I just recently got back to Seattle from a trip to Walla Walla for a little eating and drinking excursion. There were a lot of little disappointments on the trip. The first being my ticket for going 80 in a 70. Now that was not a good way to start my vacation. The next was when I checked into my hotel and realized luxury hotels in Walla Walla were only slightly better than a Days Inn or Holiday Inn in other places. The final disappointment was the camera bag I ended up buying that wasn't the one I really wanted but bought anyway because I thought I would need it...then ending up not using it.
That was really it though, the rest of the trip was full of pleasant surprises. There's nothing like walking into a tasting room and being the only one there. It's nice, but also a little stressful since you don't want to sound like an idiot and you try to make some small talk while not gulping down the wine. Everyone was nice, though, and Dunham gave me some pretty generous pours. The biggest surprise of the whole trip was my dinner on my first, and only night, there.
I had made a reservation for myself at 26brix the day before I drove out. When I arrived at the time of my reservation, the hostess said, "For 1?" and I couldn't tell if she gave me a look of pity or something else, like "Kudos for you, I could never got to a fancy restaurant to eat by myself." I wasn't really surprised when I was seated at a little table in the corner, I actually liked it because it gave me a good view of everything that was going on.
What I was surprised about was the service. Dining alone, I kind of expected to get just the bare minimum of service since my check would definitely pale in comparison to the tables of two+ people, which would result in a smaller tip. But what I ended getting was extremely attentive service from 5 people. Yeah, I said 5. There were the two folks who filled up your water and cleared your used dishes. Then there was my server who had to visit me because the worst thing that could happen to a restaurant is having someone starve to death in there. The captain also visited me on multiple occasions to make sure I had ordered, check in on how things were, presenting me with the dessert menu, etc. Additionally the sommelier came by to help me pair wines with my courses and even poured it for me for each course. He actually came by at the end and almost poured me an extra glass by accident before I stopped him.
I really appreciated how they gave me the same level of service as everyone else, of course they probably knew that I was going to eat and drink more than my share. I probably ordered more stuff than the guy there with his college-aged son, I have a sneaking suspicion I tipped more too. But now on to the important stuff, what I ate:
First Course
Vegetable Bisque with Black Truffle Coulis
Wine: Woodward Canyon Riesling
Main Course
Butter Poached Alaskan Halibut: saffron and halibut fumet, "Parisenned" potatoes with shaved artichoke hearts, braised fennel and pea sprout salad
Wine: Chinon
Dessert
Coconut Tapioca Soup
Monkey King Jasmine Green Tea
At the end of the night I went out of my way to thank the sommelier for the great pairings and my server for the dessert recommendation after my first choice (the brioche bread pudding) was no longer available. Eating alone is always a little awkward, but they did their best to treat me like everyone else and because of that I left a little something extra for them to show my appreciation.
If you're ever in Walla Walla make sure you don't miss 26brix: http://www.twentysixbrix.com/
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