prima bistro

The Holidays at Prima!

2011-12-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

The holidays always make me think of how much we have to be thankful for. At the top of my list is being able to raise my family here on this beautiful island because of the amazing support from you, our awesome customers. Thank you so much for your continued patronage. And also deep gratitude to our families, including the awesome work family that works so hard for this place to succeed.

Holiday info: We will be open on Christmas Eve for LUNCH ONLY. Closed Christmas Eve dinner and all day Christmas. We will be open all day New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Join us for our traditional New Year's Eve bash. This year we've got Trio Nouveau lined up to play from 8 until midnight. We will serve our regular dinner menu with some extra special specials along with a special champagne list. Starting at 10:30 we will move some of the tables aside for some swing dancing (or whatever kind of dancing you feel like doing!) If you are planning on staying through midnight with us, your reservation needs to be after 9:00. Dinner will be served until 10:00, munchies available after. We will again be selling the Tuzzie Muzzie hats, with proceeds to benefit the South Whidbey Children's Center. Call soon for reservations...we always fill up quickly!

Langley businesses are competing to raise money for our local food bank, Good Cheer, with a holiday door decorating contest. Vote for your favorite door design by depositing your vote (money) in the box in your favorite business. We were so lucky to have Tobey Nelson, owner of the new local floral and event design business, Vases Wild, create our front door. Please think of her the next time you have needs in the decorating arena...she's really great to work with. Her website is www.vaseswild.com and you can also find her on facebook.

PLATS DU JOUR: I finally convinced Sieb to do this...I'm so excited! Instead of offering a dinner special Sunday-Thursday, we are offering plats du jour as follows:
Sunday - Coq Au Vin - red wine braised chicken, mushrooms, bacon, fresh fettucine.
Monday - Bouillabaisse - mussels, clams, white fish, rouille, saffron fume'
Tuesday - 1/2 Roasted Duck - cheddar fritters, arugula, citrus-duck jus
Wednesday - CASSOULET!!! lamb, pork, rockwell beans, garlic sausage, duck confit (you can tell which one i'm most excited for)
Thursday - Saucisson de Maison "choucroute" - house made sausage, new potatoes, manny's beer braised sauerkraut
Fridays and Saturdays we will run dinner specials as usual.

$1000 cash giveway! For every $20 you spend at participating Langley businesses, ours included, you will receive tickets to be entered into the drawing that will take place at noon on December 18th at the Boy and the Dog (must be present to win). Did you know that 68% of dollars spent locally is reinvested back into your community? KEEP THE CHEER HERE!!!!

December music schedule:
Danny Ward, jazz saxophone, December 1st & 15th
Trio Nouveau, gypsy jazz, December 8th and New Year's Eve!
Levi and James, jazz swing duo, Deceber 22nd and 29th

As always, thank you so much for your patronage and we hope to see you real soon!
Jenn and Sieb

Vases Wild decks our doors for the Good Cheer holiday Fundraiser!

2011-11-22T16:24:00.001-08:00

Tobey Nelson, owner and operator of new local floral and event design business, Vases Wild, created the design for our holiday entryway. I am so thankful for her enthusiasm and talent...she was extremely easy to work with and I'm thrilled with the look! Little by little she'll be adding holiday elements to the inside of Prima as well. Read her words below...

"What better way to introduce Vases Wild (my new floral and event design business) than by participating in a Good Cheer Fundraiser?! (I love Good Cheer almost as much as I love flowers!) Jenn Jurrians (owner of Prima Bistro) and I have been so inspired by the frosty mornings of late that we decided to use that as the theme for Prima’s holiday decorations this year, and for the Bistro’s entry into Good Cheer’s “Deck The Doors” contest.
Using the inspiration of sparkley silvery frost on moss-covered branches, I embellished Cedar garland with cuttings from my garden and branches from storm-downed trees in my neighborhood. The ”bling” was all purchased from Good Cheer!

This holiday season, please support your community. Head to downtown Langley for some shopping; stroll the streets and enjoy the decorations. Stop in to Prima Bistro for a cup of good cheer and cast your vote for what we think is the best doorway in Langley!! Keep Vases Wild in mind for your floral and decor needs – let me help make your holiday party sparkle, and your doorway a delight for the eye! Check out my website for more information on my services. www.vaseswild.com"

2011-11-17T16:36:00.001-08:00

The Brussel Sprouts are here!

Willowood Farms delivered our first batch of brussel sprouts. Here's how we prepare them...they are sorta a big deal.

Trim the ends and pull off any bad leaves, cut in half, and blanch in heavily salted boiling water until they are cooked but have good crunch in the middle (3-5 minutes - depends on your quantity). Melt butter (a lot) in pan, wait until it's foaming, place sprouts in pan cut side down, leave at high heat, once they are browning add salt, pepper, chopped garlic and we use fines herbs. Toss until garlic cooks (30 seconds or so). That's it! The trick is to not be scared of butter and high heat.

Staff Retreat

2011-10-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

We will again be closing for 3 days, October 24-26th for our annual and much needed staff retreat. We load the cars up with TONS of food and drink, a few stand up paddle boards, a few dogs, and take the crew to an undisclosed location (although I think they've figured it out). We use it as a time to decompress and enjoy each others company - we apologize for any inconvenience, but thank you for understanding that it's a really important time for us and our crew. Particularly this year as we lost our dear friend and pastry chef Natanya Johnson to Type 1 diabetes at the end of August - we so appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that were and continue to be sent her way.

Now displaying the art of Karin Bolstad...October-December!

2011-10-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

It's a coincidence, but Karin and I went to high school together in Seattle...I ran into her a few years ago when we were picking our kids up at school here in Langley. I immediately was drawn to her work as the subjects are these very interesting women that I want to create a story around so I was so excited that she agreed to a show at Prima. Her work will be up through December...come enjoy it!

Karin's words:

My artwork is primarily figurative. I use vintage photographs and postcards as my models, and then embellish the paintings with vintage jewelry, paper, fabric, and found objects. This particular group entitled "The New Normal: Chapters" started out simply with the theme of women and books. As I started working on it, I lost my father to a sudden heart attack. That changed the direction of the paintings to the stages or "chapters" of my life since then adjusting to the new normal of not having him in my life. There are 6 pieces from this group I will have up and 5 more coming. There is also some older work that will be available for viewing and/or sale. I hope you come by Prima Bistro between now and the end of December, if not just to enjoy the fabulous food!

You can see more of my work at www.karinbolstad.com.

Closed Sunday, August 28th

2011-08-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

Celebration of Life for Natanya Johnson
November 30, 1978 – August 19, 2011

The community is invited to join Natty J’s family and friends in a celebration of her beautiful life at an open house at Prima Bistro, 201 1/2 Second Street, Langley, on Sunday, August 28th from 2:00 to 6:00 pm.

Natanya is beloved by everyone who knew her, and even the lives of those who don’t are better for her short time with us. Her bright spirit lit up the world around her, and those of us left behind are fortunate to have witnessed her grace under pressure, as well as delight in her creativity, generosity and humor.

It is a finger-food potluck if you desire to contribute. Please bring a token of love for the mandala and a memory to share, if you wish.

August Newsletter

2011-08-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

new sign in front by local artist david gignac!

the dead farts society


last night's salmon special...with first of the season chanterelles and local dwarf grey sugar peas

We've had lots of fun so far this summer...the Georgetown Brewery beer makers dinner was awesome and we will be making a tradition of holding it on the last Monday of July...I've already heard from a few of you that you've penciled it onto your calendars! And a huge thanks to those of you who celebrated our 5th anniversary with us...unbelievable to me that this is our 6th summer!

We continue with live music every Thursday night, 1st Saturdays with Deja Blooze 9-11 (come for dinner after the art walk this Saturday and catch some late night blues), and 4th Sundays with Trio Nouveau.

We've tweaked our happy hour a bit...here's the lowdown: many $5 appetizers specials, $5 well drinks (gin and tonic, rum and coke, etc), $5 margarita or champagne cocktail or sangria, $1 off draft beers and glass pour wines; and the $5 glass pours of the Vieille Ferme white, red, or rose.

I'm so excited with the work of our current artist, Michel Tsouris...I absolutely adore her encaustics. Here's a link to her website: http://www.karthia.com/index1.php

It is so amazing to me that in the 5 years of business the way I've changed how we market ourselves is amazing...it's all about social media now...facebook, twitter, our website and blog, online reviews, etc. You can help us out with that by telling the world how much you like us by writing us a review on urbanspoon or yelp or trip advisor...these sights have turned out to be the way a lot of our business is being driven to us...so the more that's positive out there on the web, the better!

Also, we would love for you to find us follow us on our new facebook page as the old group is being archived
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Langley-WA/Prima-Bistro/112647415485768

There are MANY events coming up in Langley and Whidbey Island in the next few months. To see the entire schedule go to www.visitlangley.com.

The thing I'm most excited about is the Island Shakespeare Festival outdoor production of Romeo and Juliet happening the next 3 weekends. For more information visit http://www.islandshakespearefest.org/

One of our great bartenders, Nick Horton, is also a kayak guide for Whidbey Island Kayaking...they'll take you out for a 2 hour tour for right around $50/person - what a great day trip...come up for a paddle and then grab lunch here! http://www.whidbeyislandkayaking.com/

And you don't want to miss the Island County Fair, August 18-21;

Here's what's showing at Museo, with the opening this upcoming Saturday:
In her first exhibit at Museo, Jan Hoy will be showing works in bronze, clay and multimedia pieces that use varying combinations of clay, bronze, steel, and aluminum. Her works are about Minimalism, the boiling down of a form to it¹s basic design elements.We will also be featuring recently created encaustic landscapes by local artist David Price. These works draw the viewer into their rich and layered surfaces. Each piece speaks to a place that is somehow familiar and timeless. None of the works are of any particular scene, but are inspired by images and views he has seen in the past.The show opens on Saturday, August 6 with an artists¹ reception from 5 to 7 pm. The exhibit runs through August 30.
And this just in from Brackenwood:

Hi Everyone, just a reminder that our Artists' Reception for our August show is this Sat. from 5-7PM. Langley's First Sat. Art Walk should be a wonderful summer event and we hope to see you all there. Sharon Spencer has produced some very beautiful and unique pieces for this show in bronze and mixed media. Skip Smith's, a master at the Lith printing technique, produced images that are somewhat antique and painterly and absolutely lovely. The show continues thru August 29th, 2011.

Rene Neff and Anne Waterman

--
As always, thanks for the patronage and we hope to see you soon!
Jenn and Sieb

Georgetown Brewery Beer Dinner!

2011-07-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Join us on Monday, July 25th for a beer paired, 5 course dinner. Tickets cost $65 and are going fast. Not only do you get to have an awesome dinner, but you get to hang with Manny...what could be better!

2011-06-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Online review sites have the ability to get me super fired up. Someone can have a complaint about a little thing, not say a word to the server and then go online and completely bash us. It does make an impact. People do read yelp and trip advisor and make their decisions based on what they read. I have learned that there are super savvy reviewers and people who are out there with some sort of ax to grind. I do sometimes use yelp when I'm trying to figure out where to eat...and I completely ignore the one star reviews...unless there are a lot of them for a particular restaurant. I like to read the 3, 4 and 5 star reviews and I mostly look for people who have some whit about them and critique a business fairly. FOR EXAMPLE...Elizabethe A recently reviewed us on Yelp (i got her permission to use this photo). I LOVE this review and I really love the photo. She obviously gets our restaurant. She mostly loves everything. And she gives us some good critiques on a few things as well...which we always consider and use for tools to improve.

