Bob and I celebrated our 18th anniversary last weekend with a lovely dinner at Poppy in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. I don’t feel old enough to have been married for 18 years! We met as undergrads at UCLA. I had just transferred from Boston University and moved into an apartment on fraternity row. Bob was the boy next door. So cute with his blonde curls, blue eyes and motorcycle! Soon I was looking for reasons to knock on his door (quarters for laundry?) and we began exploring the beaches and falafel stands together. Here we are, almost 24 years later, still having fun exploring together on a motorcycle.
Poppy is a marvelous discovery. It is the creation of Jerry Traunfeld (former executive chef of the Herbfarm) and serves inspired Northwest cuisine in the Indian thali style. This means you have the pleasure of tasting multiple small bowls of delicious dishes. The exposed brick, wood beams, large windows and blonde wood tables create an open, inviting atmosphere. I enjoyed a peek into the kitchen through a long row of windows and a pretty patio out back beckoned with bountiful herbs and hanging lights.
We started our meal with the eggplant fries with sea salt and honey (brilliant, you must order these!),
a grilled artichoke with walnut stuffing and pequillo pepper sauce,
and glasses of Laphroaig (Bob) and sparkling rose (me).
Our 10-item vegetarian thali included a morel mushroom risotto, goat cheese blintzes with asparagus, pea sprouts and hazelnuts, asparagus and sage soup, a leek gratin, seabean, radish and grilled green onion salad (loved this combo!), beets with spice bread and mint, roasted cauliflower with sesame and dill, rhubarb pickle and divine nigella-poppy naan. Big sigh… food heaven. The fresh flavors leap out and stay with you.
Other 7- and 10-item thali options include fish and meat combinations. I wish we had saved room for dessert (a la carte pastry and ice cream choices, or indulge in a sweet thali for two) but this will give us another reason to return, in addition to the seasonally changing menu. A fantastic evening -- thank you, Poppy!
