I almost took the clunky big pair of Columbia boots out of my suitcase before closing it up for the last time two weeks ago. I was on my way to New York City and reports included snow and cold. Boy, am I glad I talked myself out of that last-minute repacking. Two days later I was walking the streets of Manhattan, snowy, frigid, sleet pelting at me from all directions. Navigating the curbside mountains of snow left by the plows would have been trouble in my new Franco Sartos. With those boots, I was Northwest-prepared for anything.

The original impetus for this month’s visit to New York City was to meet a couple of folks at a bar. Long way to go for a cocktail, huh? But this was a drink with a purpose. I’ll be moderating a panel at this year’s conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals about the renaissance that gin is experiencing lately. My two panel cohorts—Audrey Saunders from Pegu Club and Simon Ford from Plymouth Gin—are Manhattan-based. So my trip was anchored by a very fruitful brainstorming/planning session to get us in gear for the April presentation in Chicago. I tagged on an extra three days just for fun.

Speaking of cocktails, I had a wonderful French Pearl at Pegu Club, which included Plymouth gin, lime juice and a smidge of Pernod. Pegu has been garnering lots of national press for the finely crafted, traditional-with-a-twist approach to cocktail creations. Audrey isdefinitely a master at the craft. I also very much enjoyed my visit to Employees Only, a sort of speakeasy-ish bar with very subtle signage, low lights and a welcome, not-schlocky, retro feel. I nursed their Provencal cocktail while sitting at the bar. Sounded like a potential train-wreck of a drink: lavender infused gin with herbes-de-provence infused dry vermouth and a dab of Cointreau. But in the right hands, as this cocktail was, the subtleties of those different flavors blended artfully to create a slightly savory drink (my favorite kind) in which no single ingredient stood out alone.

Meal highlights include a late-night dinner my first night at Little Owl, a tiny West Village corner that’s been getting raves in the city since opening last year. The next night, it was an impromptu dinner at the elegant Eleven Madison Park, one of Danny Meyer’s top-flight restaurants. I was with my bi-coastal Portland-New York pal Lisa Donoughe and her Colorado friend Lynne Killey. We three gals decided to go all out, complete with a bottle of Billecart Saumon Rosé Champagne. The multi-course prix fixe meal was out of this world, I had foie gras “en torchon” with Venezuelan chocolate (ultimately very subtle) and quince gelée; herb roasted venison with salsify (amazing with the glass of Barolo recommended).

A third, and completely different, highlight was lunch with Mario Batali at the Spotted Pig. This gastro-pub in the Village has “eclectic” written all over it, the walls and surfaces chock-a-block with piggie things, signs, framed pictures, esoterica of all kinds. And the menu, while it does sport heavy Italian influence, has some surprises such as the richly delicious cubano sandwich. We chatted about a bunch of stuff, including Mario's new spots opening at The Venetian in Vegas next month and a vamped-up web site that now includes travel info and ideas for many spots in Italy. The Pig was great, by the way. Duck egg with tuna bottarga, a medium-soft boiled egg, halved and topped with judicious shavings of the dried and salted tuna roe. The sheeps ricotta gnudi with brown butter and sage could have done me in if I’d had any less control. Oh, baby, and that hamburger. Ubiquitous? Yes, everyone does burgers. But this one is fat, juicy, chargrilled for extra flavor and served very simply, with just a scattering of Roquefort cheese. Shoestrings alongside were speckled with rosemary and sliced garlic. Nirvana. Just the right kind of food to keep me going through another icy afternoon in Manhattan.

I had a moment to visit with Charles Ramseyer, longtime chef of the venerable Ray’s Boathouse restaurant in Seattle, on the brink of his New York City adventure. Charles is moving to Manhattan to serve as executive chef at Wild Salmon, a new Jeffrey Chodorow restaurant at the corner of 40th and 3rd. The current Todd English concept at that location will be closing in a couple of weeks, Wild Salmon due to open April 6. The draft menu reads perflectly “Seattle” from the Salumi cured meats to the kasu black cod. New Yorkers are going to be blown away.

Between meals, I fit in some culture, taking in the Spanish Masters: From El Greco to Picasso exhibit at the Guggenheim. And I also made it to the really beautiful Cooper-Hewitt museum, just north of the Guggenheim on 5th Avenue. Maybe one day I’ll actually get to see a play or make it to The Met. I forget sometimes that New York isn’t all about the food and drink.

I finished washing the last of the wine glasses in the quiet morning hours Sunday, and took stock of the phenomenal bottles left empty on the kitchen floor. It’s not your average collection of dinner-party empties waiting for a trip to the recycle bin. 1996 Caymus cabernet sauvignon; 2000 Leonetti; 1996 Delille Chaleur Blanc; 1986 Château Rouzan-Ségla Grand Cru from Bordeaux; 1974 Chateau Ste Michelle cabernet sauvignon, 1994 Chinook merlot, ice wine from Sokol Blosser. And a standout 1950 Viña Real from the rioja region of Spain, which had aged gracefully.