Every single menu listing sounded to-die-for so we just ordered as many things as possible and shared. In the order that they appeared:

Scallop crudo: any place that is not a sushi restaurant that serves RAW scallops gets a billion points in my book. The dish came out with a generous heap of beautiful, fresh, delicious sliced RAW scallops, mixed with roasted red peppers and topped with a citrus vinegar dressing. I hate to start too strong, but it was the best dish of the meal. Pork belly: Nice fatty hunk of pork belly served with an apricot mustard that I was less than pleased with. I think that a simple apricot preserve probably would've suited the dish better.
Lamb chops: topped with some kind of honey glaze which was the perfect amount of sweetness and served with a slice of fried polenta that almost reminded me of corn bread. Even though the lamb chops were cooked well done, it still had amazing tenderness and flavor.
Bone Marrow: it was my first time! We received a generous amount accompanied by some toast and a little parsley caper salad. My description of bone barrow would be "like fat but it disappears in your mouth before you get to fully enjoy it". Yea so I'd probably rather be handed a hunk of fat to spread all over my bread and eat. But that's just my personal preference
Fingerling potatoes: fried in duck fat. a hybrid between roasted potatoes and a french fry, these fingerling potatoes were cut in half, fried in duck fat, making them extra rich and slightly crisp, and then served with a sinfully creamy aioli with the perfect amount of lemony tang. This dish is a must-have.
Steamed mussles: steamed in a white wine, garlic broth. Half a pound was enormous, mussles were delicious and meaty, simple, yet perfectly done. Can't say much more about that.
Cheesecake with blackberry balsamic redux: the cheesecake had a whipped texture which is not usually my favorite. I prefer it to be dense, but that's just me. The redux was not balsamic-y enough for me. But it was still good.
Smores chocolate blah lava blah blah graham cracker blah cake: The usual chocolatey explosion dessert that all great restaurants are required to have and this one was very well done. The lava cake had the perfect texture, firm on the edges and molten in the middle. Great whidbey island vanilla ice cream, a little heavy on the marshmallow sauce on top. If you try to order this and eat it all by yourself you are a fool. I am a fool.

Every ingredient was perfect, ever dish well thought out, every item executed well.

Anyhow, thanks Elizabethe A for taking the time to mindfully review the restaurants that you review and I promise the sweetbreads won't be 86'd when you come next time and it'll be on me!

CLOSED THE EVENING OF FRIDAY, June 10th for a Private Event...Apologies for the inconvenience!

2011-06-08T11:20:00.001-07:00

SWING DANCE!!!

2011-05-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 21st from 9:30-11:30 we'll be moving aside the tables so you can get your groove on to the tunes of Trio Nouveau! Come join in the fun, or have fun watching! This is in conjunction with Langley's Fashion Weekend...go to www.visitlangley.com for all the details on the weekend. Dinner service until 9:30, after that late night bar munchies!

See you then!

Current Newsletter

2011-05-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about the deck. We've had some customers very irritated with us that the deck is not open on those rare sunny HOURS we've experienced in the last few weeks. We will need a good stretch of dry and warm days (not minutes) to get that thing open. Things need to dry out for a few projects to get accomplished and it actually takes a chunk of time to set it up, pull out the umbrellas, and get organized. We also have to look at staffing in a very different way when we open the deck. If anyone wants that thing to be opened it's us (for obvious revenue reasons), but it really requires some time. Last year it wasn't open until after Memorial Day because of the icky April and May weather. Our goal is to have it open as soon as a nice stretch of dry days happens (with a forecast showing more dry days). Please just be patient and understand that we want it open more than you!

Our music schedule for the next few months is as follows:
Danny Ward, jazz saxophone: Thursdays, April 21st, May 5th, May 19th - 5:30-8:30 (pic courtesy of Drew Kampion)
Trio Nouveau, Django inspired jazz: Sunday April 24th 6-8, Thursday May 12th, 5:30-8:30,and Saturday May 21st (9:30-11:30).
James and Levi, jazz swing duo, Thursday April 28th and May 26th.
Deja Blooze, roadhouse blues, Saturday May 7th - 9:00-11:00
Mark the weekend of May 21st as Fun and Fashion weekend in Langley - flash fashion, trunk shows, fashion show, wine/beer/food flights all around town, late night music, and early morning yoga sessions. The final details of the weekend will be unveiled soon. At Prima, Trio Nouveau will be playing from 9:30-11:30 on Saturday night (the 21st) and we're bringing in some professional swing dancers to lead the fun...free lessons and pointers to dance the night away!

Many of you have asked for the secret to preparing the brussels sprouts (which will be coming off the menu soon unfortunately) and really it's very simple - no secret to it at all. Trim the ends and pull off any bad leaves, cut in half, and blanch in heavily salted boiling water until they are cooked but have good crunch in the middle (3-5 minutes - depends on your quantity). Melt butter (a lot) in pan, wait until it's foaming, place sprouts in pan cut side down, leave at high heat, once they are browning add salt, pepper, chopped garlic and we use fines herbs. Toss until garlic cooks (30 seconds or so). That's it! The trick is to not be scared of butter and high heat.

Langley's Mystery Weekend is featured in this awesome travel blog. This really shows the funky and quirky murder mystery tradition that happens in Langley each February...
http://mikebarish.com/2011/04/14/cruze-arati-murder-mystery-in-langley-washington/

For most up to the minute updates, particularly daily/nightly specials, follow us on twitter or friend the I love Prima fan page on facebook.

As always thanks so much for your continued patronage and hope to see you real soon!

Ron Kasprisin

2011-04-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Ron Kasprisin, professor of Urban Design at the University of Washington, watercolor artist, part time actor, winery owner, author, and our very loyal bar patron is the first to be interviewed in our new blog series featuring our most loyal and regular patrons. We believe that what makes any restaurant special is the unique cast of characters that can most often be found there. We provide the food, drink and awesome staff, but those who choose to spend their time with us are the key factors in creating the soul of the place. We are so honored by the large group of locals creating Prima's soul. From now through the end of June, Ron's watercolors will be featured (and for sale!) in our back dining room.

Prima: What brought you to Langley…and how long ago?

Ron: A desire for small town and outdoor living away from the city and suburbia, with an art oriented community

Prima: Who is your favorite other Langley local, other than yourself, and what question should we ask them?

Ron: Wow! Willard! Ask him about his relationship with Crystal Gale! And the universe of course.

Prima: What is your drink/food of choice while dining/drinking at Prima?

Ron: Rongento red wine, oops, I mean Argento Cabernet and the scallops and short rib dish

Prima: Who is your hero?

Ron: Besides myself, Leonard Cohen followed by Ghandi

Prima: Have you ever been a part of the shirtless man journey sing alongs?

Ron: No, I only take off my shirt to the ladies who will sing along

Prima: Why Prima?

Ron: It's a great place to meet with people, great staff and owners. It's an intimate bar and it's close to home.

Prima: Have you ever fallen down the back stairs?

Ron: Not yet and I have fallen up them in my rush to get some Rongento

Prima: Did you meet your significant other at Prima (or the former Star Bistro) and what happened? And how often?

Ron: No because I want to be able to keep coming back there!

Prima: What is something that you’ve done in this restaurant that we probably shouldn’t know about?

Ron: Hmmmmm. I really don’t want you to know about how I did it with the pasta pan

Find out more about Ron at www.ronkasprisin.com

or follow his blog at www.kasprisinridgestudios.blogspot.com

MONDAY, APRIL 11TH, closed from 2:00-5:00 for last minute hood cleaning and maintenance. Apologies!

2011-04-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

Need a place to stay while on Whidbey???

2011-04-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

As you have it, our eldest's piano teacher has these great vacation rentals and we want you to know about them! Secluded, beautiful property. Multiple units. Quiet and peaceful. 3.5 miles from Langley.

I directly copied the info below from her website, www.pinecottageandchalet.com

Contact Kathy Fox for details at 360 730 1376.

Perched above the Saratoga Passage, embraced by tall cedars, the property offers inspiring vistas of water and the Cascade Mountains - Pilchuck, Glacier Peak, Mount Baker and the Three Fingers are all visible on clear days. At night, the lights of Camano Island dot the horizon and meld with rising stars.

There is a warm heart at the center of both the Cottage and Chalet, emanating from natural wood and soft corners, making them inviting getaways for all seasons. Quiet surroundings are interrupted occasionally by eagle cries. There are several nestings nearby which can be spotted from window or porch.

Kitchens are stocked with breakfast provisions the night before so that your privacy is guaranteed and schedule choices are your own.

Each accommodation has its own phone line.

The Chalet offers spacious accommodations where you can go by yourself, with your family, or another couple, and feel a comfortable privacy. The Pine Cottage has the feel of a snug and well appointed ship's cabin. Finished entirely in knotty pine, this one room cottage has an efficient galley. Sleeping accommodations include a queen size bed and a fold out from the comfortable love seat that faces Saratoga Passage.

JAPAN RELIEF EFFORT: Text Redcross at 90999 to make a $10 donation while dining at Prima and we'll enter you into a drawing for a $100 Prima Gift Certificate!

2011-03-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Closing at 3:00 Sunday, March 20th for a fundraising dinner for the South Whidbey Children's Center. Apologies, but it's for the kids!

2011-03-20T10:33:00.001-07:00

OYSTERS! by lucas clark

2011-03-10T15:46:00.000-08:00

Rachel and I recently retuned from a few days in Vancouver BC. A short but sweet mini vacation as well as the opportunity to celebrate the successful conclusion to our first year of wedded-dom! Hard to believe, it is only one year since Sieb and Jenn shut down Prima and helped us throw the best party of our lives. During our trip, we shared many of the highlights from that day, including some of the hysterical toasts and speeches. Many of which I had forgotten. One of my favorite memories was the Herculean efforts of our self-appointed designated driver, Sam (the infamous wine rep from Noble Wines). Sam made sure that all those in need arrived back (safe and somewhat sound) to each nook, cranny and corner of the island (and China City). A personal note to Sam: if and when Rachel and I get married again, we promise you will get an actual invitation! As long as you promise you don't wear that headband.

We stayed at an old (it was built in 1279 BC, or something like that) but beautiful hotel called the Victorian, on Homer Street in Gastown. However, we did opt for a suite rather than one of those classic European style accommodations with shared bathrooms. I am way shier than Rachel. We went with few plans except to visit a few museums and of course drink and eat (in that order). Somehow we never made it to the museums but were incredibly successful with the latter.

Leaving out the drinking, we did an excellent job of re-exercising our seafood taste buds, with a particular focus on oysters (it was a second honeymoon… of sorts). We ate them at nearly every place we went. The best, in our humble opinion, was a medium sized oyster from the Strait of Georgia, called a Gem, which we found at the Pourhouse Restaurant also in Gastown. I can only say that in every way we had a great time… thank you, thank you, you delectable and beneficial mollusk! That's Rachel's dinner at Cork and Fin over there on the left. She ate it all.

Speaking of oysters, we (Prima Bistro, you, me, all of us) are so lucky to have one of the greatest oyster resources on the west coast in our backyard… Penn Cove. Penn Cove oysters have won 7 of the last 8 Most Beautiful Oyster Competitions held each year at the Elliot Oyster House in Seattle – which, by the way, we beat in King 5’s Best Out Door Dining category, last year. I’ve had Penn Cove oysters at Bay 13 in Portland (Rachel’s former place of work), Zuni in San Francisco, Spago in Las Vegas and of course all over Seattle. They are the perfect ambassador for the flavors and beauty of Whidbey Island (except possibly the view of the mountains from Cascade Avenue on a blued sky afternoon). They pair exceptionally well with many of the fine white wines we have on our menu. Pictured above are Penn Cove selects...served how we serve 'em...on rock salt, with a white wine mignonette and lemon.

