Single Ladies Put A Spin On It

Social networking is alive & kicking in my {tiny} little corner of the world.  There’s this cute chick called Julie who lives in New York.  I have never met her.  And yet, today I had a brilliant brunch with 3 of Julie’s gorgeous girlfriends, right here in Seattle;  well, to be precise, Fremont, but who knows where that is if you don’t happen to live here?  Anyway, Julie introduced us all on email, I invited everyone to breakfast and then the next thing we know we’re all sitting in the 35th Street Bistro eating brunch & chatting up a storm.

Elizabeth and I were there, outside the door, before it even opened.  We went in anyway.  And my new galpal had decided, before we even got to the table, that she needed to have the Mac ‘n’ Cheese with bacon & artichoke.  It was chalked up on the specials board, and I must say – we’d only just met but we clearly share a brain when it comes to Mac ‘n’ Cheese.  Sometimes trying to keep focused on the breakfast foods while gazing at a brunch menu is more strenuous than it might seem.  Much as I love breakfast, I’ve been all over Mac ‘n’ Cheese lately, and having it there, screaming at me from the chalkboard did nothing to aid my breakfast intentions.

Elizabeth & I got some hot drinks started while we waited for Laura & Nazy to join us.  The menu was bewildering.  The server was persuasive.

Laura came next, and then Nazy, flustered by last minute Realtor phone calls & trying to find a parking space on Fremont’s busiest cross-street.  Where “remind-me-which-streets-are-one-way” meets “traffic-light-pandemonium”.

Elizabeth took charge of ordering Mac ‘n’ Cheese for the table.  The table didn’t put up a struggle.

It was {by far} the most delicious Mac ‘n’ Cheese I’ve had since the Fred, Ginger & the Budgie Smugglers episode.  I would quite happily have eaten the whole darn dishful, but, since I was on my best behavior, I restrained myself.

Ordering was hard.  One, because the menu had so many crazy-good sounding dishes on it and two, because we all just wanted to get on with the bonding.  So in between the “so what do you do’s” & the “where do you live’s” & the whole kids and pets thing, we finally managed to get some tasty-sounding morsels ordered.  Laura & Nazy couldn’t decide, so they ordered a

Toast de Français avec Brioche ($10) – Brioche French Toast, Mascarpone Cream, Maple Syrup

and

Oeufs Benedict ($14) – Eggs, French Ham, Served with Sauce Béarnaise, Brunch Potatoes & Small Salad

and split both between them.  {Very} good thinking.

I went round & round the menu like a demented fly trying to find a way out of a hot kitchen, but eventually landed on the Oeufs en Muerette ($13) – Poached Eggs, Brioche, Bacon Lardons, Crimini, Red Wine Sauce, Small Bistro Salad.  It was good.  It didn’t have near the depth or complexity of flavor of Cafe Campagne’s rendition, but it was a perfectly tasty plateful for a sunny Saturday morning.   It also didn’t include fois gras like Campagne’s, but I didn’t hold that against it.  Well, OK, maybe I did, a little.

By the time we had got all our food we were well under way with our various hysterical stories of Match.com moments.  “I know I am 70, but I am a *really* young 70 & I only look 40″ appeared to be a common swan song.  Along with innumerable tales of incredulous first dates where we were all left thinking, “Are you SURE you’re the same person as the one who wrote that profile & sent all those witty, charming, beautiful emails?  Really?  Because apart from the fact that your hair is the same color as the photo (what you have left of it, that is), I would swear that you are a completely different life-form.  Either that or you are a sociopath, a manic-depressive or maybe just in complete denial.  About everything.”

We laughed.  A lot.

Elizabeth decided on another version of the Oeufs Benedict – choosing the House Made Garlic Sausage over the French Ham, Roasted Tomato or Prosciutto.

We toasted our new friendships.  Here’s to strong, beautiful, sassy, intelligent girlfriends & a whole lot of laughter.  The girls had various cocktails.  I had Peppermint Tea; although looking at this shot of Elizabeth’s Bloody Mary you’d be forgiven for thinking that I had had a few slurps of something stronger.  Just like earlier with the breakfast foods – my focusing was decidedly off.

35th Streeet Bistro is an adorable spot for brunch.  Good food, lovely ambiance, shabby chic decor & slightly forthright servers.  It’s definitely on my list of places to head back to.  There were more than a few things on that menu that my mouth wanted to sink it’s teeth into.

Now, where to go and get some pastries for dessert?  Happy Saturday!