Dinner at The Willows Inn Restaurant

We had an epic dinner last night at the Willows Inn Restaurant on Lummi Island. Omar and Lora came here two years ago, and it continues to be one of their favorite dining experiences.

Here's a description of the meal/restaurant from the The Willows Inn website:

At The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, award-winning head chef Blaine Wetzel has described his approach to food as a “story about the land.” If you're intrigued by this tasty tale, we invite you to learn more from Thursday to Sunday in our main dining room. We pride ourselves on a delectable prix fixe menu that is both seasonal and local — fished, foraged, and farmed daily.

Our meal consisted of 19 small plates each. They were all quite small, and just the right amount - we all commented that by the end, we were certainly full, but not stuffed. Each dish was certainly delicious. I think some of my favorites were the Black Cod Doughnuts, Kale and Black Truffles, and the Smoked Sockeye Salmon (Which we saw them smoking earlier in the day).

The entire meal was really amazing and everything was delicious, and so interesting. All ingredients are local and seasonal, down to my juice pairing! Our meal lasted just over 3 hours, and we were even able to enjoy the most glorious sunset as we dined. What a special and memorable meal.

Here is the menu for the evening:


The Menu
You can click on the photo to make it larger and easier to read.

Dick, Lora and Omar all had the Wine Pairing, while I opted for the really neat option of a Juice Pairing!

We started out on the outdoor deck, where we had our first several courses, then went into their restaurant for the rest of the meal.


Trina and Lora out on the patio at the beginning of Dinner

Here are some photos of some of the dishes. All of these photos are credited to Omar. I took photos as well, but his photos are much better than mine. :)

I'll see if I can remember the names of the dishes for each of these photos.


Golden Char Roe


Kale and Black Truffles


Black Cod Doughnuts


Stewed Porcinis in Burdock Milk


Crispy Halibut Skins


Grilled Oysters


Spot Prawns with Salted Plums


Salmonberries with Beach Roses (Dick called this dish "Santa's Cereal")


Zucchini Blossom


Smoked Mussels with Sunflower Root


Smoked Sockeye Salmon - probably the tastiest Salmon I've ever had.


Escarole with Spring Capers


a small sample of my Juice Pairing


Lora, with Chef Blaine Wetzel