In the 19th century Oysters (just like lobsters) were not the luxury item they are today; cheap and eaten primarily by the working class. Just another clue to my growing conviction, either I was born into the wrong class or, at a minumum, the wrong century! According to wiki, the first oyster beds to become word famous were located in waters around New York City and became popular in that city’s booming restaurant trade.
While oysters are traditionally featured in summer white wine events, I think they are delicious any time of year, even when there is a little snow on the ground. So, put on those mukluks (if necessary), come in for a little wine (maybe a Sam sighting), we’ll shuck you a dozen of Penn Cove’s finest, and the rest, well…

What's new this month...

2011-03-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

We are really excited about some of the new additions to the menu...namely we added a Cote de Beouf into the steak frites section after we received rave reviews and a few ultimatums that we put it on our regular menu - a 32 ounce bone in ribeye for 2 people - served steak frites style. Daily our kitchen crew is creating a $3.00 brochette (basically a shish kabob but don't tell Sieb I called it that) at happy hour - $4 after happy hour. Today's brochette for example is hanger steak, new potato, red onion and portabello mushroom with a fire roasted red pepper harissa sauce. Additionally we added a delicious winter salad of napa cabbage, kumquats, and blood oranges with a baked goat cheese crottin. Also the blend of sangio, merlot and primitivo from Whidbey Island Winery under the label of Prima Red has been released, is available at Prima and is DELICIOUS!
Label design by local artist David Gignac.

We heard of the first sighting of a grey whale in Saratoga passage yesterday. Throughout March and April these sightings are common place as they migrate north on their journey from mexico to alaskan/canadian waters. I picked up a new pair of binoculars over at Wander on Whidbey (one of my favorite newer shops, filled with outdoor gear...our own mini REI) so if you see a spout ask your server for the binocs to get a better view! The Welcome the Whales Day is April 23rd - a parade and lots of educational opportunities - a great weekend to come up... especially if you have kids.

Our music schedule has some changes this month:
Danny Ward (there he is in the photo playing last week, photo courtesy of Drew Kampion)
will be playing Thursday March 3rd, 17th, and 24th

Trio Nouveau will be playing Thursday March 10th and Sunday March 27th
Deja Blooze will be playing the 2nd Saturday rather than the 1st - March 12th, from 9-11
and James and Levi will be playing March 30th

side note...did you realize that Danny Ward was playing sax in that one scene in An Officer and a Gentleman...he's got some GREAT stories about Richard Gere and the crew of that film!

This is the first weekend of the month so that means new exhibits in the galleries and the art walk is tonight. Brackenwood's show is entitled "A Feast For the Eyes." and features oil painter Gail Weir and textile artist Cary Ann Hamer - opening on March 5th. And opening at Museo on the same day is a show featuring Dan Ishler's ceramics and Kandis Susol's encaustics.

Wica has some awesome upcoming shows - http://www.wicaonline.com/ as does the Whidbey Children's Theater - http://www.wctonline.com/
And we'll be teaming up with the Clyde next weekend when they show the Black Swan - we're going to try to replicate that tequila drink so come in before or after the show - http://www.theclyde.net/

We will be closed for a fundraising dinner for the South Whidbey Children's Center on Sunday, March 20th

As always, thanks for the continued support and we hope to see you soon!

Jenn and Sieb

If it's red and it's wet...I'll drink it...by Lucas Clark

2011-02-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Lucas Clark...Prima's general manager, our brother in law, awesome server and bartender and master of tom foolery will be submitting monthly blogs...here's the first!

My grandparents were married for over 60 years, and at least 50 of those where happy. I can only attest this kind of marriage longevity to a deep appreciation for red wine, food, and family.
My appreciation and education of big California red wines started when I was 15 at a family Christmas party. I distinctly remember my father bringing out a well aged red something or other and showing it off to the family, pouring us each a taste so there would be enough to go around; all the while, my grandfather looking at him with some amount of disdain and right before slugging the whole thing down saying, "If it's red and it's wet I'll drink it." Thus began my lifelong appreciation for wine that is both red and wet. I learned how to drink great wine from my father, and how to drink wine from my grandfather.

This short history brings me to my current favorite wine, Morgans Cote De Crow. It is a blend of 50% Syrah and 50% Grenache, grown in the St Lucia Highlands area of California. Great with food, without food, or on a cold morning in front of the fire watching the storms blow by. This Rhone style wine with a dark ruby red color smells of strawberry jam and cloves; with herbs, cranberry and spicy flavors on the mouth. The wine is fermented in open top tanks and receives manual punch downs. They use 18% new oak, which gives the wine a subtle spice and hints of vanilla. Morgan is a family owned winery, in operation since 1982. In 1996 they bought 65 acres in the St. Lucia Highlands, where they started growing grapes organically on the Double L Ranch.

If my grandpa was still alive, I'd take him a bottle, sit down with him and ask about his childhood days riding the train, conducted by his father, to the Russian river to fish for salmon. He would have told me about eating salmon roe and spending the night under the stars next to the river. He taught me to hunt deer, clean trout, and drink way too much red wine. His life, more than anyone I’ve known, was about the most important things; wine, friends, family, good food, and wine.
I suggest drinking this wine with a friend, a lover, or someone friendly enough to become a lover, while enjoying scallops and short ribs. Don’t run home through the pouring rain. Stop for a moment and appreciate the rain as Gene Kelly might. It's winter for the next 2 months and we might as well drink red, because it's gonna be wet.

January Newsletter

2011-01-16T16:33:00.000-08:00

First off our entertainment schedule remains the same...we are so lucky to have such committed and talented musicians!

Danny Ward (1st &3rd Thursdays)... Jan 20, Feb 3 & Feb 17...5:30

Your's Truly (2nd Thursdays)... Feb 10...5:30

Trio Nouveau (4th Sundays), Jan 23 & Feb 27,...6:00

James and Levi(4th & 5th Thursdays), Jan 27, Feb 24...6:00

Deja Blooze (1st Saturdays), Feb 5, March 5...9-11

Happy Hour: 3-6 daily, 1/2 off well drinks, $1 off glass pour wine and draft beer, $4 happy hour wines, and $5 food offerings!!! Menu changes: We'll be making a few changes next week, namely adding a delicious new salad...a roasted goat cheese crottin on a salad of napa cabbage, kumquats, blood oranges and a meyer lemon vinaigrette. And don't forget we always serve Eggs Prima (our version of eggs benedict) on Sundays. I think coming down for the second half of the Hawks game tomorrow for Eggs Prima and a bloody mary would be a great way to ease into the day!

January and February are jam packed with activities in Langley...visit www.visitlangley.com for all the details. But here are a few of the highlights:

From Museo..."we will liven up the darker days of winter with an edgy show entitled Saints and Sinners. This show will push the limits and blur the lines between good and evil. The February show is always an opportunity to step out of the ordinary, so we will open the show Saturday, January 22nd and it will run through February. The gallery will be closed January 1st - 21st to prepare for the show." At Prima, we'll have two cocktails to team up with this concept...one a saint and the other a sinner!

Truffles and Wine Pairing with 'Intrigue Chocolates' of Seattle, Saturday, January 29th 1 - 4pm, $10 at Whidbey Island Winery Offering six seasonal truffle flavors carefully paired with WI winery wines, you will sip, sample, taste, savor, and delight in this casual guided event. This is a great opportunity to learn the ins and outs of tasting chocolate and why it can make you swoon when paired with just the right wine! Stop in any time between 1 and 4pm, stay as long as you like, and they guarantee you will leave with a smile. (and probably some chocolate and wine!)

Valentines Day...make your reservations soon as we fill up shortly. Sieb has some great menu ideas and Natanya will be creating some out of this world desserts!

Mystery Weekend...this year entitled Murder most Prescribed...February 26 & 27th...I know lodgings fill up quickly so make your plans soon!

As always, we thank you so much for your continued patronage and hope to see you real soon!

CLOSED JANUARY 3RD

2011-01-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks for understanding...we'll be cleaning all day and holding our staff party that evening. See you Tuesday!

UPCOMING EVENTS

2010-11-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

LIVE MUSIC

Dec 26…6-8…Trio Nouveau

Dec 30…5:30-8:30…Levi and James

Dec 31^st…to ring in the New Year…Levi and James!
Jan 1st...Deja Blooze...9:00-11:00

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CLOSED THANKSGIVING

AND CHRISTMAS.

OPEN CHRISTMAS EVE LUNCH ONLY

OPEN and partying…

NEW YEARS EVE AND NEW YEARS DAY

GOOD CHEER FOOD DRIVE

2010-10-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

For the entire month of November, bring in 3 cans of food for the Good Cheer Food Bank and receive a complimentary dessert with your dinner (limit one per table)!

CLOSED OCTOBER 18-20 for staff retreat

2010-10-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

We apologize for the inconvenience, but we're gettting the you know what out of dodge. Our crew worked so hard over the summer and they really deserve a break. We're going to an undisclosed location for 2 nights of eating and playing. We'll be open again as per usual on Thursday the 21st. Thank you for understanding!

NEW ART!

2010-09-08T22:04:00.000-07:00

Our latest featured artist, Lawrence Stapleton hung his acrylic paintings in our back room yesterday. I LOVE IT! Please come visit, check it out and buy one of his originals or prints.

Thank you so much to David Price, who will keep some of his pieces in the front of the restaurant, AND to all of you who purchased one of his amazing works.

Local artists...I love getting in new local talents...please contact me if you are interested in an upcoming show!

September News

2010-09-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Wow, summer has come and gone in literally a blink of an eye. Thank you for helping us achieve such a successful season...it was over the top!

We are thrilled to again be in the running for King 5's Best of Western Washington - in the outdoor dining category this time! We'd so appreciate it if you took the time to vote for us by clicking on the following link:
http://ctvr.us/primabistro

We continue with live music Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons...maybe we'll get a few more performances out on the deck!

Also, we regularly post our specials or up to the minute happenings either on facebook on the "I Love Prima Bistro" fan page or follow our tweets at http://twitter.com/primabistro

MARK YOUR CALENDERS! DJANGOFEST 2010 is coming the last weekend of September...visit the WICA website for all the details. This years festival marks the 100th anniversary of Django Reinhardts birth and WICA says they are pulling out all the stops! http://www.wicaonline.com/2010-2011/DFNW2010/DFNW2010.html

This Year's Langley OKTOBERFEST is being held at Olde World Ales and Lagers...the brewery in the back of the old firehouse on October 2nd. The Langley Chamber of Commerce and Olde World Ales & Lagers are coming together bringing polka music, treasure hunt, local delicious beer and much more!

My job this year is to come up with some sort of obstacle course for beer laden local restaurant workers to compete in...hopefully we can figure out a way to open the competition up to other festival goers as well!

We again will be taking our crew on a staff retreat so will be closing up shop October Monday, Oct 18th - Wed, the 20th. We will be traveling to an undisclosed location to eat and drink and enjoy each others company - our crew really deserves a few days away after the incredible amount of work they do each summer.

