News from San Juan Island's Bed and Breakfast - Tucker House

As the town is preparing for its Centennial next year, the Town of Friday Harbor is busy researching and inventorying all the old houses. Last week, I received a copy of the wedding picture of Clarence and Marie Tucker dated December 23, 1900. I am excited to track down the originals that are known to still be on the Island. I also received a close up photo of the Tucker House. I presume it was taken shortly after it was built - 1898. The photo shows a white pickett fence that circled the entire block. Looking up the hill, what is now the upper Tucker House is nothing but an empty field and across the property, where the Harrison House currently stands is also baron. The only other house shown in the photo which is still standing is the private residence on the corner of Harrison and Wabass. It is always interesting to learn more about these great old houses.....if these walls could only talk.

Coho Restaurant Opens in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

Coho Restaurant opened this week in downtown Friday Harbor. The kitchen team was busy making fresh sauces, rolling out homemade pasta, kneading bread, and creating desserts for the restaurant's first patrons. It was opening night! We all felt the same trepidations as an actor before the curtain rises. Each of us had butterflies and the adrenalin was soaring. We dimmed the lights, lit the candles, started the music, and waited for our first guests. All the months of planning and preparation were behind us. The ballet began to unfold. We greeted guests and relaxed into our roles. The first dish emerged from the kitchen. It was an amuse-bouche - a tiny bite-sized morsel that means "mouth amuser". It is our way of thanking our guests for dining with us. We wanted it to stimulate the taste buds while perusing the menu. The amuse was presented on a small square plate nested on a second diagonal square plate - a bed of wilted leaks, a floret of marscapone cheese, and some fresh herbs were the perfect resting place for a hazelnut encrusted twice baked goat cheese souffle. There were a few drops of chili oil for a splash of color. We all took a moment to enjoy the beauty of the kitchen's first creation. Then more guests arrived and the energy in the restaurant and the pace in the kitchen began to speed up. There were a few hot moments when we all missed a step or two. We gracefully fell back into our choreographed roles without our patron's knowledge. The local ingredients took on the starring roles - simple greens, freshly shucked oysters, local tenderloin - simply prepared and beautifully presented. Coho is open Friday -Sunday (April, 18-20) and Wednesday - Sunday the week of the 23rd.

Coho Restaurant - Friday Harbor's Hottest New Restaurant

A million and one last minute details, or so it seems, are underway for Coho Restaurant's open April 11th, 2008. It has been quite a week. Murphy struck a few times on April 1st - a bad April Fool's job for sure....plumbing problems - ovens dying....We perservered and kept on saying the show will go on.

Dave is putting the finishing touches on the wine list as I type. We are proud of our first wine list and look forward to growing it as new releases become available. It was quite an education and act of will power to cull and hone the list from the thousands of wines available to a manageable restaurant list. We believe the list reflects the diversity of tastes and winemakers and will be a great complement to the menu. We just got word that salmon will be available for our open so our signature Whole Seed Encrusted Salmon with mirin sauce can be featured for our opening night. We have been speaking with our farming partners this afternoon and the last bite of winter has delayed the harvest of some vegetables. Nevertheless, there will be sorrel, pea tendrils, and some brocoli for open. We are all brimming with excitement, anticipation, and fear and looking forward to sharing the fruits of our labor with our guests and the San Juan Island community this coming Friday.