.  Back then the office was tiny and mighty – an accurate description of Jamie too!  That job and time with the WWC was pivotal for me and I really fell in love with the local wine industry and the people associated with it.  Jamie was, and still is today, a get-it-done kind of woman that isn’t afraid to get dirty as long as the job is done correctly.  Fast forward to 2008 where our paths reconnect to coordinate the annual Wine Rocks event.  Jamie is without a doubt the best large scale event planner I know.  See for yourself at www.pehapromo.com.   Our recent penny exchange was over a beverage to talk shop at Uptown Espresso.  Jamie and caffeine are a humorous combination.  Her satchel of coins and morning bravado were as expressive as the triple soy extra hot latte ordered at the counter.  I am indebted to her unwavering spirit and fervor.  You are one of a kind JMP!

Local Inspirations (Part II)

I have been very fortunate over the years to dine out around our amazing city.  There is certainly no shortage of quality options and I will continue to chronicle my local inspirations. 

Boat Street Café: Nostalgia, sweet nostalgia.  The sweet destination that used to be by the University of Washington was a staple and today Renee’s Belltown/borderline lower Queen Anne venue is just as quaint and charming.  The lovely atmosphere is paired with an excellent menu (food and wine), not to mention some of the best wait staff in the city.  Always has and always will be a favorite pick.

Beloved dish: House made pate! 

Special detail: The interior is whimsical and romantic!  I want my house to look like this.

Delicious drink: Great French wines!

Favorite server: Shannon

Go: www.boatstreetcafe.com

Peyrassol Café:  Sachia and her husband Scott are at the helm of this south Lake Washington gem.  For decades my parents have left the eastside in search of quality dining options and now a tiny commute yields amazing, had crafted food.  Some of you may have enjoyed Sachia’s cuisine back in the day when the original La Spiga held court in that petite corner on Broadway.  Now her menu inspires gorgeous pastas and other local delights.  I’ll gladly make the drive again and again for the food and wonderful company!

Beloved dish: Beouf Bourguignon or whatever pasta dish is available!

Special detail: A stone’s throw from Lake Washington and Gene Coulon Park

Delicious drink: Great wine list!

Favorite server: Kristi

Go: www.peyrassolcafe.com

Penny Profiler #19

Cheryl and Robert Mauri.  Foodies, diners, drinkers, and hedonists extraordinaire.  I am convinced that if I can eat it, Robert can, or will try, to make it.  I have never met someone quite like him, no fears for cooking, baking, molecular gastronomy, etc.  He’s a modern day Mikey (Remember  Life cereal commercials?).  Give it to Robert, he’ll make it, and he’ll certainly eat it too. 

Cheryl, his lovely wife is my kind of gal, shares an interest in one of my favorite pastimes, being a great diner.  One of my last adventures with them was a dinner they hosted where Robert paid homage to parts of the animal others may be too scared to touch.  Menu highlights:

Sweeter than Bread Raviolio
Poached sweetbread raviolio, taleggio, mushrooms and marsala cream

Cheesesteak
Eye round and tongue cheesesteak, Beecher’s Flagship “Cheese Whiz”, and carmelized onions

Peruvian Style Beef Skewers
Grilled marinated heart and tenderloin skewers, salsa verde

As for the penny exchange, we met at the Dray for a few pints to talk food & beverage and life in general.  I went home with a back pack FULL of pennies.  Can you imagine paying for a pint of beer with pennies?  LOL.  We’d be banned from every establishment. 

Lessons from the Floor (Part III)

By the time this entry is actually posted, the Gauguin exhibit will be over and my tenure at Taste will have drawn to a close.  During my limited time here, my sections have been filled with really nice people.  Some just stand out more than others.

