Friday, June 8, 2012

Issaquah... Who Knew


We like to set out on aimless adventures when Don is home for a weekend.  We will pick a direction and just drive till we see something we want to check out.  Last Saturday we drove East, took the Lake Sammamish exit and drove until we found an inciting trailhead.  We ended up at the Holder Ridge Trail on Taylor Mountain.  The first .25-.5 mile of the hike were under tree cover and looked somewhat similar to the Quinault Rainforest trip  with smaller trees.  Mossy ferny greeny goodness... Then the trail popped out into the open with pretty views the majority of the walk.  Ironically we ended up hiking this trail on the same day that a team of volunteers were maintaining it so we were being followed for a good chunk of time by a engine powered brush cutter... Ha!  Pretty funny actually.
One of many viewpoints




pretty slug with an identity crisis

Free Raspberries!

The best part of getting out on an adventure is earning the big meal on the way home.  We drove to downtown Issaquah and after walking down the short block of shops and restaurants ended up at a spot called Max's World Cafe.  We chose well. What a great little spot!  It was between lunch and dinner when we arrived so Max's was quiet and we got the opportunity to chat with the owner Edna about what we should order.  Edna grew up in India and her recipes are a mix of both her Indian and Portuguese roots with a whole lot of other inspirations things thrown in.  Edna and her husband made us feel so at home here and the passion she has for this place is evident from the beginning to the end of dining with her.  The chef brought us our dishes personally then Edna checked in a few times to see how we liked everything and also give us the backstory on some of her recipes and techniques.    

Mac and Cheese


Cuban Midnight Press 

Custard Tart straight out of the oven

Oh and Max is the name and Edna and her husband's dog.  So sweet!



Before heading out we swung into  Confetti Cupcakes a few doors down and grabbed four cupcakes for later.  The plan was two but we just couldn't narrow it down.  We went with carrot cake, salted caramel, peanut butter chocolate and raspberry vanilla.  Peanut butter was the one that we fought each other the hardest to get bites of.

Good adventure.

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