Matrimony, Maltby Cafe Style
Unlike the very elaborate celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary last year, we celebrated our 26th anniversary today quietly, relatively frugally and without the great gift-giving sessions of our Silver wedding anniversary.
Today we simply ate great food – and a lot of it.
The Maltby Cafe, which is just a short drive down a forested and beautiful (and very windy and curvy) road from our house is pretty well-known around Seattle. The food is out-of-this-world delicious, the service is great, and the atmosphere is homey, to say the least. The cafe is located in the basement of an gymnasium, built in 1937 as an addition to the schoolhouse next door, which was built in 1907.
This is the schoolhouse…
… and this is the gymnasium. But the entry to the cafe is on the side. See that little brown door there on the left?
Yeah, that one.
Other than the phenomenal food and service, what I like best about the Malty Cafe are the walls. No really. The walls of the former basement of the former gymnasium are made out of dried straw and mud! See?
Oh, but the food!
The breakfasts at the Maltby Cafe are famous. Just look at this menu and I promise, your mouth will start watering – more if you’ve been there already because you know how incredibly tasty everything is!
This morning I got the vegetarian omelette with fresh spinach instead of olives:
Tom got the California omelette:
And here’s one of the Maltby Cafe’s famous cinnamon rolls – which we didn’t eat… this time!
Yes, it really is that huge.
Fabulous! And we’re not the only ones who think so:
That’s just one wall; the other walls are filled with menus signed by famous people who have eaten at this out-in-the-boonies, hole-in-the-wall of a restaurant.
Did I mention that the servings at the Maltby Cafe are huge? It’s now 9 PM and there’s no way I can eat dinner tonight or anything else until at least morning!
But by October, we MUST go back – because look what I just discovered!! Ach du LIEBER – just look at Tuesday!
9 comments:
Happy 25th, Carol! Looks like it was a great way to start the next 25 years!
Happy 25th!The hubby and I didn't go out to eat very often (the grad student thing puts a dent in the wallet) but when we did, we ALWAYS ended up going to Maltby Cafe. We LOVED it there.
Happy 26th, I think? The food looks wonderful; I would choose Tom's meal. I am all over that sour cream.
Carol, I would eat their everyday for the entire week! Happy 26th wedding anniversary. DH and I celebrate 17 years on May 30th, but he will still be in Moldova, so we will have to celebrate via Skype.
Happy Anniversary, Carol. Thinking of you.
Happy Anniversary! That food looks delicious. We'll have to remember that one the next time we're in the States.
Happy Anniversary Carol and Tom!! :) Oh you guys are just so lovely... I just had to go back and read your posts from last year! Those 25 rules are just fantastic. Atul and I have a long way to go in catching up with your wisdom, but we're hoping to grow up and be just like you two. :)
Love you to bits!
Shriyansi
belated happy anni!
That cinnamon roll made me very hungry.
Brahmin Shaadi
Historically, the Brahmins in india were divided into two major groups based on geographical origin of the people. The Brahmin groups that lived to the north of the vindhyas were referred to as Dravida Brahmins. Each group was further divided into five sections according to the regions of their settlement.
Sagaai
The Sagaai or the engagement ceremony symbolises commitment However, the South Indian Brahmin do not lay stress on the presence of bride and the groom in their Sagaai, rather it focuses on commitment between the parents of the groom and the bride. 'Latto' i.e., 'engagement plate' Which consist of coconut, flowers, turmeric, betel leaves and betel nuts hold more importance, in their engagement ceremony. The Maithil Brahmin bride of bihar makes her wedding affair stand apart by receiving the blessing from the Dhobi's (washerman's) wife - a compulsory tradition in the Bihari Brahmin wedding.
Haldi
In Haldi ceremony turmeric powder is mixed with milk, almond oil and sandalwood and applied to the bride and the groom. In Kashmiri Pandit this ceremony has a twist becuase cold, white yoghurt is poured on the bride as an alternative to haldi. ritual is followed by a special custom called Shankha (shell) Paula (coral) in bengali Brahmins, where seven married women embellish the bride's hand with red and white bangles, the shell is supposed to calm the bride and the coral is believed to
be beneficial for health. Mehndi is also applied on every bride's hands during the Mehndi ceremony. However, a Bengali Brahmin bride applies alta (red dye).
Jaimala
After the ceremonious arrival of the groom, the garlands are exchanged between the groom and the bride, while the priests chant mantras. Jaimala is the symbol of unifying two souls into one. But in tamil nadu, "Oonjal", a unique jaimala ceremony is performed and could be best decribed as a tug of war. In this ceremony, the women sing songs to encourage the bride and groom to exchange the garlands while the uncles persuade the soon to be couple not to Exchange the garlands.Before the ceremony of jaimala, the bride makes a majestic entry in Bengali weddings.
Mangal Phere
Fire is considered the most pious element in the Brahmin weddings and seven circles around that fire holds the seven promises that the nuptial couple make to each other amidst the Vedic mantras. The Brahmin wedding is deemed incomplete without the seven rounds around the sacred fire. Unlike other Brahmin weddings, in Gujarati weddings only four pheras are taken which are called the mangalpheras where the pheras represent four basic human goals of Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Miksha (religious, moral, prosperity and salvation). Likewise in Malayalee Brahmin weddings, pheras are taken only thrice.
Post wedding ceremony vidaai
After pheras, the bride's family and friend bid her teary vidaai (farewell). The Kashmiri pundits make their vidaai even more special. their charming ritual, "roth khabar" is performed on a saturday or tuesday after the wedding. In Roth
khabar, the bride's parents send a roth (bread decorated with nuts) to their son - in - law's family. But the bride accompanies She stay with her parents and returns only when someone from in laws comes to fetch her back.
Griha pravesh
The new bride is greeted by her mother - in - law with Arti and tilak. The bride, who is regarded as the Goddess laxmi, enters the groom's house after the groom's house after kicking rice - filled pot. In Kannada Brahmin marriages, the groom changes the name of his wife in the name change ceremony where he decides a name for his wife and inscribes it on a plate containing rice with a ring. In Bihar, a very strange ritual is performs at the groom's place.
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