Why I'd Love to Go Back to Moses Lake: Fabrics and Food!

Yesterday I mentioned the quilt shop in Ephrata.  It was this sign, posted up on a corner of a building, that caught my eye as we drove on the main road through town.  

Image from The Fabric Patch Facebook page

We were supposed to be headed to WalMart or Safeway for snacks, water, and sunscreen.  But we had 'a lot' of time, so I veered off to follow the arrow.

I wasn't expecting much...just a small shop with a few interesting fabrics, perhaps.  Was I in for a surprise!  This place is GREAT.  The Fabric Patch website says, "Worth the drive from anywhere," and I agree!  They have high quality quilt fabrics and LOTS of them!!  They also carry machines, have classes and clubs, of course, and great displays of sample quilts.  I just noticed on their site that they also have a retreat house for rent, especially set up for quilting.  I'd love to stay there for about a month!

Princess Bossy and I were mesmerized... Thankfully, Prince CuddleBunny is up for almost anything, and didn't mind looking with us.  Without specific projects in mind that we came in to shop for, we hardly knew where to start.  SO many beautiful fabrics, and, as it turned out, in this situation, so little time!  

We had gone into a different world in which schedules and baseball faded into a fog.  Before we knew it, it was 12:30, so we needed to make our purchases, and run our errands, in order to, we thought, get into the bleachers for the start of Prince Go-for-It's game at 1:00.  I will go back!!



The Fabric Patch would be reason enough to make the drive to the area, but, also, I'd like a reason to revisit some restaurants in Moses Lake.  We had 3 evenings there, so 3 dinners out. Prince Go-for-It always elected to hang out with friends, grabbing fast food near the hotel.  But after so many days on the road in the previous weeks, I was worn out on such things, and wanted to discover what else the town might have to offer.

An ad for a restaurant overlooking the lake caught our eye for the first night, so we went to Michael's on the Lake.  We sat outside, and the weather was perfect.  It was warm with a warm breeze, and the view of the lake was spectacular.  The restaurant was well above the lake, but we felt like we were over the shoreline.

Seared Tuna and Mango Salad

Princess Bossy can be Princess Finicky, after working as a nanny for, and treated as a member of the family by a couple who are gourmet cooks and fine restaurant connoisseurs in the Big City, while she attended college.  She admits to having extremely high expectations of the service she receives in any restaurant, and declared the service in Michael's to be 'just exactly as it should be,' from suggestions made, to attentiveness and courtesy.  

It was a lovely meal in every way.  The food was fantastic, and the Princess was particularly happy with how her tuna was prepared.  

We were having such a fine time, we even splurged and shared a dessert, although we were all already plenty full!

Classic 1/2 pound Burger with Bacon

Warm Italian Doughnuts with 3 dipping sauces...
Oh My Goodness!

While we were at Michael's on the Lake, we overheard a member of the staff mention that there were 2 other restaurants in town under the same ownership, but with different personalities. Michael's on the Lake was about casual elegance.  The other two included a deli and a burger restaurant.  That decided where we'd spend our next 2 dinners... We were so impressed with the first, we needed to try them all!

Michael's Market and Bistro was more casual, with orders taken at a counter and delivered to the table, or packaged to-go.  We tried to sit outside here, too, but the view of the street, with car exhaust from cars parking next to the sidewalk, wasn't as pleasant.  Besides, it was too hot and bright that evening, so we moved inside.  

The prince and princess both chose Salmon Burgers

I had the Portobello Panini

We enjoyed the open air feeling, the brick walls, etc.  We also enjoyed our sandwich dinners, and the stroll through the attached shop that offered beers, wines, gourmet foods and gift items, and kitchenware.  We returned to this spot to grab lunch our last day in town.


The 3rd night, we visited Rock Top Burgers and Brew.  It seemed a hip and popular spot on a Saturday night, but we were seated almost immediately...inside this time.  The interior decor was modern, yet warm and kind of lodgey... Lots of wood and stone.  

I tried the BLTA (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado) Croissant.
The helping of fries with the sandwich was modest.
The big batch we were given when we requested more was NOT.
I'm sorry I didn't get a photo!

There weren't as many 'brew' choices as I'd expected.  Also, what I didn't expect was the chance to try a small sample of the beer I was interested in before committing.  --So much nicer than being stuck with a pint of something I don't like!  

Princess Bossy enjoyed her Farmhouse Veggie Burger

Prince CuddleBunny loved is Rock Top Rumbler.
It had bacon, a fried egg, and 'the works.'

Again, we were all very happy with our menu selections...and they had 'bottomless fries,' which pleased Prince CuddleBunny no end, even though his tummy had less room for his 2nd helping than he imagined.  Even the crisp and tasty sweet potato fries were endless, which I didn't expect, but took advantage of.  Yum.

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Portland Eating, part II

After a fairly big day of finding and walking our way around what is really a tiny part of the city of Portland, we were ready to stay close to our hotel room for dinner Saturday night.  Since the hotel restaurant was closed for remodeling, and there were no other restaurants for blocks around, staying close meant staying in.  We'd never ordered room service before, but the menu was affordably priced, and we decided to give it a try.

The choices were limited, but we each found things we'd like.  

Hubby ordered their burger, and not wanting any more bread after our sandwich lunch, I ordered the steak.  I really had no idea what to expect, not knowing exactly what a Colette Steak was, and a Google search wasn't any help.  But the person at room service assured me it was good, so I went for it.

She was right.  The steak was amazing.  I could cut it easily with my fork, it was cooked perfectly, and had great flavor.  Hubby said the same for his hamburger.  He prefers a sturdier bun, but was very impressed with the meat and other inclusions in the sandwich, which is what counts most.  

My fries had some interesting additional toppings, like garlic, parmesan, and porcini powder.  (I'd never heard of porcini powder, but this blog explains it well and makes interesting suggestions for its uses.) Our only complaints were that the fries were a bit salty, for our taste, and I felt that at least my dinner lacked a veggie or some garnish.  But the main event of each plate was certainly great.

The only meal we hadn't had out that weekend, thus far, was breakfast, and I was really in the mood for a hearty one the morning we left.  I did an internet search for Portland Sunday brunches, and eventually decided that The Original: A Dinerant, which was fairly close by, sounded interesting.  It is described as a "hipster" spot, sort of like a diner, but a definite step up.

This place was super busy, so we had to wait quite awhile for a table.  This was only frustrating, because in downtown Portland, they don't charge for parking until 1 PM on Sundays.  We parked at 11:50, and there is no way to pay ahead.  We had a several blocks' walk to get back to the car by 1:00 to, either, leave or make the required payment.  

Anyway, we were happy to be taken to our booth.  I wish I could've gotten a head-on photo of the seating area we were in, because it was pretty cool with its curved, red, velvet banquettes. Sort of retro-60s, I guess?  

Again, choosing our meal from the yummy-sounding brunch menu options was a challenge.  Creme Brûlée French Toast, Cornmeal Bacon Waffles, Biscuits and Gravy, Eggs Benedict, several types of omelets, and so much more... all sounded good!  I knew I needed some protein, but also couldn't pass up Polenta Cakes, which neither of us had ever had before.  We decided that Hubby would order an omelette, and I'd order the Polenta Cakes, and we'd split and trade.  Hubby wasn't about to share half of his hash browns, so we ordered an additional plate.  (Yep, I had polenta cakes and hash browns... A little carby, but an omelette needs good hash browns!)

Our omelette choice was their Cobb Omelette with bacon, chicken, tomato, avocado, and blue cheese.  It was very good.  The hash browns were comparatively and disappointingly unimpressive.  We just expected diner potatoes to be some kind of wonderful.  

