Island Life

Sometimes I forget how spoiled I am to live in Washington. There’s something special in being able to escape Seattle, board a ferry and within a few hours decamp to the quiet San Juan Islands, leaving all of life’s stresses on the mainland. The air is breathed in, wine and beer bottles are opened and relaxation commences.

This is what we’ve coined as “Island Life.”

There are no work deadlines with Island Life. Nor are there meetings to attend or bills to pay. Island Life is simple living, free of worries. Bob Marley would wholeheartedly approve.

Thew view from Mt. Constitution

Last weekend, a group of us rented a farmhouse on Orcas Island with a simple goal of enjoying the bucolic surroundings and consuming excellent food. Our friends Frank and Sarah brought delicious foods and an obscene amount of wine, the bulk of which we consumed our first night on the deck. Lisa and I arrived early, free to wander Eastsound (the main town on Orcas Island) and watch the Mariners game at a waterfront bar with a ridiculous view of Puget Sound.

Friday afternoon, we started with lunch at Roses Bakery & Cafe, a hyperlocal institution in Eastsound. Everything was fresh. The spelt salad and crispy halibut sandwich with heirloom tomatoes were excellent, but also outclassed by the blueberry pie (with vanilla bean ice cream) that came afterwords. As we wolfed down the dessert, the shocked waitress presented the bill with her mouth agape.

“My, y’all inhaled that.”

Yes. Yes we did.

Blueberry pie from Roses

The only complaint to eating out on Orcas is the ridiculous prices. Lunch for two was $45 without tip. But these are the small sacrifices we make for Island Life (as well as the interminable ferry waits at Anacortes). For one, I don’t mind paying $14 for clams if it comes with baseball in HD and a waterfront view.

Back at the farmhouse on Friday night, the eating and drinking continued. Frank & Sarah had arrived, along with Benson and Kel. The stress of any ferry delays had worn off after the second glass of Riesling, and we spent the night conversing until well past midnight.

The hit of the weekend was dinner at Allium on Orcas, a farm-to-table restaurant headlined by Lisa Nakamura, the former sous chef at The Herbfarm in Woodinville. Everything about the meal hit the right notes, from the clever appetizers (roasted vegetables with herb dip) to the well-executed main courses. Several in the group ordered the polenta topped with mushrooms and duck egg, a combination that blew taste buds. The salmon on ginger risotto (covered in a Thai chili sauce) was defined by excellent kitchen technique, as the fish was perfectly cooked. A raft of desserts followed, highlighted by a few smart choices such as apricot angel food cake and a blueberry/peach crumble. The common thread to the meal – for me at least – was freshness, as a majority of the ingredients had been picked up earlier that morning at the Orcas Island Farmer’s Market.

To summarize: dining on Orcas Island is limited, but the restaurants do well to take advantage of the bounty of local ingredients. But the weekend was defined not just by a few nights of voracious eating. It was an opportunity to escape for a few days, enjoy the island seclusion and the striking scenery.

Island living. Island Life.

Orcas Island, in a nutshell.