We woke up Sunday morning with one thing on our minds: barbecue.

We walked down to the market as a buttery sunshine poured itself over the city.

Down at the market the streets were smoking and crowds were lining up at the pulled pork sandwich stand for the best $5 meal they’ve ever had.

We joined in on the action and got a sandwich and a bag of potato chips to eat curbside.

I think the only thing nicer than a sunny day at Pike’s Place Market is eating a pulled pork sandwich and salty, crunchy potato chips on a sunny day at Pike’s Place Market.

As expected the pork, cooked by the first man we met the night before, was tender, packed with flavor, and paying good homage to the world of slow cooked barbecue.

After wiping barbecue sauce off of our chins we went to check out the competitors.  The warriors who had been out all night long cooking their meat were now enjoying the fruits of their labor.  Most were digging into their first batch of pork, brisket and chicken with rigor.

Everything looked incredible, and we went to find Tim from Slabtown BBQ while watering at the mouth.

Tim remembered us immediately and sliced us some pork right off the barbecue, dipped it in sauce, set it in a paper towel and handed it over to us.

I will never forget this piece of pork.  Tender, juicy and cooked to perfection, I felt lucky to be eating such a generous sample.

“You guys want some chicken?  Go around back and grab that last piece off of the grill!” Said Tim once we were finished.

Since it would be wrong to say no to last year’s champion, we went and grabbed the chicken, and ate it with our hands and a large side of gratefulness.

After shaking Tim’s hand and wishing him the best in the competition, we continued our culinary adventure inside the market.

Pike’s Place market is colorful and full of fresh flowers, locally produced jams, spicy jellies, candied nuts, fresh produce, towering fish stands and great smelling food stands.  We sampled everything we could and left with a bag of spicy jellies.

Since we were driving back that afternoon, we decided to go back to The Wine Tasting Room so I could grab a bottle of the incredible Riesling we tried to take home with us.

Once we got there we saw the sun drenched patio and figured we may as well do a small sampling before heading on our way.

One glass of wine later John looked at me and said with a grin, “We could stay another night…”

He made a proposal that was hard to refuse: have another glass of wine, book a hotel through his iPhone on hotwire, enjoy another night and drive straight to work first thing the next morning.

Maybe it was the pulled pork, maybe it was the wine…maybe I’m just young and in love, but I booked us another night in a hotel immediately.

The sun seemed to shine a little brighter knowing we could relax and enjoy one more night away together.  I love whimsy, and this last minute decision was a great one.

We enjoyed the sunshine a little longer, booked into our new hotel, had a great night out at my favorite cheap Mexican restaurant and drove out while the sun was rising with two hot coffees and some freshly baked pastries.

We drove past misty lakes, farm houses and small towns while blasting some cheesy old rock songs. We sailed through the border and I arrived at work right on time.

It was a great weekend.  We found out that Tim from Slabtown BBQ placed high in the competition but he did not win.  We also found out that he has a restaurant in Portland, and agreed we might have to take another trip to the States soon…

Arriving at the competition on Sunday


First stop: pulled pork sandwich


The competitors getting ready





Enjoying the sunshine





Tim from Slabtown BBBQ

Trying out Tim’s barbecue talent


Checking out the market


The Wine Tasting Room

Mama’s Mexican

Maybe it was the pulled pork, maybe it was the wine…but we never wanted to leave Seattle this weekend.

We hit the open road after work on Friday.

A few hours later we were clinking glasses at a wine bar in downtown Seattle.

We drank to our year and a half anniversary, a glass of red for me and a glass of white for John.

After too much time apart in the last year and a half, it means a lot to be able to celebrate these moments with him by my side, and taking off to the States for the weekend seemed like the perfect escape.

After enjoying some local wine and tucking into a tuna ceviche with plantain chips, I was exhausted and we went to rest up at our hotel nearby.

The next day we explored the city, walked down by Pike’s Place Market, stumbled upon a wine bar, escaped the rain in an antique shop, ate lunch in my favorite French café, each bought a new outfit and popped a cheap bottle of sparkling wine in our hotel room.

It was the perfect day. When we went out for a late dinner the sky was glowing a bright deep blue.

We walked down to Pike’s Place Market, basking in the glow from the market’s red neon lit sign.

As we headed down to the main market street we noticed smoke filling the air and a long row of tents and barbecues being set up.

We had heard about the barbeque competition that Sunday but had no idea we would get in on the action this early.

Each tent had a crew that was pulling out lawn chairs, marinating their meat and getting their beer kegs ready.

We approached the first tent, and I asked a man slathering pork in a rub called “Butt rub” what was going on.