Having never had polenta cakes, we didn't have anything to compare to, but these were the one thing I've really been craving since we got back home.  They were so delicious!  My new favorite comfort food, I think.  It didn't hurt that they were served with candied bacon!  I was glad to eat only one of the 2 cakes, though, and have the hearty egg dish to keep my blood sugar off the roller coaster.  

In case you were waiting in suspense, we ate at a relaxed pace, and got back to our car just a minute or two before 1:00.  As usual with worrying, it was for nothing!

I think I'll have to figure out how to make polenta cakes, which I don't imagine should be difficult.  I'll share when I get something close to what we had.

Portlandish Food!

I've been hungry to go back to Portland for the past week.  The food we ate was so good!

On Friday night we drove from Portland to Vancouver, Washington, to Joe's Crab Shack.  It's one of those places famous for big baskets of crab legs, shrimp, and other shellfish, tossed in with new potatoes, corn, and sausage.  First of all, we had great service, and couldn't have asked for a better table in front of the windows viewing the mighty Columbia River!  

 Since I neglected to take pics of ours,
here is Sassy with her Joe's dinner
(post of their visit here)

Because they'd been to Joe's and loved it, Prince Steadfast and Princess Sassy took us to the Crab Pot in Seattle last year, which offered the same type of 'wear-your-bib-and-dig-in-with-your-hands-and-shelling-tools' type of dining.  

Compared to the Crab Pot, which offered Pacific, both local and from Alaska, seafood, Joe's Antarctic king crab, and East Coast types of seasonings weren't as impressive and tasty to us.  After trying both, Princess Sassy prefers Joe's, but Hubby and I lean toward the Crab Pot instead.  The big positive here is that when we get a yearning for fresh crab, the place we want to go is an hour away instead of 3.  Going to Joe's was still fun, and it had good ambience, and as I mentioned, personable and prompt service.

For Saturday's lunch, we went to one of those places that had intrigued us during previous visits to the city, but we'd never gone in... The Deschutes Brewery Pub.  The place seemed to be packed, but we were seated right away.  It's a little bit loud, but fun.  --Lots of windows, high ceilings, colorful, and with kind of a rustic-industrial decor. 

We were overwhelmed by the menu, but not in a bad way.  So many things on their lunch menu sounded so wonderful, it was so hard to choose! (They also offer a good-sized gluten-free menu, so those with such dietary limitations have more than just a couple of options from which to choose.) 

Hubby chose the Housemade Pastrami (with whole milk mozzarella, arugula and green chili mustard on toasted spelt grain sourdough) and fries, while I ordered the Grilled Cheese.  I'm not usually a grilled cheese sandwich fan, but I couldn't resist this description: "Briar Rose Creamery goat cheese, cream cheese, Gruyere, and cheddar on our rustic white bread grilled with a parmesan garlic butter and served with garden tomato soup with roasted jalapeño cream."  The waitress suggested that the cheese sandwich was even better with avocado, bacon, and/or tomato... she usually has all 3... so I took her kind advice.

Of course, we sampled a bit of their brew, too.  The
Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale in the .3 liter size was perfect.

We were very happy with our choices!  If I ordered my sandwich again, although wonderful as it was, I think I'd skip the extra expense of the additions.  The sandwich was good on its own.  Actually, to be honest, I thought maybe it was a little unexciting at first, but then, as one should do with all grilled cheese, I dipped it into the soup, and WOW.  That fresh tomato soup, and especially, with the roasted jalapeño cream (roasted jalapeño mixed with creme fraiche), added just the amount of acidic and spicy zing to elevate that whole dish to amazing.

My mom and dad used to wake up and decide it was a great day to drive to the coast for chowder, to Tillamook, Oregon, for ice cream, or to Eastern Washington for lunch.  They often picked up one of my grandmas to take along for the fun.  We agree that this is a place for which it'd be worth making the 6-hour round-trip to Portland... Just for a day's adventure and a fantastic lunch.  --And just a block from Powell's giant bookstore, so a double-bonus.

Saturday night's dinner and Sunday brunch...yet to come.