Last night John and I celebrated his birthday (which was in May) by going to see Nickel Creek at Marymoor Park. He picked me up from work early because we know from past experience that it can take 3 hours to get from Seattle to Redmond (thats not even 20 miles, folks. Traffic is incredibly awful up here). We were just going to grab a burger before the show, but took a chance and stopped into a ‘steak and seafood’ place called Becks in the main part of Redmond.
They were just about to open at 4pm and we were invited to have our choice of seating. Nice comfy booths, wood tables, linens… this was not just a ‘joint,’ this was a good looking place hiding in a strip mall. Limited menu with a couple of fish specials, and a thoughtful wine list. Better and better. We looked at each other and said, what the hey and ordered. Grilled prawn ‘cocktail’ to start. A perfect appetizer, two large prawns for each of us. Perfectly cooked and just the right amount to wake up the tummy. Salads (green for me, caeser for him) with fresh greens and not too much dressing. Also, no onion or tomato (I know, others like them, but I don’t.) Then… the main course. I had a filet, grilled nicely with asparagus and a ‘potato cake’ of shredded potato mixed with asiago cheese and fried. YUM. John’s strip was perfectly done, and his mashed with basil was delightful.
We left room for dessert, believe it or not. Mostly by taking our time over the meal (almost 2 hours). We shared a slice of strawberry cake — yellow cake with white chocolate frosting, raspberry filling and strawberry filling. Incredibly good. JUST like I always imagine a ‘birthday’ cake would be.
Stuffed and happy, we finished the drive to the park and found our seats. Mid row, 7 rows from the front on the right side. I done good, if I do say so myself. John was in 7th Heaven.
Nickel Creek was incredible. I saw their show three years ago and they were good. Last night, they were gold. Of special note was their cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” which I was able to find on the Interet and have linked HERE. Play it loud.