Olives

Do you love olives? My sister, at age 13, received a case of olives for her birthday; she was such a fanatic (and still is). Just now I looked through some old family albums -- I can remember a photo of my sis with olives on every finger, but I can't find the photo.

I never used to appreciate "grown up" olives (anything other than regular black olives), but since our trip to Italy in 2008, I do enjoy the salty, briny deep purple and green olives that are yummy.


We went to Olives in Edmonds recently. It was a busy night on the streets of Edmonds, with the Taste of Edmonds going on just around the corner. Olives had been recommended to us, but to be very honest, we did not have a great experience. Although the streets were busy with the festival, the restaurant was not, yet we had to ask for service -- water and coffee refills and a forgotten dessert, for example. We hardly saw our waitress.

We ordered the following:

Bruschetta Platter Columbus Salame Company Salami, Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, Toasted Ciabatta
Dungeness Crab Grilled Cheese Pullman Toast English Cheddar, Heirloom Tomato Soup
Grilled All Natural Beef Medallions Celery Root Puree, Garlic Toasted Spinach, Red Wine Demi-Glace, Herbs
Cheese Selection
Banana Cream Pie Butterscotch Pastry Cream, Pate Brisée

The bruschetta was pretty tasty.

The heirloom tomato soup was bland, and the crab sandwich didn't have much flavor. (And what does "D7" mean -- or was that olive oil drizzle design an accident?)

I guess I lost the photos of the beef medallions and cheese plate in the "ACK, I deleted all the photos from my phone!". We did not care for the cheese selection at all. I know cheese is a personal preference -- there are so many to choose from these days -- but we didn't feel the chef paired the three cheeses very well with the other items on the plate (some kind of sweet jam, some thin apple slices, and I think a few crackers.) One cheese in particular was so foul tasting and smelling that one nibble was all I could handle. (It was supposedly one of the "top cheeses of 2010"!)

And the banana cream pie never came... I guess the waitress just forgot.

With all the restaurants in our area to try, this one doesn't need to be visited again any time soon. Maybe it was just an off night, but bland food and poor service doesn't warrant more than a "2" on our 1-10 scale. Maybe "2" is generous.