But wait there's more...

I am positive I can't do this dinner justice in a blog post, but I have to try. Okay, before I start though, if you have the means, stop reading this post and go book a room (the only way to get dinner, except under unusual circumstances) at the Willow's Inn. You will not regret it. You can read this post after you book a room.

The Willow's Inn is not in Seattle...it's on the most accessible San Juan Island-Lummi Island, which is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Seattle including a very short ferry ride. For us, getting there added to the fun and excitement of the meal, especially the ferry ride, which was on a boat that held about 20 cars. We were right in the front, so I felt more like a captain than a driver. We arrived in the dark so I can't tell you what the view was like, but I have it on good authority that it is lovely. The Inn itself is cozy and had a nice fire going. We enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails while we waited for dinner to begin.

Here are the courses that were served to us during this amazing meal. Keep in mind that the menu we got only listed 5 courses (in bold below), so all of the other courses (yeah, all 16 other courses we surprises!!).

Smoked salmon served in a still smoking wood box
Salmon roe "crepe"
Black cod with homemade sauerkraut served on a potato chip
pickled oyster (served in a bowl of frozen rocks)
kale chip with black truffle and pumpernickel crumbs (this was fantastic)
veggies with hazelnut "dirt" and herb dip (the presentation on this was lovely---served in a basket)
light cracker with edible flowers (and other greens)

celery root with horseradish mousse (delicious)
grilled oyster (the best oyster I have ever had)
organic grains with pickled mushrooms
herring roe with kelp (traditional Native American delicacy)
fresh king crab with bread crumbs, kale, and a mussel foam
bread with amazing grass fed butter (seriously folks, grass fed butter tastes amazing...so much better than regular butter...it was my downfall b/c I kept eating it and was so incredibly full by the end of the night)
pickled smelt
cabbages with apples
herb chicken jus for the bread (this was a little like crack)
slow roasted beef cheeks with cauliflower and celery
aged goat cheese with pumpernickel toast
pears with walnut ice cream, toasted walnuts, sugared lemon verbena leaves (if I saw this on a menu, I would never order it...but it was amazing...the walnut ice cream was so delicious)
roasted chestnuts with hot apple cider (spiked)
flax seed caramel

Another fun twist---in addition to wine pairings, they also offer juice pairings. As the DD, I was all about this and was very happy with my decision (Andy and our friend Heather did the same, while Sean wine'd it up). With our five scheduled courses, we got cucumber, carrot, granny smith apple, huckleberry, and elderflower juices, and they were all delicious. I am not sure if this comes across as a good idea, but it was really fun and definitely added to the meal.

During the dinner service, the whole team (waitstaff and chefs, including the amazing head chef Blaine Wetzel) serves the food. Although it is clear that Blaine is the head chef, they really do work as a team and the atmosphere in the dining room reflected that.

In an amusing turn of events, after a long, lovely, leisurely dinner, we ran out of the restaurant as if yakkity saks was playing. The ferries only run once an hour, and once we realized we were getting close to the 10 pm ferry, we started getting antsy. We paid our check and literally ran out of the dining room. I may have driven faster than the posted speed limit. And in the end, we got on the ferry with almost 10 minutes to spare!

I am sure I could go on and on, but I think that's enough for now.