Another great reason to come to Whidbey is now being offered by Sieb's mom, Cary Jurriaans at the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio...visit her website to see the upcoming opportunities that she is offering...truly world class art workshops and classes.
http://www.whidbeyislandfas.com/

August

2010-08-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

We continue with our Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon music:
August 12th... Yours Truly, European duo
August 15th (3-5)... Whidbey Strings Trio, new to our line up includes James Hinkley, Cat Fritz, and Elizabeth Lovelace!
August 19th... Danny Ward, jazz saxaphone
August 22nd...Trio Nouveau (pictured to the left)
August 26th....James and Levi, jazz swing duo

And just a few of the great things happening in Langley over the next few weeks, if you ever really needed an excuse to hop on that ferry, include:
Next Saturday, the 14th, the Highland Games will be happening in Langley at the middle school rather than the traditional location in Greenbank.
The Island County Fair runs august 19-22.
Museo this month features the 3 terrific artists, Danielle Bodine(sculptor), Kathryn Trigg (painter) and Deloss Webber (sculptor).
Looking forward into the fall a few things should already be on your calendar: Djangofest runs September 22-26 and Oktoberfest on October 2nd.

Check out the Langley website for details and more activities at www.visitlangley.com

4 YEARS!

2010-07-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

On January 13, 2006 we were more or less coerced into a meeting with Gene and Tamar Felton to look at the empty restaurant space that was the Star Bistro for 16 (or so?) years, but which had been vacant for nearly a year. You see, Sieb was the executive chef at Saltoro and he was buying wine for the resto from the same guys that were selling to Gene at the Star Store and they kept telling us we needed to see the space and meet the Feltons. We had a 2 year old, I had a great job teaching in the Seattle School District. We weren't moving to Whidbey Island - NO WAY. These guys, Todd Alkema and Sam Carvey just wouldn't drop it and at the annual Goat Roast after of course too many drinks Sam got us to agree and immediately texted Gene that he was going to bring us up. Sieb and I looked at it as a day on Whidbey drinking great wine and finally getting Todd and Sam to shut up about it already. But NO WAY were we even really considering opening a restaurant on Whidbey Island and uprooting our family from a life we really loved. Which completely explains why 5 minutes after entering into the empty space, no electricity, Gene walking us around with a Coleman lantern, a years worth of dust buildup in a space needing a lot of updating we said to ourselves, "let's go for it!"

We emailed Gene within the next few days and said we were very interested, but there were a few things that needed to happen before we could commit, primarily writing an extensive business plan and securing funding. This with our vast knowledge of writing business plans and securing funds. Within a month we had our business plan done and were ready to look for investors, but our first choice was to get an SBA loan from Whidbey Island Bank and with a lot of help from Lauren Pool and Anne Bobinac we secured our loan. In the meantime we had to finish some major renovations to our home in Seattle, sell it, and find a home on Whidbey Island. Many friends came together to help us finish the remodel, we put our house on the market and it sold within the first week thanks to the best realtors in the world (my mom and dad), and thanks to Anne Muniz we found this great house right away. Things kept falling into place very nicely. But still I kept thinking, WHAT ARE WE DOING??? Luckily it was so crazy and the ball was rolling so quickly and there was no way of stopping to think about it. Luckily.

SO, we took possession of the space on April 1st, 2006 and we knew that we just had to be open for that summer season to get the revenue stream rolling. There was a lot to do. Renovations, licenses and permits, hiring, menu development, new furniture and fixtures, painting, etc. Thankfully we had incredible support from the Feltons, Gary Riedling handyman extraordinaire (all pictured there sitting at the bar later that first summer, along with great customers Lisa and John Butters), and we were able to pick the brain of Carol Hurless who had run the Star Bistro all those years (Gene's fabulous sister). We roped Sieb's front of house manager and great friend, Cole Ratliff, from Saltoro into helping us open. Sieb and Cole moved into the back storage area of the restaurant and spent all of April and May chipping away at the huge list of to do's. Once our Seattle house closed Netty and I moved in with my parents so I could finish out the school year (teaching). My sister Rachel and her then boyfriend, now husband, Lucas Clarke were leaving San Francisco and they commited to helping us as well. Numerous restaurant friends signed on for serving shifts, primarily Kate Cowles, Steph Neesvig and Mike Wilson. Without them we would have been more lost than we already were. Which was pretty darn lost.

Fast forward to June 28th, 2006. Our first day of business. Our training had more or less consisted of having our new employees spend a week helping us put the restaurant together...assembling the tables and chairs, stocking the wine, setting up the bar and oh yeah... "that's the computer system and this is our menu and that's your first table." Things were VERY bumpy that first summer to say the least, well that whole first year, actually pretty bumpy for the first 2 years. But we built up a regular and awesome local clientelle...customers who supported us, believed in us and kept us going. At the very tip top of that list is Bob French and Bernita Sanstad...the most supportive and positive people I've ever met. They, along with many others, kept our heads above the water and kept us going with continual positive encouragement. I started to list our regulars to express our deepest gratitude. The list is never ending, but I became fearful I'd forget someone and decided that it wasn't a smart thing to do.

Somehow we also decided that summer that it was a great time for me to get pregnant again, so by summer number 2 we also had baby number 2. Clara became a regular fixture at Prima for the first 6 months of her life. She had a little crib in the office and our regulars got trained at knowing what the red lights on the baby monitor set up in the bar meant. Dave Gignac would yell, "Jenn, it's a level 4!" Dave also has drawn hundreds of his amazing sketches on the back of our comment cards and they are displayed proudly in our back room and on our menu, and the Prima White label that he designed for our special Whidbey Island Winery blend. Dave also designed and built that cool sign on our back stairs.

So now for the thing that has really allowed us to continue on: our staff. We are so thankful to them for their tireless and sometimes thankless work.

We feel so fortunate for the quality people who have decided to make Prima their restaurant family. We have been extremely lucky in retaining many of our crew for long periods of time...which really helps in creating the consistency we strive for.

All in all, the past 4 years have been completely and utterly amazing. There is nothing more I want in life than to continue raising our family in this beautiful place and serving up tasty meals to our fabulous customers.

First event of Whidbey Island's slow food chapter

2010-06-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Slow Food Whidbey Island Chapter first event.

Date/time: Sunday, June 27th 2 - 4 p.m..

Location: Greenbank Farm, large barn adjacent to wine shop (The Greenbank Sunday Farmers' Market overlaps a bit; open 11 a.m. until 3 p.m

Admission: $25 per person includes food and wine. Minors are not invited.

1. The Slow Food movement began in Italy in the late 1980s to provide an alternative influence to the encroachment fast food in European eating habits and life style. The mission is to show people that updated pre-industrial food production methods and manufacture are viable, healthful, preferable alternatives to current food manufacturing and agribusiness practices. The top item on the current agenda of Slow Food USA is nutritious food in school cafeterias across the country. Google: slowfoodusa.com for more information.

In August of last year Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard hosted an informational potluck and meeting for Whidbey residents interested in starting a local Slow Food chapter. A small group of mostly growers, chefs and friends met for several months to discuss a vision for Slow Food on Whidbey. The group became the steering committee which fulfilled Slow Food USA requirements to become a bon fide chapter. The June 27 event at the Greenbank Farm is the group’s first event. Officers are Rio Rayne, Membership; Sheryl Abrams, Programs; Aracely Knox, Treasurer; Vincent Nattress, Vice-chair; Barbara Graham, Chair.

2. The concept for the Whidbey Island event is to teach about what Slow Food means by way of tasting, smelling, seeing beautiful, local product cooked by local chefs. We'd like people to learn to appreciate real food which has been handled more by hands than machines. The message will show why these Whidbey growers give their crops and animals such care, time, energy to produce high quality, nutritious product and why these Whidbey chefs bother to buy a local product from them instead of cheaper sources trucked in from far and wide.

Each chef and grower will share a table with the chef's prepared food available for guests to eat and the grower's raw product ingredients available to see and learn about. The guests will be able to talk with chefs and growers about the food and view the raw product. It is a rare opportunity to catch these chefs out of their kitchens for a chat!

Chefs Scott Frazer (Frazer’s), Joe Scott (Oystercatcher), Andreas Wurzrainer (Christopher’s), Sieb Jurriaans (Prima Bistro), Kathy Longstreet (Deception Café), Jan Gunn (Whidbey Pies Café) will offer small plates of food prepared with ingredients grown by one of their regular suppliers of locally grown product. The growers involved, Rosehip Farm, Penn Cove Shellfish, 3-Sisters Beef, Willowood Farm, Bell’s Farm. Guests will taste the food and learn why Whidbey-grown ingredients are appreciated by chefs of fine dining restaurants.

Vintner Greg Osenbach (Whidbey Island Winery) will pour wine and tell his story about growing grapes and making wine on Whidbey for the past 25 years. His wines and other locally-made wines may purchased by the bottle in the Greenbank Farm Wine Shop. Greenbank Wine Store will provide wine glasses.

Tickets will be sold at the door. Advance tickets will be sold at the Deception Pass Café & Grill.; Whidbey Pies and Greenbank Farm wine shop; in Coupeville at the Oystercatcher, Christopher's, bayleaf; at Frazer’s and bayleaf in Oak Harbor; at Solutions Salon in Freeland; at Prima Bistro and Whidbey Island Winery in Langley. Willowood Farm and Rosehip Farm will well tickets at Coupeville Farmers’ Market,

MAY NEWS

2010-05-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

Happy May! The deck is now open for lunch only... weather permitting - we'll wait a few more weeks to open out there for dinner service...just too darn cold. Anyhow, lots to tell you about:

Our new menu items have now rolled out! You will see a lamb burger with chevre aioli, pickled pepper-tomato relish, arugula and french fries; asparagus, ham and mascarpone risotto with fines herbs and parmigiano-reggiano; warm asparagus salad with french ham, cornichons, shallots, hard boiled egg and lemon vinaigrette; Washington manila clams with house made chorizo, white wine, basil and tomato coulis.

We have now also released the Whidbey Island Winery Prima White special blend, with label design by the one and only David Gignac. Dave is the artist whose artwork is on the back cover of the menu and whose sketches cover the storage area of our restaurant, and whose amazing work can be seen all over Langley.

ALSO, we are so excited to introduce pichets (pitchers) of wine. We will be offering all of our glass pours by the 14 ounce pichet - for the same price as 2 glasses (12 ounces). We are really hoping this will encourage tables to taste through more of our wines, and to do more pairing with our food.

BOB’S BROWN ALE...FRIDAY, MAY 14^TH

Bob's is a special beer brewed in honor of Georgetown brewing’s friend, Bob Hirsch, who fought cancer valiantly for many years. I'm old college friends with Manny, owner of Georgetown brewing – so we wanted to serve up this beer for this great cause. Bob's Brown Ale is released every May 14th (Bob's b-day). 100% of our proceeds from Bob's will be donated in honor of Charles "Bob" Hirsch to the Seattle Ronald McDonald House to provide a "home-away-from-home" for Children's Hospital patients and families.

Incidentally, we will also be teaming up with Georgetown Brewing on Monday, July 26th for a 5 course beer makers dinner. Cost is $55/person and we foresee that these reservations will go in a flash. The hope is to have the dinner out on the deck and we think it's gonna be a blast. I'm hoping that Sieb will do a repeat of that chopper's red ale beer battered fried chicken he did last weekend and pair it with, well, Chopper's Red Ale of course. Call us soon for reservations.

We continue with our live music line up...every Sunday afternoon from 4-6 and Thursday nights.

Follow us on Twitter for more up to the minute updates and specials at www.twitter.com/primabistro and join our I Love Prima Bistro facebook fan page.

Closed Tuesday, May 4th for Cleaning Party!

2010-05-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

We've got to get ready for the summer season...time to open the deck, and prepare new menus and spring clean! Apologies for any inconvenience.

MAY DAY FOR NATTY J!

2010-04-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

"Give it up" and come to May Day for Natty J!, a benefit for Natanya Johnson who is struggling with the long-term effects of Type 1 Brittle Diabetes. The event is being held at the Deer Lagoon Grange...doors open at 5 on May 1st. This is also an event to to raise awareness about diabetes and organ donation. Natanya was our pastry chef at Prima...and I doubt we'll ever find another as good as her.

Natty J was diagnosed at age eleven and does dialysis three days a week. She is unable to work and only recently obtained health benefits through Medicare to help defray her exorbitant medical expenses. Natanya needs a pace-maker in her stomach to aid in digestion (one of the side effects of her condition is “Gastroperisis,” paralysis of the stomach) and is also waiting to get on the list for a kidney and pancreas transplant.

Doors open at 5:00 pm
Silent Auction from 6:00 to 8:30 pm
Live Auction from 9:00 to 10:00 pm
After that dance ‘til you drop!

Music provided by Eric Allen, James Hinkley and Levi Burkle, Krash Zen and DJ Kettle.
Food provided by Edgecliff, Gordon’s and Prima Bistro.

Donations are greatly appreciated. They can be dropped off at Edgecliff or Prima Bistro, or mailed to Joy Timoshuk - P.O. Box 743, Langley, WA 98260.

SPRING NEWS

2010-03-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

First off, we'll be honoring Earth Hour this Saturday, March 27th from 8:30-9:30 by turning off all the lights in the dining room and dining by candlelight...seems like a very simple way to participate with a global effort towards sustainable living. Here's what Sue Frause had to say about it in her Seattle P.I. blog: http://blog.seattlepi.com/whidbey/

Next...the much anticipated next Langley Chef dinner will be April 22nd, Earth Day, at Fireseed Catering. We thought it would be fitting for the Whidbey Camano Land Trust to be the recipient of the funds from this event, given the day of the dinner AND the enormous goal they are currently trying to reach of raising 4.2 million dollars to acquire and protect the Trillium property. This will be a 6 course, wine paired meal prepared by Dave and Dawn Noble from Fireseed catering, Des Rock from Useless Bay Coffee Company, Donna Leahy from The Chef's Pantry, Jess Dowdell from Mukilteo Coffee, Matt Costello from the Inn at Langley, and Sieb from Prima. Tickets are $85/person and will be go on sale here at Prima on April 6th at 10 in the morning. No one person can purchase more than 4 tickets. These dinners have sold out immediately in the past.

We are thrilled to have again been mentioned in this months Seattle Metropolitan magazine cover story:
http://www.seattlemet.com/travel-and-outdoors/articles/spring-road-trips-0410/4/

LIVE MUSIC THURSDAY NIGHTS FROM 5:30 ON AND SUNDAY AFTERNOONS FROM 4:00-6:00!

SUNDAY AFTERNOON MUSIC

2010-03-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Now, along with our Thursday night live music offerings, you can stop by Prima from 4-6 on Sunday afternoons for some late afternoon tunes. We are rotating through 4 musicians: 1st Sundays with Rendezvous...2 people, 10 strings; 2nd Sundays with David Gregor (aka Deja Blooze, pictured there to the right); 3rd Sundays with Michael Sheehan...60's and 70's folky covers; and 4th Sundays with Danny Ward...jazz saxophone. Join us for a late afternoon snack and drink or an early dinner and enjoy this great line up!

NEW AND IMPROVED KIDS MENU AND EGGS PRIMA EVERY SUNDAY

2010-02-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

We've expanded our kids menu...now the kiddos under 12 can get a half order of mussels or a small portion of plain risotto along with the fish and chips, grilled cheese, cheeseburger, or noodles with parm. We also are offering a variety of sides for these kids meals: a mixed green salad, carrot and celery sticks, fruit or french fries.

Kids meals are $6.50 and come with a choice of drink and a choice of one of those sides. We still sometimes hear from people that they didn't realize we were family friendly...WE ARE! We are used to sweeping up the cheerios and mashed french fries...our girls are always at the restaurant...and I guarantee you they are not perfectly well behaved!

ALSO...every Sunday at lunch we will be offering Eggs Prima...the most delicious Eggs Benedict on the planet (actually although I'm obviously biased, that is the absolute truth). We serve ours on gougeres and with fingerling potatoes.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2010-01-28T23:36:00.000-08:00

We will be closed for a private party all day on Saturday, February 6th. This is something we never do, but in this case we just had to do it. My sister Rachel and Lucas (pictured there to the right) are getting married...and seeing how they helped us open the restaurant, took over a year out of their lives to help get us up and running, and got engaged on the deck of the restaurant, we couldn't say no when they asked to have the wedding at Prima. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Sunday, February 7th, Rendezvous continues to enhance our musical line up on the first Sunday of the month...they'll be playing from 4:00-6:00. Here's a clip of them playing at Prima...you have to scroll down awhile:
http://www.americantowns.com/wa/langley/videos

We continue with our regular Thursday musical line up of Danny Ward (jazz saxophone) on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month, Yours Truly (accordion and violin duo) on the 2nd Thursday, and James Hinkley and Levi Burkle (jazz swing duo) on the 4th and if there is a 5th Thursday.

VALENTINES DAY: This is always a completely filled up night so make your reservations soon. Danny Ward will be playing starting at 5:00.

And I just had to throw those photos in from New Years...we had so much fun! Thanks to all of you who joined us to ring in 2010!

DINE OUT FOR HAITI IN LANGLEY ON MONDAY THE 25TH of JANUARY

2010-01-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

We've joined forces with a variety of dining establishments in Langley to raise funds for the disaster relief effort in Haiti. This upcoming Monday, January 25th many restaurants in Langley will be earmarking a percentage of their funds for various relief funds. We at Prima will be donating 20% of proceeds from the entire day to Doctors Without Borders. As of today I've been able to rally the following troops...of course the efforts being made by businesses and individuals in Langley are not limited to this list!
Prima and Cafe Langley...20% of proceeds to Doctors Without Borders;
Edgecliff...free buffet from 4-7, accepting donations for World Concern;
Mikes Place...10% of proceeds to Doctors Without Borders (DIFFERENT DATE...FRIDAY THE 22ND);
Useless Bay Coffee Company will be roasting a special Help Haiti blend and donating 100% of proceeds to Doctors Without Borders;
Mukilteo Coffee will be selling $10 raffle tickets for a gourmet brunch basket...all proceeds to doctors without borders;
Village Pizzeria and Living Green are participating, contact them for details;
Maurlees will have a donation jar out for customers to donate to the cause;
Eddy's will be donating a percentage of their sales on Monday to Doctors Without Borders, and US Bank is collecting donations for Red Cross. The Clyde, Island Athletic, and Lindsay Communications are matching what's being put into the Clyde's magic change jar.

NEW YEAR'S EVE!

2009-12-18T19:33:00.000-08:00

Just a few weeks left until New Years...my favorite party of the year. We will be ringing in 2010 with the music of James and Levi...our favorite jazz swing duo from 7:30 through midnight, and we'll be wearing our favorite party hats...here's a pic of Angus, one of our favorite regulars, wearing one in the background with some of the newly created hats in the foreground. This year we'll be selling them for $30 and proceeds will be going to the South Whidbey Children's Center...our favorite place for kids. We'll be offering our regular dinner menu, along with a special champagne and sparkling wine menu, and a late night menu after 10. We are about 3/4 full, so make a reservation soon!

I asked Colleen Graham, one of the genius minds behind Tuzzie Muzzie to give us a little info on their business...here's what she had to say:

Tuzzie Muzzies are unique party hats with handmade fabric bases embellished with an assortment of feathers, ribbons, sequins and other treasures. Professional Seattle milliners, Mikele Keiffer, and Colleen Graham are the creative minds behind Tuzzie Muzzie.

In addition to creating hats full time, Mikele has a degree in auto mechanics and Colleen teaches art to high school students. Tuzzie Muzzie began in 1998 when a well-known Seattle restaurant asked the milliners to create hats for New Year’s Eve. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that people began calling to ask for party hats. Since then Tuzzie Muzzies have graced the heads of party goers at weddings, showers, birthday parties, anniversaries, benefits, cocktail parties and holiday gatherings. Tuzzie Muzzie party hats can be found in stores from coast to coast.

They’ve also been featured in Seattle Magazine, Seattle Bride, Lucky Magazine and at Teatro Zinzani. Tuzzie Muzzies make any gathering extraordinary…no party is complete without hats!!

3rd Langley Chefs Dinner a Smashing Success

2009-12-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

This past Monday we hosted the 3rd Langley Chef's dinner...this time to benefit WAIF, the Whidbey Animal Improvement Foundation. We raised over $4,000 and had a really great time! I am honestly so honored to be part of such a wonderful and generous group of people. The spirit in the kitchen at these events is really amazing. Here's what we served:

Jess Dowdell from Mukilteo Coffee prepared a date stuffed prawn, wrapped in prosciutto and grilled...with a cilantro pesto. She paired with the Whidbey Island Siegerebbe.

Des Rock from Useless Bay Coffee gave us a soup, salad and squash course, paired with the Whidbey Island Pinot Grigio.

Next we received a roasted black cod with ox tail and wild rice, dry pomegranate juice and brussels sprouts from Matt Costello of the Inn at Langley. Wine pairing was a Ca' Del Solo Sangiovese.

Donna Leahy from Chef's Pantry served a duck ragu with potato gnocchi, brown butter and white truffle, paired with Louis Changarnier Pinot Noir

We are so lucky to have Dave and Dawn Noble from Fireseed Catering join the group. They prepared a homemade cracker with quince membrillo and Rivers Edge chevre for our cheese course. Amantillado Sherry was the pairing for this course.

And for the dessert course, Sieb prepared a napoleon of candy cap mushroom ice cream with bitter caramel sauce with truffled sea salt, and the Warres Ottima 10 year tawny port.

Unfortunately we didn't get a picture, but Mona Newbauer of Island Angel Chocolates donated a last little nibble to everyone...a delicious pistachio cranberry truffle...just to ensure everyone really rolled out of here.

100% of proceeds goes directly to the charities we choose. We are extremely grateful to live in a community where people are so excited to support our local causes, and where we can find this group of amazingly talented chefs willing to cooperate in this way. The next dinner should be sometime in March...details coming soon!

GLASSYBABY!

2009-12-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

I have always coveted Glassybabies from my first encounter...I have a couple of my own at home and REALLY wanted to get a few in the restaurant...which we now have! I asked Valerie Waltz, Communications Manager with the company to give me a little background on the company...here's what she had to say: Glassybaby were born in 1998 when founder Lee Rhodes was in her third round of battle with a rare form of lung cancer. Lee found serenity in a small, tough, colorful glass vessel made by a family member for whom she had purchased glass-blowing lessons as a Christmas gift. When Lee’s recovery progressed, she started making these glass vessels on her own, which she called “glassybaby”. She opened her first glassybaby store and studio in Seattle in 2003. Today, there are 5 retail locations, more than 70 employees and a dedicated legion of followers. The mission behind the company is to give back to charity and inspire people with her product.

To date, glassybaby has given more than $300,000 to charity, and owner Lee Rhodes’ goal is to earmark 10% of all glassybaby sales to charity by the end of 2010.

DECEMBER NEWS

2009-11-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

Happy December! How are we nearing the end of 2009? Unbelievable! We hope your Thanksgiving was spent like ours was, surrounded by family and friends and lots of great food and drink! We spent a lot of time thinking about how thankful we are for the opportunity that all of you are continuing to make possible for us...raising our family in this beautiful place and doing what we love!

Join us this Friday, December 4th from 4:00-6:30 for a special holiday Friday Night Flights...we'll be serving sparkling wine this go around! Participants include Prima, The Chef's Pantry, and the Edgecliff...ticket cost is $20 and includes a 2 oz pour of wine and a small plate at each venue. As always the fun continues Saturday with cooking demonstrations at the Chef's Pantry and the art walk in the evening...

