Report from the Field: Art of the Table
Monday, October 6, 2008 at 07:00AM I never really intended to do any restaurant reviews, for reasons outlined previously, but I am incapable of not shouting at you about something I'm enthusiastic about. So since my friend's recent visit gave me the opportunity to try out a bunch of new restaurants, most of which I felt very happy with, I figured it wouldn't be entirely against my Post Pretty Positive ethos to tell you about the good stuff.
I gave the President of the Debate Club several restaurant options for her last evening in Seattle. She wanted something super Pacific Northwestern, but ultimately picked Art of the Table because the chef, Dustin Ronspies, grew up in Florida, the Prez’s home state.
Thursday through Saturday, Art of the Table has their "'Weekend Supper Club', a themed dinner party experience featuring a prix-fixe menu revolving around a specific theme. Dinner begins at 7:30 pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays weekly and is by reservation only."
Mondays are Happy Mondays, where they can use up ingredients from the previous menu with small dishes, and reservations are not available. The Prez and I headed over on a Monday.
The place is teeny tiny, but set up in such a lovely and simple way that it doesn’t feel crowded. Our server was new but friendly and appropriately attentive.
We started with a salad that had haricot vert, hazelnuts, shallot compote, feta and vinaigrette. Very simple, very delicious. I enjoy a good salad, but rarely do I feel actual disappointment when it’s all over. With this dish, though, when the last sliver of haricot was et, I felt melancholy.
The next course came fast enough that I didn’t have too much time to mourn. It was a potato latke topped with salmon mousse and house-cured gravlax with lemon cream. And then I think there was some green pesto type stuff or something around the dish. I was not excited about ordering this because, I mean, seriously, is anyone every excited about gravlax? Tolerant of gravlax, pleasantly not disgusted by gravlax, yes, but excited? I was also worried that gravlax on top of salmon mousse was too much fishiness.
It was not, and I was, again, feeling like I wished I had ordered my own as it disappeared too quickly. The dish I was most apprehensive about turned out to be my favorite of the evening. It was the second bit of perfectly balanced, perfectly seasoned perfection we had that evening, and now we couldn’t wait for the next course, which was…
A little fishcake on top of some corn with some roasted tomatoes. I don’t have anything profound to say about it except that it was awesome.
The Prez then continued with some duck-stuffed quail on top of polenta, which she also thoroughly enjoyed.
We had some tasty drinks as well. The Prez had an Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA. I had an Ecker Gruner Vetliner and then my new favorite thing, a Vinho Verde. I'd never had this Portuguese wine before and our server warned me it is lightly effervescent, which actually is perfect because I heart bubbles, large and small. I don't remember the brand, but I will be looking out for it in the future.
Everything about the evening was beautiful, mellow, delicious and friendly. I am only concerned about how teeny-tiny the place is because I want to be able to get in easily.
Art of the Table
1054 North 39th Street, Seattle, WA 98103
206.282.0942
Reader Comments (1)
I'm so excited about this place. Next time they do a veg dinner I really got get in there.