It's back, baby!

Genoa has reopened! It has been about a year since the original restaurant closed and now it is back under new management with some of the original chefs. Genoa is a very special place for Mr. W and I because he took me there for dinner after he proposed to me at Cape Lookout. We would go there occasionally for anniversaries and special events, but it isn't often that you can have an eight course meal. The new Genoa offers a five course meal and there is a cafe next door. Mr. W and I had planned an antiques shopping excursion in Kalama, Washington last weekend because we were searching for my Christmas gift. We planned an overnight visit to Grammy's house for the littlest W. since we'd learned that antiques shopping with a toddler is a bad, bad idea. With the boy away for a Friday night I planned a night out in Sunnyside. Yay! no worries of designated drivers! I made reservations at Genoa at 8:45 and after Mr. W returned home from work we started our date at the Pied Cow coffee house.
The Pied Cow is in the Buttertoes House which was one of the properties owned by Jerry Bosco and Ben Milligan. After they had both passed away and their collections became the Bosco-Milligan Foundation my dad made plans to relocate his stained glass studio from the West Block, which was Ben & Jerry's property that was to become the future home of the Architectural Heritage Center. Dad planned to buy the Buttertoes House and we would live upstairs and he'd have his shop below. Dad was convinced that if Ben & Jerry were still alive they would have sold it to him, but since the foundation did not want to lose their renter at the West Block they did not accept his offer for the Buttertoes House. I have been living in Sunnyside for seven years and have never been inside to see what could have been my house. It is a great old Victorian, but definitely has a hippy touch to the current interior decoration. We had a little baked brie with filberts and some drinks. I wasn't sure if I had made a reservation on the 5 course dinner side or the cafe side so I wanted to keep our first stop light.
When we arrived at Genoa we learned that we were eating in the dining room. It has been remodeled again since the last time we where there. The private room in back is now accessed from the main dining room, but has curtains to create privacy. It looks much more modern now and Mr. W was a little disappointed that the copper pot collection is gone. The man is hot for copper pots! The window to the kitchen is no longer in view from the dining room now.
The menu was just as delightful as we remembered. We are not so sure about the Italian fondue, but we enjyed our meal and left incredibly full and thankful for the walk home. We are so glad that Genoa is back in the neighborhood!