New Schedule, New Eats, New Niece

As the routine of life has marched on, we have relished the time when Tom and I are in the house at the same time while awake.  Tom is in the middle of a couple weeks of second shift and I have only one more week of day shift!  Goodbye packed 5:56 am bus into the city, goodbye sleeping while it is dark, goodbye enjoying the skyline at sunrise, and goodbye steady 7+ hours of sleep.  I'm bound to not want to sleep the daylight away (even with my blackout curtains and sleep mask), especially when I don't have to work the next day; therefore, my body will hate me after this week.  However, I will get to say hello to night shift differential, hello to seeing Tom for a couple hours before I leave for work, and hello to being the person that can stay up past everyone at a party :)  My life on night shift starts, as many a nurse has endured and has even come to enjoy in many cases.  We shall see how it treats me.  Bring it on, sundowners!

Stolen picture #1 to liven up the blog. A view I will miss: Seattle skyline during sunrise!

Our latest fun adventure was done with a slight bit of apprehension and fear.  Tom's coworkers had recommended a Mukilteo restaurant named "The Grouchy Chef." If you check out that yelp link you will see how we could be a bit intimidated at the thought of going.  The patrons that have frequented this restaurant rave of the food and fine dining experience (though some don't like to eat dinner on pins and needles, which is understandable), BUT they also warn of rules that must be obeyed.  We dragged our friends Jason and Caitlin along to face the owner, rule keeper, waiter, bus boy, and Grouchy Chef all in one.  Yes, it was a one man show which is an amazement in itself. No other employees, but the restaurant's namesake himself!

Pulling up to the restaurant we saw an industrial facade with signs on the door warning of the necessity of a reservation and a dress code including no flip flops, no work out clothes, no muddy shoes, no dirty jeans, and no slopping dressing.

Stolen picture #2 from Yelp--I need to remember my camera for times like these!

 Walking into the restaurant showed a clean, small dining room with a sign in the front telling you not to stand around at the front but to sit on the bench until seated.  We were seated by the chef and given the run down of his most important rules:

1. You are given a cloth napkin to protect your clothes and a paper napkin to wipe your mouth.  Do not wipe your mouth on the cloth napkin (Caitlin and I both broke this rule accidentally.  It is habit!). Actually Tom and Jason were not given cloth napkins, but we didn't want to bring that to his attention.
2. The goblets are European made.  Do not toast with them.
3. If you need to blow your nose do not do it at the table. Go to the bathroom.

The meal was a four course dinner.  Soup, salad, main dish with a starch, and dessert.  No substitutions, no custom orders. This would not be the place with someone with a food allergy or an especially picky eater.  We had a chicken soup as our first course which was a broth with chicken, vegetables, and chickpeas. Salad, which included diced watermelon, grapes, shaved Parmesan, lettuce, and a creamy, light dressing, was served for our second course. For entrees were were able to pick from a variety of meats and fish, each with its own complementing sauce.  I ordered the roasted duck with cinnamon sauce, Tom ordered the steak with Cabernet sauce, Caitlin ordered the ahi tuna with coconut sauce, and Jason ordered the lamb with mustard sauce. Starches available included risotto cakes and shrimp mashed potatoes among others. My duck WAS. DELICIOUS.  It was so juicy, perfectly cooked, and went beautifully with the cinnamon sauce. It came with a couple of caramelized carrots which were also amazing.  I enjoyed the shrimp mashed potatoes as my starch choice, but would probably order the risotto cakes next time. Everyone raved about their meal.

Stolen picture #3. This is neither our meal nor a picture of what one of us ordered, but it is from The Grouchy Chef! 

But it didn't stop there!  We were given our own personal dessert sampler platter. Each included small slices/portions of cheesecake, chocolate mousse cheesecake, caramel flan, mango sorbet, and raspberry sorbet.  The entire meal was SO good, SO filling, and SO reasonably priced!  We had to pay at the counter when we ordered, which was interesting due to the fine dining theme.  Only cash, we had to place the cash on the cash tray, and no tipping.  He prefers that you put your tip in his jar for breast cancer research. 

Overall, though intimidating, we all agreed it was a great experience and we would want to go again!  I went in thinking that I would want to check this place out to take my family when they visit for a week during Thanksgiving, but the chef charges DOUBLE for everything if you have a party greater than four!  That's a little crazy.

 Lastly, on a personal note, we were able to see our new niece, Lorelai, for the first time on Skype today! She was born on October 24th, and was 8 lbs 10 oz. and 22 inches long!  Congrats to Drew, Janelle, and big bro James :)

Lorelai Grace Speca

I hear Seattle is nice this time of year.  Maybe you would fancy a visit?  With my night shift going underway I could really keep up with the night owlest of you all!  Tom may struggle to keep his eyes open after nine, but we could load him with coffee and drag him around.  If you are feeling like you would like to be culinarily micromanaged, we know just the place! So, go northWEST YOUNG PEOPLE (and young people at heart)!

New wake up times, bossy chefs, and family love washINgton!