Where do you like to go to breakfast on the weekend in Woodinville?
Normally since I cook my boyfriend’s breakfast five weekdays in a row, he handles making breakfast on weekends. I get to lounge in bed scrolling Instagram and drinking tea while he cooks. But this Sunday we were both extra tired, and we didn’t want to mess up the kitchen in advance of the dinner party we were throwing later on that day.
So we agreed to splurge a little and let the pro chefs at The Commons here in Woodinville cook for us!
We usually get to The Commons around 8 am when they open – there’s plenty of parking and seating that time of day. An hour or more later and the restaurant gets full, and the parking lot fills up with wine tasters later on in the morning.
I’m not certain I can call our breakfast meal “brunch” when only one of us was drinking. I ordered this lush “Marie Antoinette” cocktail, made with gin and pamplemousse.
I don’t have the courage (or the energy) to make shakshuka at home (other than a couple weeks ago when I tried the new Trader Joe’s Shakshuka Starter) so I order it at restaurants whenever I get the chance. Shakshuka is a North African and Middle Eastern dish with spicy tomatoes, garlic, onions, and gently poached eggs, usually finished off with some sort of sheep or goat’s cheese.
The Commons is one of the very few Seattle-area restaurants where I have seen shakshuka on the menu. It’s almost too spicy for my wimpy tongue, so I’m grateful for the grilled bread and the cheese on top to help calm things down.
I made Bob a biscuits and gravy breakfast a few days ago, but my cooking skills, alas, did not present him with such a fine specimen as he received here at The Commons. He was delighted with the sausage gravy and the fried chicken on top!
It was a bit too cold to eat outside on the patio (perhaps if I’d worn a sweater or jean jacket over my sundress like a smarter person might have) but I wanted to show you the newly updated outdoor patio. (As a side note, what is up with these horribly cold cloudy mornings in MID AUGUST?!) Along the front next to the road are some lawn games (I think I remember seeing cornhole?) as well, rapidly becoming popular with kid guests.
They’ve added a fire pit! So many evenings lately I’ve driven home from a long day of work photographing in the local wine tasting rooms.. and gazed longingly at the fire pit. Alas, I’ve been too busy going home to cook dinner for Bob, do some chores and feed the dogs, to stop in for a drink around the fire. Hopefully I’ll see you there some weekday evening!
-Carrie
RESOURCES:
