A Mini Quest to Washington Missouri

Had a good day in Washington, Missouri today. My friend Lee was delivering some of her wonderful handmade Envisage Vintage Jewelry to a new local boutique, and I tagged along for lunch and shopping. Unfortunately, we found that much of Washington is closed on Monday, but there were beautiful holiday decorations in the historic downtown area, and we got very lucky on a couple of places we did find open.

We had lunch first at the Old Dutch Tavern. Wow - there were over 90 beers available at this great old restaurant and bar. I asked for recommendations from the waiter, who was very knowledgeable and brought me two different beers that were both good (although apparently, two beers at lunch renders me incapable of remembering said beers' names - sorry!) Lee had the milk stout they had on tap for both her beers and she loved that. The food was quite good - updated pub fare with some local selections. Lee had a great burger with gouda cheese and sweet potato fries. My choice was a beef brisket sandwich from the local Williams Brothers meat market topped with caramelized onions, boursin cheese and garlic herb mayo. It rocked, and that's not the beer talking. I paired it with the house-made potato salad, also good (perhaps just a bit bland, but I like spicy.) All in all, a really good find and I will go back. Oh, and even though they specialize in beer, they did have a very solid wine list - they just need a local selection or two - and a list of good single malt scotch. And it was all housed in a beautiful historic building with an awesome bar, original tin ceilings, and a charming ambiance.

Then it was on to deliver Lee's jewelry to the new Fern & Sycamore, just up the street. It's an inspired shop with a variety of art and goods of superior craftsmanship from all around the country. You'll naturally pay more than you would at the big name discount store, but the quality of the merchandise is well worth the price. I loved that many of the merchandise tags gave a bit of information on the company history and the number of people employed by the business (I think the largest one I saw was 200 employees.) This is a perfect Christmas shopping option for that discriminating, conscientious person on your list. (You know, in case you needed to get something for ME! teehee!!)

On that note,

Happy Trills!

Laura