Saturday night was the eighth annual Open That Bottle Night, a tradition started by the wine columnists at the Wall Street Journal in response to a frequent query: “I’ve got a bottle of 1973 Petrus, when should I drink it?” Every fourth Saturday in February is deemed the night to open those precious bottles for which you’re waiting on some precisely appropriate occasion. Just drink it and enjoy it, is the call to arms from writers Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. “On OTBN every year, thousands of bottles all over the world are released from prison and enjoyed,” they wrote in January, stating that “wine is more than the liquid in the bottle. It’s about history, geography, relationships and all the things that are really important in life.”

So I called on ten friends who eat and drink well with others, and we had quite a night Saturday, each couple bringing a bottle or two to share. I’d warned them it was going to be a long evening, slowly paced to allow plenty of time to enjoy the wine and food before moving on to the next course. And these guests were wonderful stalwarts. We sat down for the first course—tomato bisque with thyme oil and parmesan puff pastry—at around 5:45 pm and the first couple headed home around 12:15 am.

The nine or so courses included 2-layered flan of spinach and roasted garlic, enormous prawns roasted with lemon and herbs, seared sea scallops with celery root purée, freshly made pasta with black truffle and truffle salt, boneless leg of lamb with olives, garlic and rosemary, amazing cheese and a bittersweet chocolate cake with homemade star anise ice cream. I had a ball cooking up that menu. Much as I love the work I do developing and testing recipes (and I really do!), what makes me deeply happy in the kitchen is the opportunity to just cook. Whatever I want. However I want. And not have to write anything down, take notes, verify cooking times, none of that. Freedom to play in the kitchen is such a joy. Especially getting to share the fruits with friends.

Ironically, Bob and I didn’t end up opening a bottle of wine ourselves. There was plenty brought by others. And the one bottle we really wanted to open was a double-magnum of R3 from Owen Sullivan winery, but it would have just been too too much. Last night was all about variety from one bottle to the next, having a broad range of wine-tasting experiences with the food. We’ll have to plan a different type of party for that big bottle. Life’s tough, huh? Fodder for a future story.

Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood just isn’t losing any steam in its “cool new developments” department. A couple of recent additions are worth note.

Kathy and John Casey, who have been friends for – geez – a dozen or more years now, have recently opened their third Dish D’Lish location alongside their Ballard HQ, the Food Studios. It’s a delightfully inviting space, the warm richness of the historic brick and other ‘bones’ of the room counterpointed by the cool, hip blue-silver-sparkly tones of the Kathy Casey touch. The menu is an expansion of what’s available at the two SeaTac airport locations of Dish D’Lish (they closed the original Pike Place Market location last summer). You’ll find hot and cold sandwiches, “daily whim” soup and salads, sweets and take-and-reheat entrees for dinner at home. And chilled cases offer grab-and-go foods as well, including delectable Estrella cheeses, spreads, dips, salads. It’s already popular with folks who work in the neighborhood, people waiting on their car’s oil change at Carter VW a block away, and shoppers strolling Ballard Ave in need of a break.

After Bob and I checked out the new Dish D’Lish space recently, the four of us headed off to another new Ballard spot, the Copper Gate, for drinks and a light dinner. From the outside, it looks like one of those time-warp bars, no flash, a simple neon sign, you imagine a grizzled old bar hostess, inconsequential cocktails and ghosts of thousands of smoke-filled nights gone by. Instead, you walk into a sort of Viking-influenced room that speaks “cocktails” with a decidedly Scandinavian accent. My favorite was the Big Cucumber: Aalborg Akvavit, lemon, sugar and cucumber, very light and refreshing. We snacked on pickled herring with pumpernickel, beet-pear-endive salad with walnut vinaigrette, fries with tarragon aioli (our special-request side). Fun to find that kind of surprise behind an unlikely, well-worn door on a Ballard corner. And nice to see a dose of Ballard’s Scandinavian past added to the modern mix.

Thursday night this week, March 1, I’ll be the guest speaker in the People for Puget Sound’s 2006/2007 speaker series. So far the speakers have touched on everything from weather to shellfish aquaculture. Little surprise, I suppose, that I'll be talking about Northwest cuisine and ingredients, particularly some of the most distinctive hallmark products of the region, such as apples, salmon, hops (can't make great beer without great hops!) and wild mushrooms.

The program will be at the REI flagship store (222 Yale Ave N) and begins at 7 PM. Admission is $6 for People For Puget Sound members; $8 for non-members. Tickets may be purchased in advance bycontacting KrisTina Hertz, (206) 382-7007, khertz@pugetsound.org. They'll also sell tickets at the door.

A reminder that tickets are now on sale for the Les Dames d’Escoffier auction March 27 in downtown Seattle. Auction tickets, information and a preview of auction items are all available at our web site.