Salish Lodge: My Dinner with Anna

As promised in my "Starters" column in our September/October issue (on newsstands now; if you don't see it, ask for it), this is the complete tasting menu that my daughter and I devoured in the dining room at Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie, WA. Anna had never before encountered a dinner on this scale of sophistication and sheer caloric intake--she's more of a sushi girl. The evening was my version of "take your daughter to work," you might say.

Our chef for the night was the lodge's Chef de Cuisine Darren McNally, formerly of Campagne and Earth & Ocean in Seattle. Our captain was the very engaging Brett Fallows. Eighteeen-year-old Anna did her best NOT to flirt with him.

Anna had a lovely virgin cocktail of some sort. I restricted myself to two glasses of wine, the first being a bright and stony 2007 Verdad Albarino from Santa Ynez, CA. It went terrifically well with my Salmon "Bacon" and Seared Diver Scallop courses. My second glass was a 2004 Long Shadows Sequel, a Washington Syrah made in partnership with John Duval of Australia's Penfolds. It was inky black in the candlelight, full of intensity, and cast a long shadow indeed over my Kobe tenderloin--but hey, I asked for it.

Salish Lodge & Spa Dining Room, Snoqualmie, WA, August 3, 2007
Roy Breiman - Executive Chef
Darren McNally - Chef de Cuisine
Brett Fallows - Captain

Dinner Menu Gastronomique Number 1 (Anna had this)

Amuse (I confess, I no longer remember what this was, but it involved truffle oil)

Sweet Garlic Bisque
Trumpet royals, thyme flower crème

Dungeness Crab
Fresh hearts of palm, fava beans, English peas, asparagus tips, heirloom cherry tomatoes, “ice wine sorbet”

Culatello prosciutto “Surf & Turf”
Pear carpaccio, Hawaiian blue prawns, micro arugula, aged balsamic volcanic fleur du sel

Slow-baked Alaskan Halibut
White potato mousseline, Cascade morels, white & green asparagus, wild watercress salad

Intermezzo (berry sorbet with fresh marionberries)

Potato-wrapped Kobe Tenderloin
Oxtail summer mushroom risotto, long-stem artichoke “Violet,” umeshu (plum liqueur) syrup

Northwest S’Mores
Homemade marshmallows, hot chocolate “shot”

Mignardises (tiny espresso truffles)

Dinner Menu Gastronomique Number 2 (Angie had this)

Amuse (as above, it involved truffle oil)

“Salmon Bacon”
Brown-sugar-cured and lightly smoked, with young leeks, fava beans, cracked black pepper, and a Pommery mustard emulsion

“Heirloom Tomato Harvest”
Heirloom tomatoes, morel mushrooms, and other locally inspired seasonal vegetables

"Wenatchee Pear Tasting”
Pear “panna cotta,” chilled pear “spritzer,” vanilla-poached pear truffle goat cheese mousse, Champagne gastric

Seared Diver Scallops
Truffle-infused cauliflower, heirloom potato chips, honey mushrooms, hand-formed truffle, sea salt Intermezzo (berry sorbet with fresh marionberries)

Intermezzo (berry sorbet with fresh marionberries)

Potato-wrapped Kobe Tenderloin
Oxtail summer mushroom risotto, long-stem artichoke “Violet,” umeshu syrup

Masquerade of Crèmes Brûlées, with inspired seasonal garnishes

Mignardises (tiny espresso truffles)