Table C3, Mr. and Mrs. O’Donnell.  Familiarity was instant although the particulars were never sorted.  We guessed that our eastside roots coupled with my time at the Bellevue Athletic Club during college may have lended to the “hey I know you” feeling.   Bottom line they were a lot of fun.  Proud of themselves for taking public transit from downtown Bellevue and surprised at the ease of being dropped  on the museum's door step for their bout with the Gauguin and cocktails, they were kiddy like school kids on a well deserved date night.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching them interact together, with neighboring tables, and me of course.

Table 34 & 43, Mike and Nancy Oliver.  How busy the restaurant is and the nature of the guest dictates how much or how little I get to interact with people.  The two of them were in town from Virginia to celebrate her son getting married and adopting a baby.  Their first visit was for happy hour and they had so much fun they came back for dinner.  They cajoled, laughed, shared wine with their neighbor, and added a lovely mood to the entire restaurant.  Our paths will likely never cross again and in those parting moments when they left the table I wanted to hug them.  I’m pretty sure they would have gladly obliged.  Instead we shook hands expressing our satisfaction for have spent a few hours together.  And off they went.  

My new assignment is to work at Ray’s Boathouse for the summer.  My commute involves my own two feet this time.  I like the sound of that!

Penny Profiler #18

The Reinys.  My parents are flanked by the most wonderful set of neighbors.  To the south sits Bruno and Lillian Reinys.  Neighbors now for well over 30 years, they have watched each other start families and witness their children starting careers and families of their own.  Lill is a Canadian transplant, avid reader and beloved retired teacher.  Her husband Bruno is from Lithuania, retired from Boeing and an avid cyclist, climber and hiker.  The two of them have contributed immeasurably to the good-vibe nature of Newport Woods.  They raised three amazing kids (Katherine mentioned in an earlier penny post), participated heavily in the community and known to make meals when someone wasn’t feeling well nearby.  If we could all have amazing neighbors like this, the world would be a better place.  On a recent outing to my parents house for dinner a little penny care package was awaiting from Lill & Bruno.  Each of us has a unique history that includes people who come into our lives and have a small or large part.  This penny collection from people who have touched me personally and that being somehow connected to the business I create continues to move and inspire me.  By the nature of busy lives and distance between us, Lill and Bruno are people I do not get to see very often but shared fondness knows no boundaries I suppose.

Local Inspirations (Part I)

Someone recently inquired about where I am inspired locally.  The nuts and bolts of where I enjoy tasting, drinking, spending time and in such a way I would go back repeatedly. 

This list is ever evolving and I’ll check in periodically and share the ones that are near and dear to me.  I would love to hear about your favorites.  My dream is that when we get B&H open we’ll make someone else’s list of favorite places too.

……………….

Ba Bar: My first introduction to this family establishment was in the late 90’s with their inaugural restaurant Monsoon.  Ba Bar, the newest endeavor offers Vietnamese comfort food near Seattle University.  As you enter the front door, it feels as if you’ve walked into the kitchen.  Just a few steps away you’re among the hungry diners.  The food is outstanding.  The service is delightful. 

Beloved dish: Mung bean dumplings!

Special detail: Walking in the front door and being in the kitchen

Favorite server: Grant

Go: www.babarseattle.com

Mr. Gyros:  Two brothers (Sammy & Johnny) own this in Ballard and Greenwood neck of town.  I have been in a handful of times and their outgoing, genuine demeanor greets me every time.  Most visits I am welcomed by my first name and Sammy can recall what I had on the last visit.  The Greenwood space could fit in my garage while the Ballard location has a little more elbow room, and walk-up window if you’re prowling the streets after hours.

Beloved dish:  Lamb Gyro

Special detail: Customer service!

Delicious drink: Arabic mint tea

Favorite server: Sammy (just because I go to the Greenwood more often)

Go: www.mrgryoseattle.com

Penny Profiler #17

Brad Benson and Lara Zahaba, along with their two boys Emery and Thayer.  Brad is the best big brother from another mother, I could ever ask for.  He is the methodical voice of calculated reason, and for that I love yanking his chain whenever I can.  Lara is my closest and dearest girlfriend.  Their family is precious to me.  Lara has been an extra set of eyes and ears to everything I have done personally and professionally over the last several years.  Her insight, perspective and soothing demeanor are to me like a lighthouse is to the sailor.  I am welcome in their home like another family member and if I had my druthers, I’d be a permanent fixture for Sunday supper.  As for the pennies, the pictures speak for themselves.  Their oldest son Emery was SO excited to unload them for me he could barely contain himself.  I squeal with delight every single time I look at this!

Penny Profiler #16

Sharon & Harley Doak.  AKA Mom & Dad.  It has always been the three of us.  Well, not including all the dogs we adopted growing up, but that is another story.  I love looking back at us eating dinner as a family almost every night.  I love that my parents took me out to eat as a small child and it’s something we still love doing today.  My dad is a good eater/diner but he does have limitations so mom and I explore some places without him.  I love that my mom is like MacGyver in the kitchen and can make something from nothing.  And that my dad channels Ed Hume and grows amazing produce in the back yard to support her cooking habits. 

My dad has contributed a bag of the regular pennies and a few rolls of 1943 steel pennies aka the steel war penny or steelie.  It was a variety of the U.S. one-cent coin which was struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper.

A little history care of Wikipedia: Due to copper use in ammunition and other military equipment during World War II, the United States Mint researched various ways to limit dependence and meet conservation goals on copper. After trying out several substitutes (ranging from other metals to plastics) the one-cent coin was minted in zinc-coated steel.

However, problems began to arise. Freshly minted, they were often mistaken for dimes. Magnets in vending machines (which took copper cents) placed to pick up steel slugs also picked up the legitimate steel cents. Because the galvanization process didn't cover the edges of the coins, sweat would quickly rust the metal. After public outcry, the Mint developed a process whereby salvaged brass shell casings were augmented with pure copper to produce an alloy close to the 1941–42 composition. This was used for 1944–46-dated cents, after which the prewar composition was resumed. Although they continued to circulate in the 1960s, the mint collected large numbers of the 1943 cents and destroyed them.

My folks have and will contribute far more than pennies to this project and a few paragraphs paying tribute seems hardly adequate.  As the doors open for business at Brimmer and Heeltap I can only hope that they will be regular customers that everyone else gets to know them as well.

Penny Profiler #15

Aimee and Chris Hirata.  I am a firm believer in surrounding myself with really good people.  It elevates my own game. Run with faster runners.  Hang out with deeper thinkers. Ski with better skiers.  Cook with excellent chefs.  Friends are no different.  They inevitably rub off and these two do just that. 

I am indebted to their insight in business, talking shop and being great cheerleaders to my endeavors.  We used to be sort-of neighbors until they had to go and build their dream home all the way out at Green Lake. Thankfully, they are worth the hefty commute.  On a recent visit to their new abode, we swapped stories and pennies.  The stories make the pennies, and this project, all the more worthwhile. 

Penny Profiler #14

Gary Meikle and Mary Lloyd, or as many refer to them as The Ary’s. Jack of all traits, master of all traits. I have known Gary for well over a decade now. (Neither of us has aged a bit.) Mary, his bride of only a few years, feels like she’s been in my life as long. They are such good people with infectious personalities and hobbies. Surfing, beach clean-ups, music festivals, pizza making, beer and wine drinking/making, gardening, volunteering, and the list can go on for days. Gary is single handedly lowering the average age at the Ballard Elks club – one of the best kept secrets in the area! Mary is as smart as a whip with a consulting business in education www.marylloydconsulting.com and Gary is following her entrepreneurial spirit with a new business constructing pizza ovens (website coming soon at redgrotto.com). Their generous pennies were exchanged over a pizza fest in their backyard and I wish I would have snapped a shot of one of those amazing pies. All the more reason for scratch & sniff!