Willows Inn – Riveted

Lummi Island, The Willows Inn, and the Spark Museum of Electrical Invention

Laura Domela — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 01:42:32 +0000

We headed up to the Willows Inn on Lummi Island again this year for Kevin’s birthday. We mostly do experiences rather than gifts for birthdays these days and it’s quite nice because we both get to experience what we plan. Luckily, our tastes are very similar.

The ferry ride over to Lummi was almost (but not quite) as bumpy as last year. Dinner was fantastic, as usual. Also, as usual at this time of year…it was really too dark for any food photos from dinner, but trust me — it was totally worth the splurge.

Breakfast in the morning always includes an interesting variety of things: yogurt, buckwheat crepes, house smoked bacon, smoked king salmon, cheeses, pears, a soft boiled egg, apple butters….

We caught the ferry back to the mainland just after 11am and decided to check out the Spark Museum of Electrical Invention in downtown Bellingham.

The museum collection contains many unique and rare artifacts dating from the earliest days of scientific electrical experiments in the 1600s through the 1940s and 1950s. Artifacts from the laboratories of the early pioneers of electricity, from magnets and Leyden jars to Edison light bulbs, vacuum tubes, early telephones…it’s an impressive collection! We didn’t have time to stay for the Tesla coil demonstration (called “The MegaZapper Electrical Show”), so we’ll have to go back for that!

Some photos I took while we wandered around the museum:

The first “wireless” telephone:

One of the original Theremins:

This is an early television!

After the museum, we headed back to Airship. We just unloaded stuff and organized the boat a bit, grabbed some groceries, and prepared to head for Roche Harbor in the morning to meet up with Sam. The plan this week is to record some more Slowboat webcasts! Up next: Clearing U.S. Customs, and Flying Drones from Boats!

Oh, Just Boring Stuff

Laura Domela — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 14:44:55 +0000

We've been kickin' it on Airship back in Anacortes for a few days just working and doing a few boat projects. We've looked at a few new boats and a few used boats (thinking about the "one size up" we'd like to get to store guests more comfortably…and stuff…guests and stuff).

The past two days have had gale warnings and some stronger-than-usual winds, but honestly it hasn't seemed that bad. The clouds today are haulin' fast across the view off the stern while I work though:

Today is Kevin's birthday! We're working here on the boat this morning, and then later on we'll head up to Lummi Island (by car) and we'll stay tonight at The Willows Inn. Looking forward to another incredible, creative meal by Blaine Wetzel. Here's a post from the last time we were at The Willows.

There's a mooring buoy out front of The Willows, but so far we've never stayed there. It's not a very protected anchorage, and the weather isn't exactly calm this week. One of these days though it would be fun to anchor or moor out front and dinghy in to dinner.

Lummi Island (Willows Inn), Shaw Island, Etc.

Laura Domela — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 22:34:23 +0000

This is going to be a mish mast post of the past two days…because, why not?

We spent Kevin's official birthday moored at Spencer Spit. We had some champagne, snacks (duck rillette, cheese, crackers, caper berries) and then a dinner of linguine con le vongole (with the clams) that turned out pretty darn yum.

Totally boring photo of cooked pasta, because the first photo was too busy next to the third photo:

Waiting for the clams to open:

I worked from this recipe from Mario Batali, and it came out great!

Coast Guard helicopter overhead on our way back into Anacortes yesterday morning (I told you it was going to be a mish mash):

We got back to the marina, packed an overnight bag, and headed (by car) north to Lummi Island.

A few weeks ago, I made a reservation for us at the Willows Inn — for the "present" part of Kevin's birthday. We tend to do events as presents more than things as presents. We arrived at the inn around 3:30pm, checked into our room, and headed out to soak in the hot tub for a little bit before getting ready for the 6:30pm dinner seating. Relaxing in the hot tub was a great way to start the evening, and dinner was once again spectacular. Here's when we were last at The Willows. It was July, and the light was much better than it is at 7pm in December, so I didn't take any food photos this time, but the photos in that other post give all the visual information you need. Trust me. It was just as good the second time. They sent us home with a little loaf of their amazing bread, too! Super nice (though it would be perfect if they also gave us a little tupperware cup of the "chicken drippings" that they serve with that bread because THAT stuff is incredible…in case they're reading this).

