STAFF PARTY!

We will be closing Monday, January 13th at 3:00 for our staff holiday party.  We will reopen for dinner on Tuesday the 14th at 5:00.  Hoping for a few special outfits like the one's below from a past staff retreat...

Thanks for understanding! 

What's in a name?

Yesterday, a woman came up our stairs to more or less tell us that our name is wrong, and that a proper Italian restaurant would call it's self Primo Bistro and that Prima Bistro doesn't roll off the tongue.  And on and on.  She was actually quite worked up, maybe even a little bit frenzied.  So, well, first, we aren't an Italian restaurant.  Second, umm, Merry Christmas to you too?  Thanks to Latda and her amazing smile and laugh it just kind of went away without much more than a blink of an eye and in typical Latda style she got the standard, "wow, you handled that horrible person so well" from a nearby customer.

While weird and annoying, this interaction did however make me think about our name and thought others might be interested in why we chose this name.  We are housed in the historic Primavera building in Langley.  "Prima" first is a nod to the roots of this building and the Primavera family.  Second, Sieb is Dutch, and in Dutch the word means excellent/great/very well/first rate.  And in all languages that I can think of, Prima or a derivitive of it, has a positive meaning.  The beginnings of this restaurant were a wild time and we had to pull a business plan out of the blue in mere days so that we could secure funding.  Coming up with a name was one of the most bumpy spots during that time.  Some of our first ideas were First Street Bistro, Bistro 201, Brisa, and Brisa Marina.  Our daughter was 2 at the time and the thought of naming the restaurant "Netty's" did cross our minds, but that wasn't the type of restaurant we were going for...I see that as a cute little breakfast spot, something like Sweet Laurette's in Port Townsend.   Our company name is Lekker, the Dutch word for yummy, and if we could've, that would've been the restaurant name because to hear the Dutch say that word is a wonderful thing.  However, it sounds like leper to Americans, and that just isn't really very appetizing.

Prima came to me and at the time it just seemed perfect.  I vividly remember us saying, "yup, that's it" and hitting print on the business plan.  I really liked the idea of shortening the Primavera name but interestingly, no one gets it.  I didn't consider at the time that it really does sound like an Italian restaurant by name alone, and we still do get the, "why don't you have more pasta on your menu...this is an Italian restaurant right?" question.  In the beginning, customers and even a number of our employees insisted on calling it Primo (so yeah lady, I guess it does roll of the tongue easier), but it seems that trend has faded.  Most locals called the previous restaurant, The Star Bistro, simply The Bistro, and that has pretty much stuck with many of our regulars.  I like that.  However I cringe when it's called The Prima...that sounds very pretentious to me and it doesn't really make any sense.

So anyhow, there you go.  That's how we came to be named Prima Bistro.  Honestly, I do think that I'd like a different name better and I think about it often, but 8 years later, I have yet to come up with what that would be.  And in case that lady from yesterday is reading this, I say to you, simmer down.

Winter newsletter

 Unbelievable that Thanksgiving is next week!  Where has this year gone?  So much to be thankful for and so much to tell you about...

We were recently mentioned in a Seattle Weekly story.  This mushroom season has been the best we've ever seen...Sieb picks upwards of 30 pounds on a regular basis...it's pretty amazing out there.  Our brother in law, Shane Ryan, chef at the amazing Matt's in the Market brought food writer Nicole Sprinkle to the island to go foraging, they ate at Prima and she wrote a great story:
http://www.seattleweekly.com/home/949742-129/shane-mushrooms-mushroom-goes-quote-matsutakes

 Thanks to all of you who voted in the King 5 Best of Western Washington competition.  We came in 3rd in the category of best outdoor dining and are thrilled with the results...thank you!!!  Whidbey Island represented very well...Whidbey Island Winery, Sweet Mona's, Stadler Studios, Whidbey Life Magazine and others placed in the top 5 of their categories and awesome Pickles Deli got best sandwich shop...awesome job everyone!!!

Jessica VanWetter, scholarship recipient

beautiful Natanya

Little Taste of Heaven.  Just over 2 years ago our friend and pastry chef Natanya Johnson passed away from complications of Type 1 diabetes.  We created a scholarship in her name, the Red Spatula Award, to send a South Whidbey girl to culinary school.  We recently awarded the first recipient, Jessica VanWetter with this honor and are so excited to help her further her culinary studies.  On December 6th, we will have the 2nd annual Little Taste of Heaven fundraiser for this scholarship fund.  Many local restaurants will be participating, each in their own way.  Here at Prima all of our dessert sales will go directly to the scholarship fund.  Our awesome new pastry chef, Heather Immoor will be baking up some amazing creations and Jessica will also be on deck with a version of Natanya's amazing meyer lemon tart. 

