…but what about American women that spend the better part of a day in European-style bistros? My friend took me out for lunch today as thanks for filling in for him at work while he is on sabbatical in India next month. I can’t wait until I get my sabbatical and people have to cover for me (4 more years)! We went to Le Pichet, a little French restaurant near the market, and, since it was probably the last nice day in Seattle for a long time, we took the opportunity to sit outside. We split a bowl of spiced almonds and a small baguette with butter. I had the arugula and green bean salad with nicoise olives and baked toast with goat cheese and sliced tomatoes. It was lovely. Please don’t hate me but I tried a pea-sized portion of my friend’s foie gras just to see what all the fuss is about. I’m sure the real foodies out there are shocked that I’ve never actually tried foie gras. It tasted just as I expected…like fatty meat or meaty fat. Not worth it in my opinion but, as a non meat-eater, my opinion probably doesn’t count for much. I’m just glad I didn’t love it. I’ll break my no meat rule occasionally for a slice of bacon but I think I would have a major moral dilemma on my hands if I started craving foie gras. We finished lunch by splitting a walnut tart with warm cream and dried cherries that were soaked in some kind of delicious booze.

Tonight, Robert and I branched out of our normal routine and tried a newish restaurant in the neighborhood called Dinette. It specializes in toast! It was very romantic inside with dim lighting and yellowed walls and perfectly unmatched dinnerware. The menu is European, mainly French and Italian, and is divided into toast, snacks, bowls (usually handmade pasta or gnocchi) and plates (an ever-changing menu of entrees.) We split a carafe of the house red wine and started off with the gorgonzola dulce toast: thickly-sliced toast which was grilled and smothered with gorgonzola spread, balsamic syrup and walnuts. It was an unexpectedly large serving and easily could have been an entree. I didn’t think we would be able to finish it, especially for two people that don’t eat a lot of dairy, but we did. We then split the butter lettuce salad which was topped with crispy-fried serrano ham (again, breaking the no meat rule! This is terrible.) The ham tasted like the little crispy bits around the outside of a fried egg. For our entree, we split the chanterelle risotto, which was fantastic! I could never make risotto this good. It was perfectly al dente. It was so rich, I swear it must have had meat in it but, I double-checked the chalkboard, and it didn’t mention anything. I love that the waitress made no fuss over the fact that we wanted to split one dinner; she just gave us a each a spoon and put the bowl in the middle of table for us to share. Very casual. As we were sitting there finishing our delectable risotto and drinking the last of our wine, George Jones started playing gently over the speakers. I could have been sitting in a sidewalk cafe somewhere in Europe or drunkenly closing out the bar in Montana. Either way, it was perfect!