Delancey

I am still in complete and utter disbelief as I type this post.  Our entire trip to Seattle stemmed out of my desire to eat at Molly Wizenberg's restaurant, Delancey.  I read Molly's book, A Homemade Life, this past summer and this kindled my desire to spend more time in the kitchen. If you are looking for a good  spectacular read, I highly recommend this book.  (Travis read the entire thing in three days on our trip.  Shhhhhhh... Don't tell him I told you.) I have cooked and baked many of Molly's recipes.  I listen to her podcast, Spilled Milk and read her column in Bon Appetite.  I also follow Molly's blog, Orangette, religiously; when I notice she has a new post, I drop everything and read it, taking in every word and picture on the screen.  In addition to being a fabulous writer and cook, Molly is an extremely talented photographer.  Sigh.

Anyways, we went to Seattle for an overnight and to get a taste of the city.  I never imagined that Molly would agree to meet me at Delancey and discuss her second book, while I devoured pizza made by her handsome husband, Brandon.  Here is how the most perfect night of my life went.  Travis and I hoped on a bus to a smaller side neighborhood of Seattle, just over a small river.  We walked (I may have skipped/ran while I carried my very own copy of A Homemade Life) a few blocks through a quaint neighborhood and arrived outside Delancey.  As we stepped inside, the restaurant was everything I expected it to be based on Molly's descriptions on her blog.  As I peered over the small bar, I immediately noticed a young man with curly hair and a bandanna, who I instantly recognized as Brandon, Molly's husband.  I have only seen a sketch of Brandon in Molly's book, but knew it was him without a doubt.  Travis and I were greeted by a man who told us the wait would be at least 55 minutes.  I informed him that I had talked to Molly through an email and she had agreed to meet me at Delancey between 7 and 8pm.  The man looked at me, chuckled a bit and said "good luck, she doesn't always make it down here."  My heart instantly sank, but I refused to lose hope.  Within 5 minutes, we were seated at a table by the man who had greeted us.  He shook my hand and told me his name was Sam.  Sam is one of Molly and Brandon's dear friends whom she talks about in her book and I was ecstatic to meet him!  (I'm sure Sam could sense my excitement, as I was grinning from ear to ear, still holding my copy of A Homemade Life firmly in my hands)  We were given small paper menus, as the fresh items change with seasons, and ordered beer and wine.  Travis knew what pizza he wanted to order within seconds of the menu being placed in his hand.  He has been on a bacon kick lately, and was sold on the bacon & onion pizza.  I, on the other hand, could not decide which of Molly's masterpieces to try.  I decided on the Brooklyn (tomato sauce, fresh and aged mozzarella, Grana)  and was pleased to find out from our waitress that I had unknowingly ordered Molly's favorite pizza.  Our pizzas were delivered and covered our entire table, which was quite tiny.  Most other couples in the restaurant shared one pizza, but we just had to try two different types.  We ended up splitting the pizzas and savored each and every bite.  I think I ate more pizza than Travis did. This is one night in which it was completely acceptable to out eat my date.  As we were winding down on our pizza, wine, and beer, Sam came over and told me that a certain author and food blogger was here to see me.  In walked the stunning Molly Wizenberg, looking exactly how I had imagined.  I often create images in my head of what someone will look like, how they will act, or how a certain place will feel.  Most of the time, if not all of the time, these notions I conceive in my head are very inaccurate when I actually meet the person or visit the place.  Sometimes this leads to a slight sense of disappointment, when something wasn't quite how I imagined.  This, however, was not the case with Molly or Delancey.  Both were exactly how I had pictured them in my mind and that made it even better.
Many of you are probably wondering why I was so elated to meet a female author/photographer/blogger.  Eating pizza created by Brandon, while in the presence of Molly at Delancey was the equivalent of a cyclist going for a ride with Lance Armstrong or a swimmer doing workout in the pool with Michael Phelps.  An incredible experience.

Molly and I talked about A Homemade Life, the book proposal she just submitted, (I am already counting down the days until it is released), what we had done with our time in Seattle, and the pizza we were currently enjoying.  She signed the copy of A Homemade Life that I brought with me from Wisconsin and we said goodbye.  Soon after, our waitress came by and said that Molly wanted to buy us each a dessert.  Could life get any better?  Oh, yes. And it did.  Just looking at the dessert menu was heaven, eating what we had ordered is a whole different story.  Travis and I decided to get 2 different desserts and split them (a common theme on this trip, given the fact that we both love to try new things and have a passion for food).  We ordered one caramel-poached apple with triple ginger streusel and chantilly cream and one key lime mousse with whipped coconut cream, macaroon and rum caramel. Words cannot describe the desserts we ate at Delancey that evening.  I can still taste the fresh coconut whipped cream and it brings me right back to Delancey.  As we paid our bill and put our jackets on, the waitress handed me a small package.  She said that Molly wanted me to have one of her famous chocolate chip cookies with gray salt for the road.  That gray salted chocolate chip cookie is reason enough to go back to Seattle.  As we left, I went back near the wood fire, where Brandon was cooking pizza and told him how much I had enjoyed my Brooklyn pizza. Yes, I talked to Brandon, even if it was no more than 4 words...
We decided to walk to a bus stop further away so we could burn off a bit of what we had just ate.  I think we both secretly knew we were only trying to make room for a few bites of that cookie that I was carrying home.  Only a little bit of the cookie made it to the next day.  We went to back to our 100 year old Bed and Breakfast on Queen Ann's Hill and I went to bed with an enormous smile on my face. 

I do not have any quality pictures from Delancey.  I did not want to spend my time behind my camera lens in an attempt to get a perfect photo.  Instead, I enjoyed every second of my evening with my own two eyes.  Here a few snapshots from the night, just to give you a brief taste.

Walking/running down the street to Delancey, book in hand

Delancey

Every utensil was unique and antique!

Key Lime Mousse with whipped coconut cream, macaroon, and rum caramel

Caramel-poached apple with triple ginger streusel and chantilly cream

The kitchen/wood fire area.  Brandon is back near the oven