J.P.
Having recently reviewed Matt Dillon’s The London Plane, it came to mind that in May 2012 we had visited another of his restaurants, Sitka and Spruce. The editor of Tasting Bites jokingly called my attention to the fact that The London Plane is a tree, not an airplane. The name of Sitka and Spruce has a similar origin. In a 2007 Food and Wine article on Matt Dillon’s best new chef award, Matt states that his hobby is foraging and goes on to say that the name Sitka and Spruce “is a direct reference to foraging. It’s the variety of spruce tree that grows above porcini mushrooms”. The Sitka spruce tree can be as tall as 100 m.
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| Sitka spruce tree |
In the Tasting Bites review of The London Plane, we provided some information on Chef Matt Dillon’s background and also listed his restaurants, including Sitka and Spruce and Bar Ferd'nand. These two are located in a small shopping gallery on Melrose Ave, between Pine East and Pike East, close to downtown Seattle. In the same gallery you also find a bakery and a meat store.
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| Entrance |
Our May 2012 visit was at lunch time on a Thursday and we called a couple of hours in advance to make a reservation. No one answered the phone, but we could leave a message asking for the reservation. Getting there around 1:00 PM, we learned that our message had not been retrieved. Nevertheless, they would be able to seat our party of three. We were placed in a big table that was already occupied by two ladies who left soon after. As one can see, informality prevails.
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| Table |
The style of the menu is not very different from that of The London Plane. The options include a lot of fresh vegetables, but meat lovers will not be disappointed. As expected, the current menu on the internet is not identical to that of May 2012. The general approach, however, is still the same.
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| Kitchen |
We ordered four different courses to be shared among the three of us and had a wonderful meal.
- Terrine of pork with salted parsnip, arugula, and mustard
- La Quercia speck with raw artichokes, anchovy and cress (La Quercia is a producer of prosciutto and other pork cuts from Iowa)
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| Pork terrine |
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| La Quercia speck |
- Black mouth salmon lox, lady ferns, and stinging nettles
- Chorizo, purple sprouting broccoli, tahini, and almonds
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| Salmon lox |
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| Chorizo |
The chinook salmon has a dark mouth and black gums at the base of its teeth. An immature chinook is known as a “black mouth”. Lox refers to salmon cured in a salt-sugar rub or brine. Lady fern is one of the three main species of edible ferns in North America. The presence of lady ferns and stinging nettles gives away Matt Dillon’s foraging hobby.
By now my memories of all these courses had faded away and did not go beyond the fact that we liked the food. I had to rely on my notes of the time to be able to express a view. They said that the highlights were the speck and, in particular, the salmon lox that was delicious.
As dessert, we shared among the three of us the:
- Gâteau Basque with cacao nib crumble and caramel (Gâteau Basque is a an almond flour based cake which is a traditional dessert from the Basque region of France). During our recent visit to The London Plane, we had the same Gâteau Basque, except that it came without the cacao trimming.
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| Gâteau Basque and Lustau sherry |
To accompany the meal, we had a red wine from the Spanish region of Priorat: Camins del Priorat, 2010 ($40). This wine is produced by the acclaimed Alvaro Palacios, one of the leading Spanish winemakers, with properties in the Rioja, Priorat and Bierzo regions. It is a blend of mostly Carignan and Garnacha, also including Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The Priorat is a small wine region of predominantly red grapes located west of Tarragona in the Catalonia. The Wine Spectator describes the Camins del Priorat, 2010, as a “sturdy red” in which “cocoa and toast notes accent black cherry and plum flavors”. The Wine Spectator rating of this wine is 88.
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| Camins del Priorat 2010 |
With the Gâteau Basque, I had a glass of sherry, the Lustau Almacenista
($10/glass), from the legendary Lustau, a sherry producer that has been around since 1896. Almacenista is one specific line of Lustau products. As explained in the Lustau website: “Almacenistas are independent professionals or entrepreneurs who have been historically producing and ageing sherry”.
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| Lustau |
Sitka and Spruce, as well as The London Plane are restaurants with very similar styles combining informality with character, a hallmark that many Seattle restaurants are able to exhibit. Both are excellent recommendations within their proposition of small plates with all kinds of fresh vegetables. Dinner for three added up to $166, including tax, tips, and $60 of wine.
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