Finistère
After spending a whole pandemic year in the city, I finally took a trip to the small seaport town that the 17th-century British naval officer, and the subject of Jonathan Raban's masterpiece, Passage to Juneau, Captain George Vancouver, named Port Townsend. The place is, of course, famous for its Victorian homes, historic district, and stunning views of the bay it shares its name with. My trip there, however, was focused on a reservation I made at a restaurant opened in 2017 by former NYC/Seattle chefs Deborah Taylor and Scott Ross and is called Finistère, which basically means "the end of the world." The good things I heard about this restaurant from the local architect Jerry Garcia proved to be true. But one thing really stood out among the plates I ordered (fried oysters, meatballs, grilled broccolini), the duck breast, which was served on top of spinach and potato puree. Each bite I took of this work of art (crispy skin, soft meat, succulent spinach) made the trip (the hour on the ferry, the ugliness of Bremerton, the hour on the road, the night in hotel with the thin walls) really worth it. I expect to be back in Finistère before the end of spring. CHARLES MUDEDE