ADDITION TO OUR MUSICAL LINE UP...every 1st Sunday (think this Sunday...December 6th), we'll be featuring the musical duo, Rendezvous from 4:00-6:00... http://www.myspace.com/rendezvoustwo
We continue with our regular Thursday night music as well...Danny Ward 1st and 3rd Thursdays, Yours Truly 2nd Thursdays, and James & Levi, 4th (and if there is a 5th) Thursdays.

Reminder that we will be closed the evening of December 14th because of the Langley Chef's Dinner benefitting WAIF. We will also be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

New Year's Eve...we're filling up so call to make your reservation soon! James and Levi will be playing and I've got an order in for our Tuzzie Muzzie hats...this year crazier than ever and proceeds from the sales of the hats to benefit the South Whidbey Children's Center! And you asked we answered...we will be open New Years Day this year!

Gift Certificates make great holiday gifts! We give 10% off the price of any Prima merchandise (t-shirts/hats/hoodies) with the purchase of a gift certificate! Give us a call and we can help you with the sale of a gift certificate over the phone and can even get it in the mail for you!

NEW AND IMPROVED HAPPY HOUR!!! Along with our regular drink specials of 1/2 off well drinks, $1 off draft beer and glass pour wine, and a $4 glass pour red & white, we are offering $5 food items - all of our small plates, the calimari, and a half order of the burrata - such a deal! And to answer a few questions we've been asked...you do not have to be sitting in the bar to get these specials, nor do you have to order an alcoholic drink. Come up and keep us company during those in-between hours through the winter...we want to keep that open sign on all day, every day! Happy hour is 3-6 ever day, excluding the first Tuesday of the month (as in this Tuesday) when we hold our staff meetings.

Again, thank you for your continued patronage and hope to see you real soon!

LE BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU EST ARRIVE!

2009-11-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

Come in out of the cold and join us tomorrow to sample the first wine of the season. Sieb is preparing a delicious duck sausage that will pair beautifully with this easy drinking wine. We only have one case so it's going to go fast! Danny Ward will be playing so the evening promises to be enjoyable for all!

CHEF DINNER TICKETS SOLD OUT

2009-11-18T08:49:00.001-08:00

The tickets for the 3rd Langley Chef's Dinner sold out in less than a day! We are looking forward to this great dinner supporting WAIF and will be donating 100% of the proceeds...which in the end will be at least $4,500!

TICKETS FOR LANGLEY CHEF'S DINNER...available at Prima this upcoming Monday!

2009-11-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

Tickets for the 3rd of our seasonal collaborative chef dinners will be sold beginning at 10:00 a.m. this upcoming Monday, November 16th at Prima (come up the back stairs...front door will be locked since we don't open until 11:30). Sieb has partnered up with Matt Costello of the Inn at Langley, Jess Dowdell of Mukilteo Coffee Roasters, Donna Leahy of the Chef's Pantry, and Des Rock of Useless Bay Coffee Company in creating these quarterly charity dinners...this one will benefit WAIF. We are also VERY pleased to announce that Dave and Dawn Noble of Fireseed Catering will be joining the fun so this time around will be a 6 course wine paired dinner...ticket cost remains $75/person. Acceptable forms of payment are cash and checks made out to WAIF. The dinner itself will be MONDAY, DECEMBER 14th at 6:00...at Prima. Don't miss the fun!

OUR NEW SOUS CHEF...MILES HARRISON, by nick horton

2009-11-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

If you've been to Prima in the past year--and let's hope you have--you've probably seen Miles Harrison in the kitchen. For the past 15 months, Miles has been logging long hours on Prima's line, mastering Chef Sieb's dishes, and generally keeping the place running smoothly. And last September, Miles was rewarded for his hard work: He became Prima's newest sous chef, succeeding Evan Leichtling in the role. Way to go, Miles!

Now, a bit about the guy: Miles, 23, was born in Minneapolis and raised in Northfield, a small city in southern Minnesota. (Northfield has many claims to fame. It's home to the original Malt-O-Meal headquarters, for example.) In the ten years that he's been working in restaurants, Miles has held practically every job in the kitchen--dishwasher, prep cook, line cook, and now sous chef.

On his first night working in a kitchen, the 13-year-old Miles washed all the dishes for a 315-person wedding party at The Grand, a historic venue in Northfield. "It was the biggest load of silverware ever," he says. The young Miles obviously wasn't scared off, though. After moving to South Whidbey seven years ago, Miles became the best dishwasher the town of Langley has ever seen. (Ask Evan. He'll testify.)

Miles washed dishes for five years before picking up a knife, and he's been prepping and cooking ever since. His current favorite dishes at Prima are the salade lyonnaise--"it's a classic dish that brings us one step closer to being a true bistro," he says--and the roasted free-range chicken breast.

Aside from his passion for food, Miles absolutely loves conversation. So the next time you find yourself upstairs at Prima, peek your head into the kitchen and say hello to our new sous. He'll be happy to chat.

Halloween at Prima by Nick Horton

2009-10-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

It's the last day of October. Which means three things: wind, rain, and hilarious costumes. Prima's staff always makes the most of Halloween. Pictured in the photo above are an '80s rocker (a.k.a. Max the busser), a dignified pirate (Terry Jackson, server/manager extraordinaire), and Magnum P.I. (Christian, our wonderfully-mustachioed server/bartender).

Way to go, boys. You look fabulous!

november news

2009-10-31T08:35:00.001-07:00

FIRST OFF...thanks so much to all of you who voted in the King 5 Best of Western Washington Contest...we won 1st place in the French category...how cool is that! We really, really appreciate the love! Really.
http://best.king5.com/winners/best-of-western-washington/4749/great-meals/french

HALLOWEEN: Come in costume on Halloween night for a free dessert! Or at the very least come just because Christian will be wearing his short shorts a la Magnum P.I. - you do not want to miss that. Or Devin dressed as Sieb for the night...replete with authentic mustard cords, burgundy old navy shirt, chain wallet and birkenstocks.

ADDITION TO OUR MUSICAL LINE UP...every 1st Sunday (think this Sunday...November 1st), we'll be featuring the musical duo, Rendezvous from 4:00-6:00... http://www.myspace.com/rendezvoustwo
We continue with our regular Thursday night music as well...Danny Ward 1st and 3rd Thursdays, Yours Truly 2nd Thursdays, and James & Levi, 4th (and if there is a 5th) Thursdays.

NOVEMBER LANGLEY GETS LIVELY AND FRIDAY NIGHT FLIGHTS...we will be featuring Italian wines this go around...November 6th...4:00-6:30. Venues include Prima, The Edgecliff, and the Chef's Pantry, ticket cost is $20 and includes a small bite and taste of wine at each spot. Then on Saturday be sure to swing by Chef's Pantry between 1-3 pm where Donna will help you get a head start with Simple Ideas for Holiday Entertaining – they'll be sampling lots of the new products.

NOVEMBER 8th, Pinot wine dinner (sold out)...we will be closed for dinner next Sunday, November 8th for our sold out pinot wine dinner. You can still call and get on the waitlist...you never know who might call in sick, especially this year!

LANGLEY CHEF'S DINNER...tickets for the 3rd of our seasonal collaborative chef dinners will be sold beginning at 10:00 a.m. on November 16th at Prima (come up the back stairs...front door will be locked since we don't open until 11:30). Sieb has partnered up with Matt Costello of the Inn at Langley, Jess Dowdell of Mukilteo Coffee Roasters, Donna Leahy of the Chef's Pantry, and Des Rock of Useless Bay Coffee Company in creating these quarterly charity dinners...this one will benefit WAIF. We are also VERY pleased to announce that Dave and Dawn Noble of Fireseed Catering will be joining the fun so this time around will be a 6 course wine paired dinner...ticket cost remains $75/person. The dinner itself will be MONDAY, DECEMBER 14th at 6:00...at Prima.

NEW AND IMPROVED HAPPY HOUR!!! Starting Wednesday, November 4th, from 3:00-600 we will be offering some expanded happy hour deals as we've decided to stay open all day every day (except for the 1st Tuesday of every month when we have our staff meeting). We really see this as an opportunity to thank our awesome local, regular customers. Along with our regular drink specials of 1/2 off well drinks, $1 off draft beer and glass pour wine, and a $4 glass pour red & white, we will be offering $5 food items from our appetizer and small plate menu. The jury is still out on which items we will be offering at $5...but we know they will include a half portion of our burrata, the calamari, the chicken liver mousse, the pork belly, the escargot and a few more. Come up and keep us company during those in-between hours through the winter...we want to keep that open sign on all day, every day!

NEW YEAR'S EVE...it's crazy but the holidays really are just right around the corner...so we want to make sure you start planning on spending New Year's with us...James and Levi will be playing this year and I just put in an order for the Tuzzie Muzzie hats again...this year the proceeds of the sales of the hats will be going to the South Whidbey Children's Center.

As always, thank you everyone for you continued patronage and support. We hope to see you very soon!

Jenn and Sieb

BEST OF WESTERN WASHINGTON!!!

2009-10-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Our most sincere thanks to all of you who voted for us in the King 5 Best of Western Washington contest...we are truly honored to have won...thanks for the love!

David Price exhibit

2009-10-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce our latest exhibit...acrylic paintings by Langley's own David Price. Come see his work...it is really amazing. He can be contacted at dflat@flatrockproductions.com

Artist's statement: A man working in a field…A lone, abandoned farmhouse set high in a field…A woman in a café, waiting for someone….A street sweeper leaning against a worn and peeling wall, centuries old…An old family portrait from the early 1900’s, their faces stern and familiar, the dress formal, the characters posed…the sun setting between two distant hills, a cluster of very familiar farm buildings in the foreground. What is the common thread? Buildings that belong. People that belong. They belong in their surroundings. They are so entwined with their landscape that it is sometimes difficult to separate one from the other.

To create my paintings, I assemble images in my mind…a man sitting in a café in Paris, the rolling hills of farmland, a dozen shades of yellow, a glass of wine on a café table, the wall of an abandoned farmhouse, weathered and peeling, the layers of color telling a story of the passage of time and the hands that created that surface. I am also inspired by architecture. Not only architecture with a big A”, the cathedrals, monuments, opera houses and the like, often associated with great architecture; but especially architecture with a small a”; the simple, comfortable, common structures. It is a combination of these things that are the building blocks for my paintings. Sometimes I work literally and paint portrait style, sometimes color and texture are enough to evoke the spirit, essence, and history of a place.

Over the past 16 years, I have developed a unique technique to express these ideas using acrylic paints on a gypsum surface. I incise, scratch, run, and work the surface, layering colors to create a sense of age. Like sketching with a pen, each mark in the surface will always be there, a step in the process, a mark in time. This technique allos me to work quickly and spontaneously. I make few,
if any, preparatory sketches, instead allowing the images to flow onto the surface, to take on a life of their own, to have an unpretentious grace, an ease and certain comfort.

CLOSED OCTOBER 12TH AND 13TH

2009-10-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

Apologies for any inconvenience but we will be closed Monday and Tuesday, October 12th and 13th for staff bonding time and restaurant renovations. THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING!

EAT AND LOUNGE by Terry Davis Smith

2009-10-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

One of our great customers submitted this blog post...I love it when someone else does the work for me! They have an amazing rental place right here in Langley...within walking distance of Prima! Check it out!

“Eat!” This is my absolute favorite quote from the delightful new foodie film, Julie & Julia. It’s the simple response that Julia Child (portrayed by Meryl Streep) gave her husband when asked, “What is it you REALLY like to do?” I’ve never related so much to a character as I did in that moment of the film. Fortunately, Julia was able to incorporate that passion with her love and aptitude for cooking, to create not only a legendary career, but also a sort of cooking revolution. Unfortunately, my passion stops at eating. Okay, I admit, I also like to vacation (or, more precisely, to lounge), which is exactly what I do when I visit Langley—eat and lounge.

