I was delighted that my busy friend Joanna could join me for lunch and some wine tasting! She’s a busy flight attendant and a fellow member of Eastside Social Club. It’s hard for our schedules to synch up, so I jumped at the chance to spend some time with this really fun lady! I had plans for the two tasting rooms we’d visit, so let her choose the restaurant. She wanted to eat at Purple Cafe Woodinville.
I’ve been so looking forward to being able to eat lunch and dinner on their lovely patio again. Finally I was here on a sunny, non-rainy spring day!
Our table included a tempting view of the nearby Woodinville wine tasting rooms: àMaurice Cellars, Dusted Valley Wine, Fidelitas Wines, Trust Cellars, Sparkman Cellars, and Mark Ryan Winery. (Lachini Vineyards was behind us in the other direction!)
Joanna opted for the lunch combo, choosing the braised beet salad and half a roasted turkey sandwich. She also ordered a glass of wine with her meal, and as you would expect, our fabulous server was able to make very helpful suggestions on what to order. I was trying to hold off, since we were about to go wine tasting, so got an iced tea instead. (But their Vinho Verde sure tempted me!)
I realized I hadn’t ever tried a veggie burger at any of the Purple Cafes. I’m a lifelong vegetarian, so I get to try quite a few restaurant veggie burgers, as you can imagine. I was trying to eat healthier, so passed on the temptation of fries as an accompaniment. Here’s my “impossible burger” with a side salad.
After I saw Joanna’s beets and goat cheese I was a bit disappointed that my salad was so simple, but the lettuce was high quality, the tomatoes delicious and it was dressed perfectly.
I hadn’t expected my veggie burger to come on a square ciabatta roll! It was shocking at first, but delicious that way. The bread was toasted perfectly (not too hard to chew!) The veggie patty is the best I’ve had in a long time. Great flavor and texture on the patty, and not trying to taste like meat. I’d definitely order this again!
We had a lovely lunch gossiping in the sun, and then went on our merry way to discover new wines across the street at Ryan Patrick and Long Shadows!
-Carrie
RESOURCES:
Purple Cafe Woodinville on Yelp
