As part of the anniversary trip planning, the husband made dinner reservations for Friday and Saturday evening at two rather spendy restaurants by our standards.

On Friday evening we ate at Pelicano. Located on the Port of Ilwaco, the setting is very pretty. I love the water and boats (must come from spending so much time water skiing on the Columbia as a kid), so the ambiance was almost perfect. The weather was nice enough for al fresco dining and that would have made it perfect.

The husband started with the spring greens with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and sherry vinaigrette and I had the Caesar salad with garlic croutons and shaved Pecorino-Romano. Both were quite good. We ordered the Spring Chinook salmon with grilled asparagus, quinoa and lemon yogurt sauce. I’m not a big fan of asparagus, but this was delicious, and the salmon was incredible! I didn’t have room for dessert, but the husband enjoyed the Maker’s Mark Cheesecake with cherry sauce.

 We had reservations on Saturday evening at The Depot, which was offering two dinner specials; a 14 oz. rib-eye steak and a salmon fillet. We chose to order one of each and split them for a little DIY surf and turf. Both were exceptional, but the best part of the meal was the “Clamshell Railroad Clam Chowder” the husband ordered. AMAZING!

I don’t claim to be a foodie by any stretch of the imagination, but both meals were outstanding.

I was a little concerned about dining at these pricier restaurants. Normally, I’d rather enjoy one dinner and not care about the bill, then eat a much cheaper meal the second evening. However, since our breakfast was included in the price of our lodging and was so enormous that we didn’t need to eat lunch, I’m O.K. with the indulgence. I need to remember that the husband planned the entire weekend with the intent that it be special for me. And that’s what really matters!

My vacation dining *finesse level: 
Novice     Advanced beginner     Competent        Proficient        Expert   

What’s your vacation dining finesse level?

*finesse (skill, flair, grace elegance, poise, assurance)