Lunch with Patricia Wells

Well, me and about 40 other people :)

Patricia Wells is on tour promoting her new book, "Vegetable Harvest" and I was able to snag a seat at a luncheon at the Boat St. Cafe. Triple bonus for me: always wanted to eat there, always love to meet someone with passion for food, and I collect autographed cookbooks. Ms. Wells is a lovely woman, and meeting her was very nice. I already had her "Paris Cookbook" and have referred to it often. I didn't know she just completed the Paris marathon -- very impressive!

Lunch was really good. We started with a chilled cucumber-yogurt soup with mint and dill, and the entree was poached salmon with a fennel, radish, and parsley salad. The salmon was perfectly cooked. Dessert was panna cotta with a compote of rhubarb, raspberry, and grenadine. The compote was nice and tangy, and offset the creaminess of the panna cotta very well.

Being alone for this trip, I got seated at a communal table and met some really nice people, which made the whole thing even better. It's so comforting to be in a place where being a food geek is an okay thing!