Goodbye Summer

So I am officially getting sick of the watermelon gazpacho I have been eating for lunch all summer, and my InStyle magazine that came yesterday got me drooling over riding boots and Tippi Hendren wool dresses and tweed suits all over again, so I would say summer is coming to a near close. Sure, you say, not quite sure yet, but I want to feel prepared. I want to appreciate it fully so that one day in the not so distant future when I am fighting my way up a mountain through an awful snowstorm, the first of many, I can remember flawless, dry summer days and remember that those will come again.

This summer will be remember as the summer I got married, went on a honeymoon (finally getting to visit California, falling totally in love with the Pacific Northwest), and watched years 1990-1996 of Beverly Hills, 90210. It was also the summer we almost hit a grizzly bear with our car on our ten hour long drive from Napa to Portland, which was for some reason was very memorable to me (maybe because I thought we were going to die).

We finally checked out the Smith's Tavern pizza Memorial Day, which was every bit as good as it has been rumored to be. We didn't really spend a lot of time checking out new Albany restaurants, but we did find some cool things at the Troy Farmer's Market and even joined a CSA, which taught us problem solving and brain storming in the kitchen. Some problems were solved better than others. On our honeymoon we checked out: Mesa Grill in Vegas (great sauces, and it was cool to see the steaks being seared in the middle of the restaurant), The Buffet and the Bellagio (not the most food you'll ever have, and not the best, but some awesome combination of those two things), Bouchon in Yountville (amazing in taste, texture, and presentation), Press in St. Helena (where we had some amazing King Salmon and a very relaxing, comfortable meal), Zuni Cafe in San Francisco (where everything was pretty much to die for and as local and fresh as possible), and did a tour of brew pubs in Portland.

Bouchon Roast Chicken

King Salmon at Press

Sea bass at Zuni Cafe

So, yeah, I'd say I can put in it the past. I say bring on the butternut squash soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, and actually anything with pumpkin pie spice in it. Bring on braises, and soups, and brisk mornings where I almost slip on the leaves in the parking lot with my brown riding boots. Bring on dark nights sipping Lapsang Souchong, the smoky flavor filling the room and the steam massaging my face, and bright afternoons spent picking Indian Ladder Farms apples. Bring on Jameson's, football, scarves and tweed, but don't bring on the holidays. I don't think I could deal with all that quite yet.