Great Food and Wine…

Had some great food and drinks and viewed interesting exhibits as the Seattle Wine and Food Experience celebrated 10 years down at Pier 66 at Seattle’s Bell International Hall. Most of the wine sampling was concentrated on the ground floor with over 30 Washington State wineries and a dozen each or so from Oregon and California.

Since I was in Seattle thought it’d be best to try as many as Washington wines as possible.  Really liked a couple of blends I sampled: Cadaretta Winery’s Windthrow Red Rhone Blend and DeLille Cellars’ Merlot Bordeaux Blend 2014.  

Despite all the good food and wine offered on the ground floor, I couldn’t resist the siren call of the Tulalip Resort  Casino which had half the second floor commandeered with a VIP Lounge and That 70s Food Show. Normally I’m not in that much of a hurry to consume casino fare as it usually ranges from over-priced mediocre to beyond dreadful.  

BUT a tip of the hat to Tulalip. They had a whole bunch of booths representing the different eateries available throughout their resort and all were putting out quite tasty finger food. My fav was chef Jeremy Taisey’s Jumbo Shrimp with Gourmet Bacon from the Tula Bene Pastaria and Chophouse, and chef Gerry Schultz’s Mini Swedish meatballs from the Tulalip Resort Casino Catering.  Other mentions include chef John Jadamec’s The Beach Boys California Roll from Journey’s East and chef John Ponticelli’s Groovy Duck Roll from Tualip Resort Casino. 

There was a ton of spirits and food on the other half of the second floor, but jeez, I was so stuffed from Tulalip and double mai tai’s from their Tiki bar, that it was all I could do to take a stroll or two past all the booths and vow to come next year for their offerings. Fans of seafood and sparkling wines will love Seattle’s Wine and Food Experience’s Pop! Bubbles & Seafood event.  There is a comfort food event as well.  Taste Washington is coming up in March 22-25 in Seattle has its work cut out to top Seattle’s Wine and Food Experience.

When you come for next year’s Food and Wine Experience in Seattle, stay at  the Silver Cloud Eastgate in Bellevue for a fair price.  Plus there is a family friendly restaurant  – Nine O Bar & Grill – located within the hotel. A five minute walk to the 20 minute bus ride into Seattle takes a lot of the expense and hassle of driving and parking in Seattle as well. Cheers.