Donations to the scholarship fund are tax deductible.  If you are interested in contributing, checks can be made out to the South Whidbey School's Foundation and mailed to Prima Bistro PO Box 976, Langley, Wa 98260.  We are so proud that we are able to keep Natanya's dream alive in this way.

Holiday hours:

Closed Thanksgiving

Open Xmas eve Lunch

Closed Xmas eve dinner

Closed Xmas

Open and partying New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

Make your New Year's Eve reservations soon...we are filling up fast.  We've got the Tuzzie Muzzie hats on order and Danny Ward will be ringing in 2014 with us.

There's so much to do in Langley over the holidays...go to www.visitlangley.com to see all we've go in store for you!  And be sure to explore the amazing opportunities offered at the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio...amazing workshops and classes offered, operated by Cary Jurriaans, Sieb's mom!  www.whidbeyislandfas.com

Here's what's happening at Museo:
MUSEO¹s Holiday Gift Show continues with the gallery offering small,
favorably priced works, prints by Melissa Koch, and a group exhibition of
gallery artists.
New works will be added throughout the month.
There will be an artists' reception Saturday, December 7, from 5 to 7 pm.

To hear up to the minute updates from us please like us on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Langley-WA/Prima-Bistro/112647415485768
or follow us on twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/primabistro

Don't forget: Mondays are restaurant industry day (20% off bill), every day is teacher discount day (10% off), and Thursdays are live music night!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season, and as always thank you for your patronage.  Hope to see you real soon!

Jenn and Sieb

The BEST foraging season EVER!

This mushroom season has been the best one we've ever seen.  The hauls Sieb comes in with daily are just out of this world.  Upwards of 30-40 pounds of chanterelles, or lobsters, matsutakes, and yellowfoots. And no, he isn't going to give up his spots to anyone!

We were recently visited by Seattle Weekly food writer, Nicole Sprinkle, who tagged along with our brother in law, Shane Ryan, chef of Seattle's acclaimed Matt's in the Market, to go foraging during this most amazing mushroom season.  Shane brought her up, did some mushroom hunting, then had lunch at Prima.  Here's a link to the whole article:


http://www.seattleweekly.com/home/949742-129/shane-mushrooms-mushroom-goes-quote-matsutakes

It's a pretty long story, so here's an excerpt that we particularly like:

..." Another call comes: Sieb confirms he’s still loading up on hedgehogs. “How can we not be finding them?” I ask Shane desperately.

“Ahh, he may just be a little deeper in than us.” We find a few chanterelles that aren’t rotten—golden, with ridges (rather than gills) that run down the stem. At this point, I’ve filled an entire shopping bag with mushrooms, and it’s only been a little over an hour.

We make a few clumsy circles until we find our way back to the car. Next to the red Pathfinder is another hulking red vehicle with stickers of guns and skulls on the back: Sieb.

We drive to Langley to have lunch at Prima Bistro, Sieb’s unassuming French-inspired restaurant. Hidden atop a market and mercantile shop, it has imposing, wide-open views of the bay. We sit at the bar and order one of the best meals I’ve had in months: veal sweetbreads in an apricot gastrique and a dish of poached eggs with chunks of foraged lobster mushrooms, croutons, and pancetta that they smoke in their own tiny meat locker. The lobster mushrooms are meaty and have a very subtle seafood-like flavor—that fifth flavor that the Japanese call umami and which translates to “pleasant savory taste.” Shane has some wickedly good-looking bone marrow on toast.
   
While we’re sitting there shooting the shit, Sieb walks in. He’s tall, with long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, gold hoops in each ear, and tats all over his arm. He’s holding several bags of mushrooms, which he’ll be serving in the restaurant, of course. He sits down and orders us all glasses of Fernet Branca on ice—a clear indication I’m in the company of chefs.

Satiated by the meal and the mushroom extravaganza, Shane and I are quieter on our trip back. He tells me it’s his night off, and he’s going to prepare a matsutake salad for his wife when she gets home from work. Sliced super-thin, he adds. These mushrooms are too special to be cooked. I get mine home, wash them lightly with wet paper towels, and place them all over my kitchen counter. It’s pretty surreal-looking."...


-Nicole Sprinkle, Seattle Weekly

CLOSED OCTOBER 14-17

We will be closed October 14-17 to replace our kitchen floor.  This is a long overdue project and we are really excited for the outcome!  Our hope is that the project will take 3 days, but we are giving ourselves one extra day, and just in case, we are not taking any reservations through that weekend in case we hit some unforeseen road blocks.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.