A pair of classic Washington inns, plus some culinary classics in the making

The Edgewater Hotel, Seattle

Boats of all sizes ply the water perhaps six feet from our window, lapping the water. Gulls, wing overhead, diving for dinner. I spy a jellyfish with an egg yolk-like center floating by.

The iconic inn -— the city’s only waterfront hotel -— is located downtown yet serves as a respite from Seattle’s urban pace. The rooms have a handsome Adirondack sensibility, with plaid bed coverings, knotty pine furniture and rustic gas fireplaces; the bathrooms are outfitted with granite counters, wainscoting and slate floors. The effect is pampering but not pompous.

Six Seven is the Edge’s restaurant, named for Pier 67 where the property is located. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook Puget Sound. Snow-dusted Mt. Rainer majestically rises against a pinky sunset on this balmy July night. There’s a regatta underway and the bay pulsates with activity that reminds me of Hong Kong’s famous harbor. Inside, the scene is equally energetic. Call it dinner and a show.

The distinctive cuisine of the Pacific Northwest is based on seasonally inspired local, often organic ingredients. We hop-scotch through the mouth-watering menu with abandon—after all, as an Easterner, I only make it to Washington every few years. There’s a decadent, bread crumb-topped lobster mac and cheese and a succulent Alaskan halibut with truffled sweet corn broth, chanterelles and Dungeness crab potato galette. Half portions are available for most items, (perhaps that explains the svelte figure on the youthful diners). The BLT salad is very nearly a religious experience: gold and red baby beets with mizuna, Stilton hazelnuts, crispy parma ham and cream sherry syrup. Our waiter Matt introduces us to a Seven Hills viogonier, Dussek Family Cellars syrah and a Rattlesnake Hills pinot noir by the glass. For dessert, we enjoy a pineapple sorbet with a Washington ice wine that reveals subtle nectarine notes.

The following day, we cruise Puget Sound on a one-hour boat ride, then set out by foot to explore nearby Pike Place Market.

We have dinner at the Pink Door, with its Cirque de Soleil-like interiors, a jazz trio playing in the bar. Our waiter Joseph guides us to a generous antipasto platter laden with prosciutto, Tuscan bean salad, fresh mozzarella, tapenade, grilled vegetables, roasted peppers and salami and paper thin pork medallions lavished with a caper-spiked tuna tonnato sauce. Wine glasses appear and when drained, are whisked away: a Winters Hills pinot gris, a dry, crisp falanghina bursting with green apple flavors, a Barbera D’Alba that marries perfectly with a risotto of fresh summer corn, grape tomatoes, Dungeness crab and mascarpone cheese and a Novelty Hill 7 Hills red blend to accompany a whole grilled branzino, filleted tableside and served with salsa verde and cranberry beans. For dessert, there’s caramel chocolate with sea salt.

The Edgewater is already a classic, but based on our dining experiences, Six Seven and the Pink Door are classics in the making.

The Inn at Langley, Whidbey Island

And, indeed Whidbey Island is worlds away from the skyscrapers of Seattle. We drive our car onto the Mukilteo ferry to reach the longest island in the continental U.S.—65 miles of country roads, farms, quaint villages and a naval air station. We buy fat, glossy garnet Bing cherries at a roadside farm.

We visit the Lavender Wind Farm, where we breathe in the sweet, spicy scent of the purple blooms being processed and walk the lavender labyrinth. At Toby’s in Coupeville, we eat raw oysters nearly as big as my palm. Langley has a year-round population of just 1,080. Yet its thriving artist community and seasonal tourism support a 1930s movie house, historic buildings, flower-filled walkway, a library, shops and restaurants. We see herons, eagles and sea lions during our short visit.

Nestled on a bluff overlooking Saratoga Passage, the comfortable, cedar-shingled Inn at Langley is understated—almost Japanese in its simplicity. We enjoy two-hour sunsets from our porch-style balcony and soaks in the indoor whirlpool bath. At Spa Essencia, I follow a steam bath, with an hour-long deep tissue massage to the sound of high tide’s incoming waves. At Village Pizzeria, we tuck into massive slices of authentic New York style mushroom, pesto and pepperoni.

Each morning we fuel up on the inn’s generous breakfast buffet of frittatas, scones, muffins, juices, cobbler, and coffee before heading out for a day’s exertions. At Possession Beach, we kayak with Nick of Whidbey Island Kayaking Company on glassy, almost ghostly waters, fog clinging to the shoreline trees and giant driftwood littering the beach. We hike in the beautiful old-growth forest at Deception Pass State Park on the north end of the island and walk across the steel, two-lane, 976-foot high Deception Pass Bridge -— a photographer’s favorite for its breathtaking views—that links Whidbey Island with Fidalgo Island.

We cap our afternoon with a $2 Whidbey Island orange ice cream bar hand-dipped in chocolate. It’s yet another classic combination, freshly imagined.