We also learned that they have two mooring buoys out front! It's not a very protected moorage, but hey, next time maybe we'll come by boat!

This morning we got up and did some work from our room, and then headed downstairs for a late breakfast. If you were following us when we were last on Lummi Island, at the Willows Inn, you'll know that we had a hilariously sub-par breakfast experience that we detailed here (partly just to re-live the experience from a comedy standpoint).

Well, looks like we might not have been the only ones (or…they read my post and got right on that!) because they moved the Willows Inn breakfast upstairs to the dining room (same place dinner was served, instead of downstairs at the Taproot Cafe) and the experience was 100 times better. (The breakfast was basically the same with a few minor differences…which was good because there was never any issue with the food.) Juice, coffee, a soft boiled duck egg, sauteed kale, local grains with nuts and berries, biscuits, a charcuterie plate, and some good tart jam made from…something I don't remember.

After breakfast we headed south back towards Anacortes.

Lummi Island ferry landing:

We stopped in LaConner to pick up a couple things I'd been thinking about since we were there a week ago (I'll show you in another post) and then got back to Airship with a few hours before sunset, so we decided to head over to Blind Bay at Shaw Island.

New flag pole, with flag. (You guys, there are tons of rules regarding flag stuff for boats! I got ours as close to the middle as I could…I hope it's okay!)

Ferry:

We grabbed one of the three mooring buoys out by Blind Island (in Blind Bay), and tomorrow we'll take the dinghy ashore and go check out the Shaw Island General Store, which is said to be pretty great! (We'll probably go ashore on Blind Island, too…but it's so tiny, that'll probably only take a minute or two.)

Here's our route from this afternoon:

Comically Bad Service at the Taproot Cafe

Laura Domela — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 15:01:49 +0000

The morning after our incredible meal at the Willows Inn we got up, showered, dressed, then headed downstairs to the Taproot Cafe for breakfast.

This is a cute little cafe with inside and outside seating. We walked inside to ask about breakfast and the gal at the counter told us they had two options: A fritatta, or the Willows Inn breakfast which included a soft boiled egg, a biscuit, a bowl of sauteed kale, blueberries, and a small charcuterie plate. We ordered two Willows Inn breakfasts. When she asked us if we wanted coffee, we ordered two cappuccinos. She got our room name (Sunrise) and told us to sit anywhere we liked and they'd bring out our coffee.

We chose an outside table for two, where we sat for about 20 minutes before anything happened. We could hear the milk frother going inside…over and over again, but not for us. After the first 20 minutes the same gal came out and asked us if we wanted coffee or anything. Um, yes, we still want coffee. I said "Yes, we ordered two cappuccinos when we first came in." She said she'd get right on that, sorry.

About 15 minutes later (still, no coffee), one breakfast arrived. She was explaining what each thing was on the plate, and I interrupted quietly and said "We ordered two of these…" She said "Yes" and continued with her explanation and then walked away.

We had no silverware or napkins still, and I wasn't sure she'd registered the second breakfast reminder, so when I went inside to get silverware, I clarified… "Just to make sure…we're waiting on one more Willows Inn breakfast, right?" She said, "Yes." Okay then.

About 10 minutes later (and after far more milk frothing sounds than two cappuccinos would ever need…where are all those containers of frothed milk going, anyway??) we got our cappuccinos. Still only one breakfast on the table.

I urged Kevin to start on this breakfast and I'd wait. We both picked a little at the sharable things while he had the egg and the kale, since they were warm. So the first breakfast was completely finished (even though we lagged a lot while we waited for the other one) and 15-20 minutes later, the second breakfast arrived. She said they were sorry for the wait, and that they would be sure to give us a 10% discount. Whoa. A whole two bucks off.

Toward the end of our second round of single breakfast plates, our waitress came over and asked if we wanted more coffee. Kevin said he would like another cappuccino (he was almost done with his first one), and she said she'd check back in about 5 minutes. I guess he needed to have an empty cup in order to get new coffee. At least she didn't completely forget about it, like the first time. About five minutes later she came back to see if he was ready. He said yes, but asked for the coffee to-go. (It still took ten minutes before said to-go coffee arrived.) Crazy.

Part of the deal was how incredible and perfect the service had been the night before for dinner (upstairs, different restaurant, same Willows Inn). It was spot on…friendly, fast, efficient. This was in SUCH stark contrast to that, and so spectacularly bad, that it became comical. (The food was actually quite good though!)

After breakfast we checked out and headed out to the courtyard to work for a bit. Here's a shot of our "office" from our room:

The smokehouse out behind the restaurant:

Down on the Sunset Beach in front of the Willows. Looking left:

Looking right:

After work and a quick walk on the beach, we took off on the bikes and did this ride:

As we were riding along the shore at Legoe Bay (or near it) there were some cute beach houses on the left, driftwood beach on the right, we were again laughing about how bad the service was for breakfast. We came around the corner as I was saying the words "spectacularly bad service" and two ladies on the porch of a beachhouse on the left yelled out "Are you talking about the Taproot Cafe??"

What the heck??? Yes! We slowed and stopped the bikes as they both gave us air "high 10s" and said "we hear ya sister!!" They'd apparently been there this morning too (inside at the counter) and had terrible service (even sitting right there at the counter!) and they'd been talking about their experience all morning, flabbergasted. However, they said the service was always that bad, and that perhaps it's even gotten worse over time. We told them about our experience, and they told us about theirs, and we laughed and shook heads and said "Nice commiserating with you" and headed back to the road. So funny!

We stopped at the Otto Preserve at the Lummi Island Heritage Trust for a short hike and a water refill, and continued on around the island. It was a lovely ride.

We returned to the Willows Inn and back to our patio spot to do some more work, and the concierge said if we wanted any lunch, we could order it from the Taproot and they'd bring it out to us in the courtyard.

And yet, for some reason, in we went. We ordered two dry sodas and two salmon paninis. They brought our food out to us promptly, and the service was lovely this time. The sandwiches (served with a side salad) were delicious.

I'd love to think the service fiasco at breakfast was just a fluke, but as we've heard from the locals — it was not.

Dinner at The Willows Inn

Laura Domela — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 14:23:50 +0000

Chef Blaine Wetzel was just 24 when he started at the Willows Inn in 2010. He was recently awarded the James Beard 2014 Rising Star Chef of the Year award. Prior to coming to The Willows Inn, he was a chef at Noma in Copenhagen (considered the No. 1 restaurant in the world, still).

Everything I start to write about this meal sounds cheesy, and I've deleted sentence after sentence. The truth is that this is likely the best meal we've ever had. If you know us (even just from this blog) you probably know we love this kind of dining experience…the chef's tasting menu. No choices, no food restrictions, no substitutions. We love the opportunity to experience a good chef's craft and creativity. Chef as artist.

Blaine Wetzel is a rare and talented artist, and has built a kickass kitchen team at The Willows Inn.

Most of the ingredients on the menu have been foraged, fished, or farmed on the nine square mile Lummi Island, and the menu changes constantly.

We began out on the patio with a cocktail and this view.

Pretty soon, someone brought us a cold bowl of rocks topped with four balanced oysters: two shigoku and two teeny tiny Olympia oysters that were fabulous. I ate my shigoku before I remembered I wanted to take a photo of each course:

Next was a small charcuterie plate with lamb, venison sausage, and a slice of rhubarb, topped with I think some dried lemon verbena:

The seating here is cool…everyone starts out on the deck with a cocktail or whatever and some small bites, and they move people inside to the dining room table by table. It's smooth and the wait staff and the service was wonderful.

Once inside, our waitress poured us a glass of Eaglemount semi-sweet Homestead cider from Port Townsend, WA (fabulous).

The next course arrived inside of a small lidded box. Removing the lid revelead a perfectly smoked Samish Bay mussel – with a waft of smoke still trapped inside the box.

Crispy crepe on the outside, steelhead roe, cream and herbs on the inside. The texture of these was insane:

Kale with black truffle and rye crumbs. This is the half after I took a bite and remembered to get a photo. Incredible flavor:

Shiitake mushroom roasted over the fire, served with sea salt. At some point in here we moved on to a 2012 Lemelson Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay from the Willamette Valley, OR.

Crispy halibut skins filled with a Manila clam puree:

Salt-baked beets with gin ice cream. These were paper thin and so good!

I missed photographing one dish (a spot prawn grilled with its roe).

This next dish was one of my favorites. Aged venison tartare, wild greens, and a rye "cracker" with shaved/(dried?) egg yolk.

Put it all together to make this (I want this again RIGHT NOW):

A simple, exquisite piece of smoked salmon (paired with a Boundary Bay IPA from Bellingham, WA), along with a piece of smoked halibut to share. That salmon was the best smoked fish I've ever eaten.

Braised wild seaweeds with Dungeness crab:

Next wine: 2009 Dusky Goose Pinot Noir from Dundee Hills, OR.

Lummi Island ling cod steamed in parsley and lovage:

Oh my god, the bread!! The bread was chewy and soft and crunchy and perfect. Served with butter and sea salt, and…hold yer britches!!!…chicken drippings!!

This was slow-roasted lamb, cooked en papillote, topped with tiny flowers, served with some cherries, and in that little dish with the wooden spoon: thin-sliced porcini mushrooms in honey — crazy good!! Another one of my favorite dishes of the evening.

Wild forest berries and a wild grass "sauce" and paired with a 2012 Brooks 'Tethys' Late Harvest Riesling from Eola-Amity Hills, OR:

Blueberries with woodruff and malt (I think the ice cream was woodruff ice cream):

I found this fabulous article about the chef Blaine Wetzel and the Willows Inn, and I think you'd enjoy learning how the whole thing came to be. It's a fantastic story.

After dinner we sat out on the deck and watched the last of the sunset.

What a magical evening.

Bellingham to Lummi Island

Laura Domela — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 18:34:05 +0000

We left our placeholder RV Park in Bellingham (aptly named Bellingham RV Park, nothing special at all to speak of here…full hookups, Wi-Fi, narrow spots, no scenery, near the airport…you get the idea) and rode our bikes over through the Lummi Nation reservation and down to the ferry terminal.

Totem pole art:

Look at all those crab traps!

A month or so ago, we made a reservation for dinner and a room at the Willows Inn on Lummi Island for the night and decided to bike it from Bellingham with our overnight stuff in the panniers, and we hopped on the Whatcom Chief ferry over to Lummi Island. Turns out the ferry had been down the day before for 26 hours due to an engine emergency something-or-other, so the traffic lineup to get to and from Lummi yesterday was more than usual.

There were a couple of ferry management types there at the entrance having a very funny conversation:

Her: Motorcycles get on before cars, which sometimes really bugs the cars. Bikes get on last, because they can put them in anywhere.
Him: What if there are 37 motorcycles?
Her: They still get on first and how ever many cars can fit after them…that's how many cars get on.
Him: What if the motorcycles take up the whole ferry?
Her: Same rules. If the entire Hell's Angeles showed up, they'd all get on and they could fill up the whole boat and no cars would get on. (Looking over at us) And bicycles still get on last. The boss makes the rules.
Him: Does the boss ride a motorcycle?
Her: No, he does not.

They were hilarious.

Bikes on the ferry:

Arriving on Lummi:

Off the ferry we turned right and took the route around the top of the island to get to the Willows Inn on the northwest side. Great ride with nice rolling hills and gorgeous scenery.

Our room at the Willows is rustic but nice and the grounds are beautiful. It's right on the water with lovely views:

Dinner last night was spectacular, and I'll tell you all about it in another post. I think it's our new No. 1.