The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

On Saturday, I was putting away my garden tools, when up drove my long-time cooking collaborator and friend, Desi Kitchens, arriving from California.

Desi is an excellent cook and also a lover of great wine. She and I together remind me of Simca and Julia Child, wandering the Parisian markets searching for the best in food and wine. She had stated in an email that when she arrived, we should go to Jim German's Bar, to Whoop Em Up Café and to Cavu Cellars.

At "Whoopee," we ordered a barbecue platter that drooled down our arms in perfect Southern hospitality.We walked into Jim German Bar, an...