I’ll start with eating—hallelujah for Prima Bistro! Luckily, during one of my sojourns to Langley, I stumbled upon what I consider to be the best restaurant in Langley. On that first visit, a perfectly seared ahi-tuna curry salad and a raspberry martini were enough to leave me wanting more. I sipped my delicious cocktail at the inviting bar while I listened to Food Network purring in the background. What more could a girl want? I couldn’t wait to come back and try another menu item, or maybe two!

Well, this girl returns to Prima Bistro every time she’s in Langley—EVERY TIME, and that’s no joke! I’ve enjoyed most menu items—from the agreeable cheese plate to the delectable bistro burger. (Who knew a burger could be so good?) Whether I dine at the restaurant or take out to enjoy in the comfort of my vacation rental, I have never been disappointed. And speaking of my vacation rental, here is a shameless plug for my fabulous vacation home rental. Next time you are in Langley, please consider staying at: The Barn at Langley (The Barn) (http://www.thebarnatlangley.com/). My husband and I renovated an old A-frame barn that was previously used as the location for the Whidbey Children’s Theater. When we first purchased the old barn, we found wonderful props and costumes, which were being stored there. Now, the barn is completely renewed as a comfortable and stylish vacation home. We feature my husband’s art (www.derinsmith.com) at The Barn, and you can even find a mini-barn sculpture made out of cardboard that was the impetus for creating The Barn.

I don’t know if I’m going to create a legendary career or ignite a revolution with my passions, but perhaps I can simply produce a stir with my revelation—a revelation that staying in Langley and eating scrumptious food is oh, so satisfying. I invite you to eat and lounge in Langley. I believe Julia would concur.

LANGLEY CHEFS DINNER #2

2009-10-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we held the 2nd ever Langley Chef's Dinner which benefitted Good Cheer's community garden, hosted at Mukilteo Coffee by their chef Jess Dowdell. The 5 chefs include Sieb from Prima, Donna Leahy of the Chef's Pantry, Jess Dowdell of Mukilteo Coffee Roasters, Des Rock of Useless Bay Coffee Company and Matt Costello of the Inn at Langley. We serve 5 wine paired courses that feature fresh, local and seasonal ingredients. Each chef brings their own personal flair and style in their offerings. This is a fun, collaborative and community spirited event that we are very proud to be a part of.

Here's what they did this time around:

1st Course...Matt Costello...sauteed oyster with soft chive eggs and caviar ...Argyle Brut sparkling

2nd course...Sieb Jurriaans...prosciutto di parma with a salad of mixed spicy greens from willowood farms, balsamic cherries, shaved pecorino toscano and almond-truffle vinaigrette (and strangely as seen in this pic, a garnish of Jess's head)...pio cesare 2008 arneis

3rd course...Donna Leahy... paupiette of halibut with lardons and a red wine reduction...

Abonna Dolcetto

4th course...Des Rock...Useless Bay Coffee Company...

DiamondKnot Stout Braised Short Ribs w/ Barley and Chantrelle Risotto...Whidbey Island Dolcetto

5th course...Jess Dowdell...Mukilteo Coffee Company...pumpkin and squash tart and Whidbey Island Porto (sorry I don't have a picture of that...we all ate it too fast!)

We will be selling tickets to the next Langley Chef's Dinner on November 16th at 10:00 a.m. - the dinner itself will be here at Prima, on MONDAY, DECEMBER 14TH. The charity of this dinner is TBA. AND, I've already been receiving attempts at bribery...it's not gonna work people...you have to purchase your tickets IN PERSON on November 16th...I can't hold tickets for anyone!!! Tickets for last Sundays dinner sold out in one hour, so I'm anticipating a crowd of anxious ticket buyers...I haven't asked yet, but I bet the Feltons would allow overnight camping in the parking lot just this once! just kidding Gene.

PHOTO CREDITS: ROBERT LEAHY

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

2009-09-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall!

A couple of big things to tell you about...Oktoberfest details below, but first a mention of our upcoming and filling up fast wine dinner! We will be featuring Pinot in all its various incarnations on Sunday, November 8th, in a 5 course wine paired meal for $75/person. We are taking reservations for this long awaited evening between 5:30 and 8:00. Please let me know if you would like to join us!

We are so thankful to all of you who have
voted for us in King 5 Evening Magazine's Best of Western Washington competition. Someone out there nominated us in the French category - THANKS whoever you are! We are at the top of the heap...how cool is that! If you haven't already voted, we'd sure love to get your vote...
http://best.king5.com/contests/best-of-western-washington/4749/great-meals/french

Join us as we celebrate Langley's 2nd annual Oktoberfest.
We'll kick it off on Friday night, October 2nd, with a Friday Night Flights focusing on Alsatian wines. Tickets cost $20/person and include a 2 oz taster of wine and a small plate at each of our venues: Prima, The Chef's Pantry, and the Edgecliff. Tickets available now at each venue.

Saturday, October 3rd, brings an amazing array of activities for people of all ages...find most activities in the courtyard and parking areas adjacent to Chef's Pantry. Here's the lineup:
11:30-5:00... Diamond Knot Brewery Beer Garden and Root Beer Garden for Kids. Purchase commemorative steins $10 each - includes one free pour and special discounts and offers around Langley
12:00...OKTOBERFEST PET COSTUME CONTEST! to benefit WAIF...entry forms at Chef's Pantry. Emceed by the one and only fabulous Sue Frause!
12:00-2:00... Authentic Brats and hotdogs with sauerkraut from Bavarian Meats and sponsored by the Lions Club!
1:00-4:00 - Enjoy an authentic Oompah band...The Bavarian Village Band playing in the middle of all the activities!
1:00 Pretzel baking demo at the chef's pantry
2:00 Polka demo and free lessons by Enzian Schuhplattler troup at Useless Bay Coffee
4:00...Bavarian Cooking and Home Brew beer contest...judging at chef's pantry.
for more details on these events log onto www.chefspantryonline.com/events

We continue with our regular live music every Thursday night and our restaurants industry Monday nights. Our fall menu will be rolling out soon, as soon as we catch our breath from this crazy summer!

We are so thankful to each and every one of you and look forward to seeing you again very soon!

AND...we will be closed mon/tue the 12th and 13th of October...we're going on a much needed retreat with our staff - and so many of you have asked if we'll be talking about work...NO WAY...just eating great food, drinking great wine and enjoying eachother's company!

Bon Voyage, Evan Leichtling! by Nick Horton

2009-09-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday marked a bittersweet moment in the annals of Prima Bistro: Evan Leichtling--our resident sous chef, punk rocker, and stylistic pariah--worked his last shift. The 22-year-old has made a name for himself at the restaurant by working incredibly hard, being awfully dependable, and wearing skin-tight orange jeans, a hat made of elephant skin, and a pair of sunglasses previously owned by Cruella de Vil.

Esoteric clothing aside, we'll miss Evan dearly. He is one of only two employees--aside from Sieb and Jenn, of course-- that were on Prima's opening crew three years ago. Thankfully, he's not going too far. Evan has already landed a job at cooking at Lark and Licorous, the Seattle restaurants run by the James Beard award-nominated chef Johnathan Sundstrom. ("His food is amazing," Evan says reverently. I concur.)

The young Mr. Leichtling is pictured here with a bottle of Blanton's bourbon, his absolute favorite beverage. (In case you didn't know, "Leichtling" is an Austrian name that translates roughly to "little lamp-lighting boy." Seriously.) Evan will be moving to Seattle ASAP, bringing with him his prized motorcycle--a 1983 Honda Ascot 500--along with his penchant for blasting the "Duck Tales" and "Alladin" theme songs on Prima's stereo prior to opening. We may not miss the music, but we'll definitely miss the guy.

Good luck, Evan!

2009-09-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

LANGLEY MEETS MUNICH DURING OKTOBERFEST, OCT. 2nd, 3rd & 4th, 2009

Bratwursts, brews, and oompah-pahs will spice up the seaside town of Langley on Whidbey Island during OktoberFest on October 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Timed with the Langley Gets Lively activities held the first weekend of every month, OktoberFest gets under way with Friday Night Flights, a
walk-around wine tasting featuring Alsatian varietals and mouthwatering appetizers on Friday, October 2nd. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at The Chef's Pantry, The Edgecliff and Prima Bistro.

On Saturday October 3rd, the festivities continue throughout the weekend asvarious Langley venues sell commemorative steins good for month-long discounts on OktoberFest beer and a free first pour at either of the beer
gardens behind Island Angel Chocolates on 2nd Street on Saturday, October
3rd from 11:30 am to 4:30 pm. The beer gardens are hosted by Diamond Knot
Brewery and features India Pale Ale, Hefeweizen and a special OktoberFest
Brew for adults and pouring in the adjacent beer garden is Diamond Knot Root
Beer, Ice Cream Floats, a Bavarian feast complete with authentic brown
mustard and sauerkraut brought to you by the South Whidbey Lions Club, and
face painting brought to you by Whidbey Children's Theater.

All throughout the weekend restaurants will tout special dishes in honor of
the event, and a cooking contest, including a pretzel demonstration,
sponsored by The Chef's Pantry will reap valuable rewards for winners and
tasters alike proceeds benefiting NorthWest Harvest. At noon on Sat., Sue
Frause, Master of Ceremonies, will tout the fanciful prancing of dogs in
Bavarian themed pet costumes and judges will crown the very first Miss and
Mister Oktoberpaws, with proceeds benefiting Whidbey Animals' Improvement
Foundation (WAIF). Felines are also encouraged to participate by getting
their owners to take a picture of them in costume and submitting it prior to
the contest. Contest rules and registration can be found online at
www.chefspantryonline.com/events or http://www.visitlangley.com
<http://www.visitlangley.com/> . Also, if you're in Langley, stop by The
Chef's Pantry or Island Angel Chocolates for more information.

Celebrants can munch on authentic grilled German sausages from The South
Whidbey Lions, learn how to make pretzels from Chef Donna Leahy and have
their faces painted, done by Whidbey Children's Theater. Restaurants will
lure revelers with its thirst-quenching lagers and ales, and the Bavarian
Village Players -- a 10-piece oompah band -- will serenade the festivities.
Complimentary polka lessons are on tap for this year's event at the Useless
Shed by Useless Bay Coffee and the Chef's Pantry has a home brewed beer
contest.

Blown glass pumpkins are located in storefronts throughout the seaside
village adding a touch of Langley flare calling attention to the talented
glass artists who work and reside on South Whidbey Island and show their
work at fine art galleries on First Street. A Count the Pumpkin contest is
sponsored by Museo Gallery. And as an extra treat, Langley visitors can take
the Whidbey Island Farm Tour, a self-guided exploration of working farms
specializing in area produce and products, on Saturday, Oct. 3rd and Sunday,
October 4th.

2009-09-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Prima Peeps volume 1:
Christian Albright by Nick Horton

Last night got off to a slow start, so Christian and I decided to have a wee bit of fun. I asked him to pick out his favorite bottle of wine sold at the bistro, and he bee-lined it towards the racks of reds. The pick: the Justin 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, pictured here with Christian himself.

First, the wine: Christian loves this Cab because of its big body, but he also appreciates its ability to pair with many of Prima's dishes. In particular, he digs "the dark, rich fruit"--the wine has notes of bing cherry, plumb, and grape Jolly Rancher. (Just kidding about the Jolly Rancher, kids.) The Justin, which hails from Paso Robles, CA, would do well alongside Prima's grilled lamb chops, the hanger steak frites, or even the confit of duck leg.

