I drove up to Cafe Juanita in Kirkland using Lake City Way, just so we could drive by a bunch of our old stomping grounds from lo, these many years ago. We got to Kirkland a little bit early and wandered around looking at all the shiny new apartment and condo buildings that have sprung up everywhere.

Cafe Juanita is not an impressive building to look at from the outside, but inside it is world-class; probably the best restaurant I've ever been to -- then again, that's not saying much. ;-)  Most restaurant food, I think "I could make this at home" (and I probably could). But there is some species of magic at work at Cafe Juanita, magic that I know I could never replicate at home.

First, I had the "Hendriks Gin and Q Tonic with Lime and Foie Gras Bombolino." A "bambolino" is apparently a little deep-fried pastry thing with the foie gras inside and some sea salt on top. It sounds odd, but the burst of salty, fatty, crispy, fried flavor really complemented the gin and tonic -- and, eveofdstruction, I have now definitely had gin. It was yummy.

Surprising me, Andrew tried an apertif of his own: some kind of bourbon mixed with something else and served with salted almonds. It's not on the menu; our very attentive and very knowledgeable waiter rattled off a big description of it, and Andrew said "I'll try one!"

Very unusual; I can't remember the last time Andrew had a drink of the alcoholic variety.

For an appetizer, we had "Grilled Merv's Asparagus with Fried Dog Mountain Duck Egg and Parmigiano Reggiano." I don't know who "Merv" is or how his asparagus is soooo good. I might be able to grill the asparagus that well at home, but  then they worked crazy magic on it with olive oil, thin shavings of Parmesan, and a runny duck egg on top, which ran over everything and mixed with it delightfully -- and this may sound gross, but it was really so very good.

They also kept bringing us artistic little plates of bread and crackers. They have these crackers with tiny specks of cheese worked into the dough somehow, and when you bite into one, there's this intense explosion of doughy, cheesy flavor, and it is insanely good. :-)  The regular bread was amazing, too. Even the butter was better. How do they do that??

We shared a salad, "Hearts of Romaine with Garlic Anchovy Vinaigrette, Toasted Breadcrumbs and Parmigiano Reggiano." MMMM. Steps: (1) Take some nice lettuce. (2) Make it AMAZING.

For the entree, I had one of the dishes that was offered at our wedding dinner 5 years ago, apparently a seasonal standard of theirs: "Whole Roasted Branzino with Ragout of Chick Peas and Olives." Apparently "branzino" is a type of fish that they fly in from Italy especially to be eaten by us. The fuel prices alone... sigh. I am contributing to global warming with my excessive American lifestyle. (But it was so good.)

Our waiter offered to remove the head, tail, and spine for me. "Do you do that??" I asked. He did! So as we watched, he neatly performed post-mortem operations on the fish, narrating the whole time.

Andrew had the "Rabbit Raviolini with Sage Butter," which -- again -- was so very good.

I didn't have any wine with my meal -- shocking, I know. Honestly, I had a lovely strong buzz from the gin and tonic, and wanted to be in good condition to drive home. The designated water-glass-refiller managed to ensure that our water was full at all times -- and the way Andrew burns through water at restaurants, this is unusual. He was also lightning-fast. Several times I would look away, then look back down and discover that my dirty plate had mysteriously vanished.

After the entree, the large party of 14 next to us finished leaving, and we were asked if we wanted to sit in the corner seats they'd just vacated. So we migrated a few tables over and got to sit on a long, curved seat and make googly eyes at each other.

Andrew was curious about what kind of cheese + apple + honey presentation such a good restaurant could make, so he had the "Estrella Family Creamery Cheese with Chestnut Honey and Apple" for dessert. He had his choice of cheese, and I can't remember which one he picked; only that it was a softer cheese.

I had the one item with "chocolate" in the name: the "Pralus Chocolate Bônet with Marsala Syrup and Marsala Crisp." What is a "bônet," I hear you ask? Well, it's apparently firmer than pudding or mousse but softer than fudge. It came out in the shape of a cute little football -- only, a football made of dense, rich, creamy chocolate, with cream and syrup and a sweet little crispy thing on top.

I also got a miniature pot of decaf French press coffee. It was -- unsurprisingly -- so good.

Having been informed that it was our anniversary, our waiter brought out our desserts with fizzing candles stuck into them (into my chocolate bônet and into Andrew's cheese). He also brought us two glasses of complimentary champagne, nice and light, with which we toasted the next five years. Oh, and also some little polenta cookies at the very end; barely sweet at all, but yummy.

Everyone was so nice to us. People kept apologizing that we had been seated next to the party of 14 people. As they were leaving, the people apologized to us, too! Honestly, they weren't that bad.

Our waiter was intelligent and knowledgeable, and explained terms on the menu. I now know all about what a "Sugo" type of sauce is, as opposed to the thicker "ragout" and the thinner "brodo." Great food, and educational. What's not to love.

The price, obviously, is higher than we usually pay for a dinner out. But this really is worth it, in my estimation, anyway.

I'm happy we got married there. To this day I have still never had a cake that measures up to our wedding cake.

It was a wonderful time, and I hope I don't have to wait 5 years to go back. :-)