My husband and I continued our weekend in Walla Walla, Washington, after our wonderful tasting experience at Figgins, with dinner at one of our tried-and-true restaurants, Passatempo Taverna. It’s an unpretentious place located in one of the old brick buildings downtown, serving up uncomplicated but delicious Italian fare, with several wood-fired pizzas and pasta dishes on the menu. We decided to keep it simple: We shared a plate of grilled asparagus (A seasonal favorite in southeastern Washington in the spring, it’s on every menu in town.), and I had potato gnocchi while Harry ordered a plate of cacio e pepe. We finished off with a shared dish of chocolate panna cotta and called it a night.

We began Friday at two of our favorite, smaller, family-owned wineries (which also are next-door neighbors). We’ve been visiting Denise and Brett Isenhower (Isenhower Cellars) and Kurt and Vicki Schlicker at Rulo Winery for nearly 20 years; we’ve watched the Isenhower daughters grow from preschoolers to college grads and Kurt and Vicki prepare for selling their business and retiring. Both wineries produce excellent wines from local grapes and offer them at very reasonable prices for this premium AVA. From there we moved on to another longtime favorite, Va Piano Vineyards, another producer of premium red wines. It was a lovely afternoon and quiet, before the mass of weekend visitors arrived. We always enjoy the courtyard and the various seating options available where you can really relax and enjoy the wines. This is one positive that came out of COVID: With social distancing still required as the wineries reopened for visitors, many developed these comfortable spaces, a vast improvement over a crush of people jammed around a too-small tasting room bar. No one’s looking back!

That evening we tried a new restaurant which took over a breakfast place we often visited on Sunday mornings in Walla Walla. The Witlof updated the dining space with leather banquettes and modern art playing off the wooden floors and rough brick walls. The menu is an intriguing fusion of Basque and Korean fare with influences of Dutch and Portuguese (and, as the website notes, “you name it”) cuisine. There are plenty of bold flavors and creativity and unique combinations, and everything is house-made from scratch. We took our time over the menu, which changes frequently; there were so many fascinating dishes to choose from! We started with Asparagus & Cana de Cabra, grilled asparagus tossed in a saffron aioli and served with an aged Spanish goat cheese. It was the most unusual and delicious serving of asparagus I’ve ever had! That creamy cheese just oozed over the spears. Harry tried the asparagus and white bean soup (I told you asparagus is everywhere in town!), a rich, hearty peasant bowl of bacalao broth full of grilled asparagus, braised white beans and herbs.

Our entrées were equally unique, flavorful and filling. Harry enjoyed a heaping plate (half of which we took back to the hotel fridge) of Pork + Prawn Fried Rice. It featured ground pork belly, prawns, housemade Chinese X.O. sauce, julienned vegetables, fried egg and toasted peanuts. Incredible flavor! I opted for the Arroz y Kokotxas: halibut collar, smoked green-lipped mussels and steamed Manila clams in a roasted pepper broth served over calrose rice and, yes, grilled asparagus. Again, I was blown away by the complex, rich flavors and complementary textures in the dish. I don’t think there’s a pedestrian item on the menu!

I did save a little room for dessert . . . because how could I not find out what kinds of desserts this kitchen turned out? We shared the Strawberry Coconut Espuma, promised to be light and not filling. I’m a dessert-lover, but this one didn’t ring any bells for me. I really couldn’t pick up on the coconut, it was really too early in the season for good strawberries, and the chocolate crumbs were quite dry and almost flavorless. Maybe my tastebuds were just knocked out by everything else I’d had that night!

Our epicurean delights continued the next day . . . and will do so in my next blog, as well.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor