I suppose we will find out as April is just about over and it looks
like February outside. The month is ending well though, in honor of my
birthday today Prince William is getting married, I am happy to say
that we will not be airing it at Five Spice, but we will however be
broadcasting the NBA playoff games on our new, larger, HD televisions.
 Sports packages are on the way so come in for wine and stay for the
game, the happy hour menu is out of control.

The nice thing about May, even when it doesn’t feel like spring,
Halibut come back in season.  Chef Paul and Jena have been playing
around with fresh Alaskan Halibut and are sure to have an awesome meal
planned for you featuring this catch of the day. Also awesome, the
lake is filling, it looks more and more like it should…at night you
can’t even tell. But on those glimpse of summer days the patio will be
open and still be the perfect spot for a snack, a cocktail or a
romantic evening out.

Awesome spring cocktails, perfect to pair pours, and an extended food
menu all await you, so rise above the puddles on come on up.

This spring has a lot in store for us, the lake is slowly filling, baseball is off to a ferocious start and Five Spice has expanded and perfected the happy hour menu! Fantastic new food selection including coconut shrimp, crispy spring rolls and chicken satay, being added to the classic Dungeness crab and beet salad, and trio of tartars. What better reason to leave work early?

The dinner menu also hosts a handsome handful of new items, and we are featuring a “catch of the day” special. Tonight it is Alaskan Halibut with green curried vegetables.

The wine list is as stellar as ever, a few new labels here as well including Willakenzie Pierre Leon Pinot Noir, a Pahlmayer chardonnay, and a flirty french rose that’s perfect on those sunny spring days on the patio.

The boys in the bar clearly spent the better part of their winter drinking and playing around with new liquor recipes and our specialty cocktail list is at its pique just in time to give those sunny days a proper welcome.

See you in a minute

Escaped the snow storm and finally back from the big apple, just in time for this wonderfully “warm” holiday!

Chef has cooked up a number of specials to help make your romantic evening all the better—all the way until Monday we will be featuring a beautiful filet mignon from Thundering Hooves farm, on top of creamy mashed potatoes, with green beans and a hint of a truffle sauce. Secondly a plate of sauteed jumbo prawns with a classic risotto, asparagus and a bright citrus butter.

Feel free to stop in just for a special dessert or glass of champagne and enjoy the fireside.

The lake is still gone, but we will all just be gazing into the eyes of our beloved, or at very least at a delicous meal.

There’s no snow on the mountain, football season is over, march madness a good ways off, come on now guys…make her happy and fill your belly. See you this weekend!

Not sure if everyone has noticed but it’s cold and dismal outside, a lot of people are catching up on their favorite shows, seeing the new Harry Potter (one too many times), or just wishing there was a way to escape the looming threat of winter. Chef Paul on the other hand is at play—crafting culinary comforts that are out of this world.

            Now we know that the holidays are approaching and we decided to let a little gift out early. Chef wants to reveal some of his new items in a full flavored but financially frugal manner—a “3 for 30” menu!

            Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings starting November 29^th 2010 Five Spice will feature a pre-fixed menu of an appetizer, Entrée and Dessert for only $30, add a sommelier’s choice pour of wine or only 5 bucks more!

            This week the appetizer choices are French Onion Soup or a Grilled Pear Salad, a main of either Shrimp Scampi or “Coq au Vin”, and a dessert option of chocolate cake or peppermint candy ice cream!

            This—along with the fact that Blake nearly broke his wrist and neck (true story) shaking up all the new cocktails he and Johan have come up with—makes it impossible to not have a fantastic November evening.

            Hope to see you soon, and as a sneak peek of things to come in future “3 for 30” items….

Butternut squash soup, seafood chowder, roasted beet and goat cheese salad, Alaskan Coho salmon, and roasted leg of lamb. mmmmmm.

As much as we all may want to pretend, it is time to put away the shorts and accept that we are nearing the end of fall, winter awaits us and we plan to meet it head on, with a fantastic new additions to our already incredible wine list.

Coming in one week you will see some new labels, from all around the Northwest, California and the EU. A glass of Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir in the lounge by the fire, or the Tabula Rasa from Andrew Rich paired with chef’s roasted rack of lamb will make the woes of winter disappear—just like the lake.

Our boys of the bar have also unveiled a few of their new cocktails, warm and delicious to accompany or replace one of the fantastic new desserts from pastry chef Ruth Ann Murdock. The “Five Spiced Cider” and the pumpkin crème brulée have been warming hearts and tummies all week long!

New cocktails shall appear on Friday just in time to start a slightly early celebration of the holiday season, ‘nough said—see you soon!

            As a special treat to scare off the looming threat of rain the lovely Lindsay of Great Northern beverage will be joining us this Friday October 22^nd to educate the public, and sample some of the fine new spirits on the market today. We are proudly featuring Belvedere Pink Grapefruit Vodka—you may recognize it as the key ingredient in our famous Moulin Rouge—Ketel 1 Oranje Vodka, and Bulleit Bourbon. Johan and Blake (if his Carpal Tunnel allows for it) will also feature Smirnoff Pomegranate Vodka in a sampling of the Persephone one of their more popular cocktails of this season’s menu.

            So we will hope to see you from 4pm to 7pm—or whenever the wells run dry—in our spirited start to the weekend.

            Salut!

    We know all of you careful planners have started putting cash away for the rapidly approaching holiday season so in honor of this—and to help you keep your sanity—we have rolled out all new happy hour wines! “Untamed Red” from Toasted Head in California blends Syrah, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah with a commanding backbone, uninhibited, unruly, spicy and just a touch fruity (not too unlike the bartenders who will pour it for you). Powers Merlot out of Washington, a classic pour and, to save you the trouble of watching the movie Sideways, this is the wine that wins in the end. Eola Hills produced a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, full bodied, smoky, and surprisingly nice—the Mrs. Robinson of wine. The two whites, that come in equally ample pours and make one just as happy, consist of Concannon Winery’s Californian Chardonnay and Oregon’s Montinore Estate’s blend of Pinot Gris, Gewürtztraminer and Reisling—the taste of our last summery days.

   Speaking of last summer days the fisherman are still having luck and Chef Paul has brought in a Halibut special for the weekend. Perfectly roasted and partnered with yellow Heirloom Tomatoes, a taste of this—and a glass of the Rochioli chardonnay from the Russian River Valley—and the holidays have started already.

It’s been a good stretch, “Cycle Oregon” has kept me working hard away from work, and even worse away from wine. As beautiful as the ride was in left me in dire need of a fantastic pour, thus inspiring our weekend wine from southern Oregon—Spangler vineyard’s 2008 Malbec. It possesses dark and enticing aromas of lavender and sweet lilac and a palate that finishes smooth like a fall evening in the Umpqua Valley.

As welcoming as the recent harvest moon is Chef Paul’s new autumn menu, he will unveil in this Saturday but between us you won’t want to miss the Thundering Hooves Beef Cheek Pasta, or new French twists to our St. Helen’s Ribeye.

Whether it’s wine-ing or dining that brings you are way, come relax and welcome the fall with us.

The rumors are true—our bodacious Bordeaux babe is bouncing out. Three years and eleven(ish) renditions to the wine list later Caryn has decided to move forward as a wine educator. So as we thank her for her devotion, dedication, determination and damn hard work she has put in we invite you to join us in a drink, or three, to send her off in style. Saturday is her last day—not to mention there is a revamped beverage list to chose from and sure to be something special from the chef—so come say your goodbyes and cheers to Caryn!