It’s a Tuesday, so it’s obviously time for the Tuesday Take…

• Mark Ryan Winery – On Friday night, we attended a release event at the new Woodinville space, and got a taste of the 2011 Black Love Pinot Noir and 2010 Lonely Heart Cabernet Sauvignon. Aside from the fact that the tasting room is indeed great for events, the wines weren’t too bad either. The Pinot – sourced from Lachini – was solid, though I could use to learn a thing or two about Pinot Noir in the U.S. Enjoyed the Lonely Heart as well, and this winery has definitely grown on me a bit.
• Purple Cafe & Wine Bar – It’s so crazy to me that you can have variance in a restaurant like this, from neighborhood to neighborhood. We stopped in at the absolutely bustling Woodinville spot in an attempt to dine before going to the Mark Ryan event, and ended up coming back afterwards as it was packed. It’s one of my favorite places to eat at the bar and have almost the same dining experience you do at a table, and Mike at the bar is always a pleasure to chat with. Great attitude. Earlier in the week (Wednesday evening) we’d dined at the downtown Seattle location, which while it can’t be beat from a “vibe” perspective in the area, and I would absolutely recommend it without even thinking about it due to its location, the “feel,” the wine list, and so forth, the food is absolutely different. A Purple Chopped Salad should be a Purple Chopped Salad no matter which restaurant you go to. The one downtown is *easily* 3/4 the size of the one in Woodinville, for the same price, for instance. The service is fine, sitting at the bar and admiring the staircase of wine bottles is fantastic, but we’ve absolutely driven to Woodinville to eat there in order to absolutely guarantee we get exactly what we’re looking for. Don’t get me wrong – I love Purple – but find this really particular over the last few years.
• The Herbfarm – That Brittany Tracy really knows how to surprise someone with a Valentine’s Day dinner, let me tell you. A cup of tea on entry along with a walk through memory lane on how the restaurant came to be, followed by a properly-paced, delicately-served and 100% intuitive meal that I hesitate to describe in less than 1,000 words. Needless to say, a post to follow on this event, but if anyone ever tells you not to go here, just pretend it’s opposite day like when you were six years old and book a reservation.
• RN74 – 2006 Iron Horse bubbles on the train board? Yes, please. Thanks, Jeff and Eric!
• AQUA – Wait, so you want to reward me for coming back over and over again with free “money” that I can spend to enjoy all-day happy hour on Sunday and Monday evenings? Needless to say, Seattleites (and those visiting our fair city), it’s staying light out longer, and this is an absolutely fantastic spot to enjoy your happy hour times (and beyond, obvs) should you be looking for something a bit different with a significant value.
• Portage Bay Cafe – while my dining partner in crime has an absolute addiction to this place, I’m a bit harder to convince. My food’s pretty good (and I’m really only a carb/fruit eater for breakfast, so I’m unfortunately limited in my choices and likes), but I always feel like if I’m going to spend $12 on brunch, I’m going to go to Ma’ono and get french toast with chicken nuggets in West Seattle. Everyone else seems to enjoy it though, but I still think it’s because there’s not a whole lot of other great brunchy options in that spot in SLU.
• The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. – Always impressed by this spot, even when we’re binging in the afternoon and choose to have a 4:30pm cupcake run and we end up cutting everything into fourths. IMO, just something about the cake itself, and they don’t overdo it with icing (cough). Well played, Yellow Leaf.