Now for more about Christian, our beloved server/bartender. He's been mixing drinks, serving happy diners, and entertaining us all with his boisterous baritone voice since Prima's early days. (Seriously, if you call us and Christian answers, there's no mistaking it: "Prrrrrriiiiima Bistro!" he booms into the phone, not unlike a boxing announcer introducing a bout.)

Christian, who first came to love wine while working at Seattle's Cellar Bistro in 2005, is an especially avid fan of South American wines. And it just so happens that he'll be spending six weeks in Chile and Argentina this winter, studying up on his Malbecs, Cabs, Merlots, and Carmeneres (all of which are red wine varietals), and maybe even the occasional Torrontes (a white). More importantly, Christian will be reunited with his longtime girlfriend Lena, who is spending this semester studying in Santiago, Chile.

When he's not at Prima, you can find Christian at home, sharing a bottle of wine with his dog Ada (an Australian Shepherd/Lab mix that he rescued from Craigslist) and watching a film made by one of his favorite directors--Jim Jarmusch, Ingemar Bergman, or Wes Anderson. Come in and see him sometime. And be sure to ask about his first bottle of wine. There's a good story behind that one.

september newsletter

2009-09-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

Although the kids are back in school and fall is right around the corner, our deck will be open at least through September so you can enjoy our typically (hopefully) beautiful indian summer out there under the heat lamps and blankets!

First off, we'd sure love it if you voted for us in King 5 Evening Magazine's Best of Western Washington competition. Someone out there nominated us in the French category - THANKS whoever you are!
http://best.king5.com/contests/best-of-western-washington/4749/great-meals/french

We are also so pleased to have been mentioned in this month's Seattle Metropolitan magazine:
http://www.seattlemet.com/eat-and-drink/articles/wine-destinations-0909/2/

Today, September 4th from 4:00-6:30 come down for Friday Night Flights, our walk around wine tasting. We'll be featuring Rhone varietals - think syrah, grenache, mourvedre, etc! Tickets are $20/person - price includes a 2 oz taste of wine and a small bite at each venue...Prima, The Chef's Pantry, and the Edgecliff.

OKTOBERFEST 2009: Alsatian Friday Night Flights October 2nd...4:00-6:30. Saturday, October 3rd...all day...Diamondknot Beer Garden and commemorative beer steins; Cooking demonstrations and contest at Chef's Pantry...this years contest will have 4 categories: sauerkraut, strudel, spaetzle, and home brewed beer; oompah band; polka lessons; WAIF Oktoberfest pet costume contest; and much more!

UPCOMING WINE DINNER: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH!!!!!
We've finally set the date for our next wine dinner, but are still working out the details...we'll keep you posted.

LIVE MUSIC EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT
RESTAURANT INDUSTRY MONDAYS...20% off when you present your food handlers or alcohol server permits.

We will be closing at 3:00 on Sunday, September 20th for a private event, and will be closed October 12th and 13th for a staff retreat!

AS ALWAYS...thanks for your continued patronage and support and we hope to see you real soon!

PROS AND CONS OF OWNING A RESTAURANT when you're six

2009-09-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

Pro: grilled cheese anytime
Con: getting sick of my favorite food, noodles.

Pro: ice cream for dessert
Con: having to leave before dessert because my sister is too loud.

Pro: making money
Con: that mom and dad work so much and I want to have more family time.

Pro: shirley temple cake for my birthday made by me and dad
Con: gross food smells in the kitchen

Pro: making a lot of friends, like Gretchen
Con: needing to use my manners to ask for things. always.

Nice nod to Langley and Prima in this month's Seattle Metropolitan magazine!

2009-08-25T19:07:00.001-07:00

Seattle Metropolitan Magazine / Eat & Drink / Eat & Drink Articles / Detail

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ANNOUNCING THE 2nd LANGLEY CHEFS DINNER!!!

2009-08-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

Tickets for the Sun. Sept. 27 Langley Chefs Dinner to be held at Mukilteo Coffee Roasters will go on sale this Thursday Aug. 27 at 9 am at Mukilteo Coffee Roasters. This dinner will benefit the Good Cheer Garden program. If you're not already familiar with our series, each of us prepares a course and pairs a wine with it. The chefs include Sieb from Prima, Matt from the Inn, Jess from Mukilteo Coffee, Des from Useless Bay Coffee and Donna from Chef's Pantry.

Here are some details regarding ticket sales -

No advance or phone sales - tickets must be purchased in person at Mukilteo Coffee Roasters on Crawford Road
No credit cards - cash or checks only - checks should be made payable to Good Cheer, with "Garden" written in the memo line
Limit of 4 tickets per person - there are 28 seats available
Tickets are $75 per person - they include 5 courses with 3 oz. wine pairings
100%of the proceeds is donated to the charity.

WILLOWOOD FARMS

2009-08-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to be surrounded by such an abundance of amazing local farms and farmers here on Whidbey. One of our main purveyors of local, fresh, seasonal veggies is Georgie Smith of Willowood Farms. It's been a pleasure working with her and the amazing product we receive from her on a weekly basis. It allows Sieb to create truly fresh and seasonal items with products from right up the road!

I asked Georgie to send us some info on her business and here it is, straight from the horses mouth...

“Willowood Farm, located in heart of the Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve on central Whidbey Island, was started by 4th generation Ebey’s Prairie native Georgie Smith in 2002. “Willowood Farm” was the historic name of Georgie’s farm, first used by the descendants of pioneer Isaac Ebey in reference to the once abundant willow trees that grew on the waterlogged prairie soil (which was later drained by an extensive system of ceramic tiles installed by Chinese laborers). The Smith family began farming the property in the 1890s and has lived on the property since.

Georgie has reinvigorated her family’s tradition of farming with new emphasis on sustainable and organically grown practices and direct marketing techniques that have sparked a revitalization of small family farms across the United States.

Willowood Farm grows produce that thrives in central Whidbey Island’s mild, maritime climate and the rich, loamy soil of Ebey’s Prairie. We grow without the use of harmful pesticides or chemical fertilizers and we utilize healthy farming practices to ensure we put as much into our land as we take out.”

Find out more at :
www.willowoodfarm.net
www.littlefarmonebeyprairie.blogspot.com

BETTY SPANN PHOTOGRAPHY

2009-08-10T22:11:00.001-07:00

www.bettyspannphotography.com

Many of you have been interested in our back room photos...here's a link to Betty's website. She's awesome. Buy her photos! We have our next show booked, but please let me know if you are interested in getting into our line up. I'm most interested in local artists...spread the word...THANKS!

THE PERFECT WINE...by Sam Carvey...wine rep and great friend

2009-08-06T20:18:00.001-07:00

Excuse the length of this post...sam doesn't really ever know when enough is enough...I suppose that's why he ends up spending the night on our couch so often...

What would make a wine perfect? Is it big? Is it really expensive, and hard to find? Is it allocated, and only meant for restaurants? Is it red, or is it sweet? How is perfection in a wine quantified? Perhaps it's a 100 point score from Robert Parker or James Laube, or 3 glasses in the Gambero Rosso, or 5 stars from Decanter. Or maybe its none of these things. Maybe perfection in wine is such a personal thing, that there is no way to quantify it. Maybe it can't even be explained. Well I'm going to try.

I've had a lot of different wine, more than some at least, but certainly not as much as others. I've come across some wine that really made me stop for a second and focus in on it. I've tasted $300 bottles, and I've bought a handful of $200 bottles, hoping for something close to perfection, and we'll have to wait for a while on some of those. I even had, what I like to call an "emotional experience" with a glass of wine. An emotional wine experience is really cool. It happens when you dive into a glass of wine, and it stops your heart for a moment. The people in the room were loud a second ago, but now you can't even hear them, not that you care. You close your eyes, as if that will allow you to take in the nose even deeper. You hold the wine in your mouth and don't want to ever swallow it because that would be a half of an ounce that you will never be able to taste again. You want to cry because its so beautiful. Or at least that's how mine went. It was a bottle of Bruno Giacosa 1998 Asili Barbaresco Red Label. I also happened to be at Bruno's house, in the dining room, with Bruno at the head of the table, quietly watching me freak out over his artwork. Wow. But was it perfect?

While the Giacosa was amazing, I don't think it was perfect. What all the wine critics are missing is that at the end of the day, wine is a beverage. It's a consumable product. It is designed to go away, and if you're in my house, it goes away pretty quickly. I think that a perfect wine will show versatility in it's drinkability, value and availability, and yet it will retain extreme significance every time that first glass is poured. I think the perfect wine will be able to answer two questions. One, and as a person in the wine industry, I get asked this a lot, "what is your favorite wine?", but a more important question is, "if you could only drink one wine for the rest of your life, what would it be?" Think about that one. The perfect wine must be multifaceted.

Well, the good news is that I found it. I've never had an answer to either question, but now I do. For those that know me, or even for those that have been near me while a bottle of this magic was opened, you know exactly what I'm talking about: 2008 Les Domaniers Rose de Provence from Domaine Ott. Cinsault and Grenache wound together and laced with Syrah in the most seamless glass of wine I have ever had. Actually, it's the most seamless case of wine I have ever had. Okay, three cases...so far.

So here is where I gush about the wine. When I say seamless, what I mean becomes apparent once it hits the palate. There is plenty of vibrant acidity, but you can't tell its there. The alcohol is 13% but you'd swear it was 11%. The fruit is opulent, but not obvious. The nose is actually capable of taking you away to the wine's birthplace, with its pungent salt air breeze and orange blossoms and melon. I describe the wine's role during a meal by comparing the meal to the painter's canvas. Rather than competing with the food, the Ott is the white paint that covers the entire canvas to set the stage for the painting. The Les Domaniers creates the environment for a great meal to happen. The Les Domaniers is perfect.

So when the Wine Spectator rates this wine a year late next summer, and they give it the 88 or maybe 89 that they pretty much do every year, I want you to remember that you had the opportunity to drink perfect wine. I for one, am taking full advantage of that fact. Please join me.

NICK'S BASIL AND RASPBERRY GIN RICKEY

2009-08-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

even though it's drew in the picture...

Muddle lime and basil, shake with a shot of gin, top with a dash of chambord and a float of soda.

This spring we planted a rooftop garden. We're harvesting a lot of our own herbs for our dishes, pastries, and cocktails from these beds, and our staff is enjoying the space during their breaks. My current favorite is our version of a caprese salad - but we use burrata (cream infused mozzeralla flown up from the Gioia cheese company of Southern California), local heirloom tomatoes, and basil picked from our roof - it's too good.

Our bartenders are using the herbs to come up with a bartender rooftop special cocktail...this is what Nick came up with a few days ago. yummo!

OUR FIRST BLOG!

2009-08-04T19:48:00.001-07:00

I fought off the urge to blog for quite awhile, but alas, I've finally been overpowered. And so it begins...the need to be witty at every turn, to always make sure I'm spelling things correctly, and certainly never posting something that could offend anyone, anywhere, at anytime.

Let's just start out with some upcoming nitty gritty:

Friday Night Flights...this Friday, August 7th, featuring everyone's favorite...Chardonnay in its many incarnations! Participating venues include Prima, the Chef's Pantry and the Edgecliff. $20/ticket - available at each venue.

LIVE MUSIC EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

START PLANNING YOUR OKTOBERFEST NOW! We'll be hosting Oktoberfest Langley style the first weekend of October...Alsatian wine flights on Friday, beer garden, oompah band and polka lessons on Saturday, and LOTS AND LOTS of other crazy activities TBA.