Culinary Adventure at Canlis

My brother and his fiancee came to Seattle over the weekend. Whenever Mark is in Seattle, it is all about the food. I love the fact that Mark and Kristin, the ultimate foodies, who are spoiled by NYC, think the food scene in my town is awesome. I really enjoy trying to find the "best of" or things that I believe they will just swoon over. I guess it is my way of showing off Seattle as well as letting my little brother know that there are parts of him that have rubbed off on me. Having Mark as my brother has made me a bit of a foodie and I love that.

So the culmination of our gluttonous weekend was dinner at Canlis, which is considered to be, THE most special place to eat within Seattle's city limits. It was quite an experience. Every detail was totally exquisite, fun and an adventure.

Disclaimer: SERIOUS food porn below.

The drinks at Canlis definitely set the stage... in a curious twist, Mark's drink was pink with a flower in it. I ordered the beer.

First course was a caprese salad. Needless to say, I've never seen one like this before. The seeds you see all over the plate are "rehydrated basil seeds." VERY "top chef" if you ask me.

Second course was a procuitto/melon/fig plate.

In between courses, it is hard not to have your eyes wander around to other tables.. if only to see what beautiful plates other people are eating. Being such a fancy place, I did expect to see some "sugar daddies." (notice the stealthy camera positioning).

What was a surprise, however, was watching the staff iron the tablecloths right on the table.

 

Third course was a chicken dish with seriously fancy mushrooms, followed by a prawn dish that was simply stunning to look at, as well as the best thing I ate all night, in my estimation.

The lamb course, I will admit, looks a little "suspect" the way I photographed it, but it was just as yummy as everything else.

The most unusual dish was the "ginger beer" course. Probably THE most fancy pants ginger ale I'll ever have in my life.

The dessert course was made special because of Mark's birthday. I think this is one of the "happiest" desserts I've ever seen: