On our recent trip to Victoria, BC we stayed at a B&B called the Gingerbread Cottage. The highlight was most definitely the breakfast!

                   

Red Fish, Blue Fish is possibly the best street food I have ever eaten!!! Everyone visiting Victoria, BC must stop at this shack on the water. Maia and I shared the following items:

• Albacore Tuna Tacones
  Spicy spot prawn mayo + pea shoots + lemon pickled onions
  
• Qualicum Bay Scallop Tacones
  Golden shallot aioli + pea shoots + lemon pickled onions
• Tempura Cod Tacones
  Sweet-smoked chili adobo + pea shoots + lemon pickled onions
• Kennebec Chips
  Hand cut, twice fried
• Kennebec Chips
  Sweet red curry slathered

Each and every bite was pure deliciousness. Check them out @ http://www.redfish-bluefish.com/

               

Along with Cafe Ladro & Stumptown, Vivace is one of my favorite local roastery/coffee shops. My default at Vivace is a Macchiato which is a shot of espresso with a dolop of steamed milk. Maia, not looking for a caffeine fix, tried the Almond Steamed Milk. The last picture is of Vivace's sidewalk espresso stand just two blocks down the street. 

         

Another amazing dinner at one of my favorite Seattle restaurants, Poppy. 

         

Photos by me from iPhone.

The following my 4 star Yelp review for Tavern Law on opening night.

After months of buzz & hype, Tavern Law finally opened and I decided to check it out with my friends. The place is straight up awesome; great vibe! The décor is really cool- great bookshelf, a TV hidden behind a mirror and super-cool secret upstairs lunge (accessible only by picking up the phone and getting buzzed in). I can go on and on about the space- but you should just check out these professional photos available here to get the idea.

Onto the food! We decided to try each dish on the menu; there are eight, ranging in price from $7 to $15, making Tavern Law great for a little snack or a full dinner (on a empty stomach, I'd probably need 3-4 dishes). The food gets full stars for creativity, originality, presentation & taste. Simply put, the food is amazing.

                             

Photo Desctiptions:

1. Outside Tavern Law- waiting for the Grand Opening
   
2. Cocktail at the bar.
   
3. Lolla Rossa Lettuces- Chevre. Cucumber. Picholine Olive ($7)
   Simple and nice salad.
4. Braised Pork Belly- Cabbage. Granny Smith Apple. Mustard ($14)
   Yum- tender!
5. Foie Gras Terrine- Angostura Bitter Gelee ($15)
   Very good- the angostura bitter jelly top was amazing and complemented the foie gras very well. My only complaint is that the ratio of toasted baguette to foie gras was way off; they need 3x as much baguette.
6. Poached Sockeye Salmon- Escarole. Arugula Pesto. Radish ($14)
   Cooked to perfection, subtle flavors let you fully enjoy the wonderful salmon taste.
7. Grilled Padron Peppers- Goat Cheese Vinaigrette. Parsley ($9)
   I loved this dish, but, I love very spicy food. Others in the group found it way too spicy. I don't think it was the actual padron peppers that were hot, but rather some chopped peppers garnished on top (jalapeno, perhaps). The dressing really worked with the spice!
8. Grilled Chicken Leg & Thigh- New Potato. English Pees. Granache Vinegar ($15)
   I hardly ever order chicken in restaurants! This chicken was by far my favorite dish on the menu: cooked to perfection, seasoned brilliantly and so MOIST!
   
9. (some drink, forget the name)
10. Fried Pacific Oysters- Horseradish Aioli. Beefsteak Tomato ($9)
    Cooked perfectly. Nice and crunchy on the outside but not overcooked! Love the horseradish aioli.
11. Carnaroli Risotto- Summer Squash. Parmesan. Basil ($12)
    Nice! As far as risottos go, this is on the less rich side!
12. Kold Draft Ice Cube
13. Dover Tea
14. (some drink, forget the name)
15. Calvados Crusta

Ok- so at this point you might be wondering why I didn't give all 5 stars given my RAVE review: the mixology was really lacking, I was VERY disappointed with the drinks. My first drink was at the bar while I was waiting for my friends to arrive. Before I browsed the comprehensive list of cocktails, I first looked at their liquor list: a bad gin selection could be a dealbreaker for me. I was pretty excited to see that the gin selection was awesome (more gins than vodka- take that vodka drinkers!), they even had my favorite Martin Miller's (including the hard-to-find, Westbourne strength edition). So to start, I order a gin martini up with a twist. Yep- they did twist right, but FUCK- I think the bartender put more vermouth than gin. Normally, I would have said something- but the bar had just opened for the first time and they were already quite busy, so I was nice.

For the rest of the evening, I ordered drinks from the cocktail menu and and sampled some of my friends'. Tavern Law is one of only about 4 places in Seattle to have a Kold Draft Ice machine (http://www.kold-draft....). The menu is comprehensive with a table of contents & glossary! Drinks divided into the following categories:

• Cocktails
• Sours
• Flips
• From Highballs to Fizzes
• Juleps, Slings & Toddies
• Punches, Cups & Swizzles
• Champagne
• Vodka
• Teetotalers

Most of the drinks were underwhelming. The "Bourbon Swizzle" (bourbon, lemon, falernum, yellow chartreuse) tasted like straight bourbon on ice in a Collins glass. The "Dover Tea" was a hot drink, but arrived at room temperature. One drink, the name escapes my memory, was supposed to have gin, rosemary, mint- the drink came with no rosemary, and I'm convinced it was made with rum, it tasted like a mojito (yuk!). One of my friends ordered the "Boston Milk Punch" (rum, bourbon, nutmeg, milk)- the waitress came back a few minutes later and told us they were out of milk. Weird- the bar had been open no longer than an hour, why not just have one of the staff members run a block away and pick up a gallon! Due to the so-so drinks, I remove 1 star.

Under normal circumstances I would have knocked off another star (making it a 3-star review) for a few quirks and annoyances (bathroom locked with nobody inside it for half hour, slow service, forgotten drink orders, etc...) But I truly believe that these were just symptomatic of it being opening night- I have no doubt that Tavern Law will strike it's groove. This bar has full 5-star potential I just really hope they nail the drinks!