“Are you guys going to be cooking meat all night long?”

“Yes mam.  I’ll be selling pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow.”

I grinned.  It turns out all the competitors were planning on sitting out all night with their meat cooking.

I turned and looked at John, “This is the real deal baby.  This is how it’s supposed to be done.”

The first stand we approached would be selling pulled pork sandwiches while the rest of the tents were competitors.

We strolled along and I asked the million dollar question: “What’s in your rub?” Some competitors answered easily while others held on to their secret recipes.

At one of the last stands we met Tim from Slabtown BBQ, the winner of last year’s competition.

Curious about how meat cooked overnight by a pro tastes, I asked how we could get our hands on a sample.  We found out they wouldn’t be giving out any meat to the public because of regulations.

“It’s a good thing we’re family right?” I smiled at Tim.

“Come by to the back of the tent tomorrow,” said Tim, smiling back, “we’ll make sure you get a taste.”

Now that’s what family is all about.

It was tempting to grab a bottle of wine and sit out with these guys all night. How often do you get to sit out with barbecue masters and slow cook meat until the sun rises?

Unfortunately we were starving and the meat wouldn’t be ready for another 12 hours, so we headed out to a French restaurant for some excellent halibut and frites.

But we didn’t leave before letting them know that we would be back first thing the next morning.  There was no way we were going to miss this competition.

Stay tuned for part two…

The first night at sip wine bar


Tuna ceviche with plantain chips at sip wine bar

Pike’s Place Market

Wine Tasting Room



Exploring my love for picnic baskets at the antique store

And hats…

Lunch at La Campagne

Showing off my socks at Macy’s

Getting ready for a night on the town

Strolling before dinner




Discovering the BBQ setup at Pike’s Place Market…


Butt rub…

Par two coming soon…

It’s no secret that I love food events.

But an event that revolves around French food, music and wine and that all the proceeds go to charity?  Add me to the guest list.

Growing up in France has had a huge influence on my love of food and the culture that surrounds it.  So when I heard about Springtime in France being held at GardenWorks, I was excited tot take part.

John and I arrived early and picked up our complimentary glasses of wine, a nice red from the Cotes de Rhone, and checked out the garden centre.

We filled small plates with a mix of crackers, cheese, cured meats, chutneys and jams and perched ourselves happily on a patio set before the cooking demonstration began.

Later, when we joined the big crowd huddled around the cooking demonstration, small chocolate crocodiles were passed around.  This was a nice touch, since Michel Jacob from Vancouver’s Le Crocodile was the one on stage showing off his skills.

We took off early, but it was a tasteful evening and the perfect way to welcome in spring with a little French flair.

Sampling some hors d’oeuvres

Trying some great basil grapeseed oil with garlic balsamic

It was one of those days where everything felt right.

After a stressful week the sun came out and poured itself like liquid honey all over the city.

As we drove around downtown, the snow on the mountains shining in the distance, I turned to John and said “Days like this make me happy I’m alive.”

We spent the day roaming around a different part of town.  We explored boutiques, food shops, bakeries, Greek grocery stores and fancy consignment shops.

We spent no money, but time was our luxury, and we felt like we were on vacation as we strolled down the street, sampled great food and explored.

At the end of the day we got extravagant and bought some ribs, some nice wine, and went home to slow cook our decadent meal.

I love days like this with John.  They’re so simple yet so rich.  We finished the night licking barbeque sauce off our fingers and eating ribs standing up in the kitchen near 10 p.m.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of all nothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

e.e cummings

Rocking out with Elvis

All clumped together

I am always drawn to hats like these

Caught in the mirror

Can’t go anywhere in this town without the paparazzi coming after you

Meat stick in a Greek grocery store

Happy

I also want to thank Kristin from Cook, Bake and Nibble for letting me be a part of her Inspirational Women interviews. You can check out my interview on her blog here!

Shirin and I are proud to announce the winner of a personalized doucheBAG and eye cover…

Drumroll please…

The winner is Alex from Happy Go Lucky!

For the giveaway Shirin plugged 28 into random.org (because one of the comments was a trackback from me so that doesn’t count, and three people put in one comment that they tweeted/facebooked it, so that’s 26 - 1 + 3) and got 5!  Which was a very enthusiastic Alex!

Shirin would also like to offer readers a 15% discount off the price of any items from Sukré or Naught Fashion until Friday the 10th!

You can shop for Sukré and Naught Fashion here.

To get the discount just use the code: friendofgillian at the time of your purchase!  Enter the coupon code in the message to seller section during checkout and 15% will be refunded through paypal.