The Herbfarm Restaurant ~ Woodinville (Seattle), Washington – Once in a while we come across an experience so extraordinary that we can hardly contain ourselves when we share it.  We are about to have one of those moments.

The Herbfarm Restaurant in Woodinville, Washington (just outside of Seattle) is the only AAA Five-Diamond restaurant west of Chicago and north of San Francisco.  And, National Geographic has proclaimed that The Herbfarm is the best destination restaurant in the world!  If you want to see a most impressive list of accolades, just click here.

There are only 42 AAA Five-Diamond restaurants in the United States.  The Herbfarm restaurant enjoys near mythological awe as the other 41 mere-mortal AAA Five-Diamond restaurants mainly serve a remarkable cuisine, where The Herbfarm restaurant features a repertory of seasonal dinners that feature the absolute best of farm, forest, and sea that the northwest has to offer.

As the seasons change, so too does The Herbfarm’s repertory.  In fact, throughout the season, The Herbfarm will offer as many as two-dozen different dining performances.

Each remarkable experience features a 9-course dinner, served with 6 matched wines, with everything drawing its inspiration from the rhythms of the season and generally harvested within a few-hundred-mile-circle of the restaurant.

Our dining performance was “A Summer Sketch Book” and began with a tour of their legendary herb garden.  We strolled through beautiful gardens filled with a superabundance of wonderful smelling herbs.  We sniffed, we chewed, and we were frankly a little taken back by some of the “flowers” that we were soon to be eating with our meal.

As we entered the restaurant from our garden tour, we walked past a very busy kitchen as they were putting the final touches on our first course which would primarily feature the herb garden’s fare.  However, the very first thing that came to my attention was the remarkable attention to detail absolutely everywhere you looked.

It was clear that our dining performance wasn’t merely a show for the olfactory system.  No, this was an experience destined to touch all of the senses as it brought us to near sensorial bliss. Sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound were all humming like a super-charged 12-cylinder Bentley.

As I (David) am a highly visual being, I thought it appropriate to put together a photographic odyssey of our evening, rather than try to express what is inexpressible with words.

I hope you enjoy…

Note:  If you can’t see the video, click here.  Also, be sure to watch the video in 720p.

Carol and I have enjoyed a great many wonderful dining experiences with remarkable award-winning chefs all over North America.  However, we tell you with all sincerity, none have climbed the heights of this gastronomical experience.  This was pure genius in the kitchen blended with an insatiable attention to absolutely every detail.

This was absolutely the best dining experience of our lives.  If you enjoy fine dining, then you must make your way to The Herbfarm Restaurant tucked away in the vineyards of Woodinville,  just outside Seattle.

PS  If we have convinced you to do so, make certain that you call months ahead of time.  These reservations are very hard to get!  And please, come back here and share your experience with us.

Disclosure:  this remarkable dining experience was provided by the fine folks at The Herbfarm Restaurant.  Thank you for making a wonderful life-memory for us!