July 4, 2004
CHOICE TABLES; In Seattle, Freshness Without the Fussiness
By MARK BITTMANTHE restaurant scene in Seattle is among the country's most vital. Intriguing new places open with a frequency rivaled, it seems, only in Chicago, San Francisco and New York. Their quality varies wildly, and though this is true everywhere, it seems there are more trendy, frankly silly openings here than in other cities. The term ''local ingredients'' gets thrown around freely, meaningful or not, and some chefs gussy them up until they are unrecognizable. It's shameful what is done to Dungeness crab in the name of creativity (especially since the best treatment of this magnificent creature is simple steaming or roasting) and to some of the country's best oysters.
Cascadia
A modern and attractive restaurant, Cascadia is a tad corporate-looking -- at least compared with Lampreia, which is just down the street. The theme is Northwest: There's an indoor waterfall framed by stone and huge rough-hewn wood beams, a fireplace, cherry paneling and a high ceiling that creates an open feel. Service is informal, but it's efficient and pleasant enough. The ingredients, it's said, are ''local.''
Cascadia suffers a bit from its own eclectic approach, which has not been entirely mastered. The menu is so ambitious that some things are bound to founder, but there are a number of interesting choices, and some creations are original and delicious. I ordered ý la carte, and there's also a $25 three-course menu that is good value, as well as an assortment of tasting menus.
Starters included fried wontons stuffed with eggplant, well conceived and executed, with a bean salad, an odd but good pairing; and a duck confit and potato salad with a slew of herbs that was a knockout. Mushroom soup was a tad thin but sublimely flavorful; the smoked salmon terrine with horseradish and capers -- scented with lemon verbena oil -- was more successful.
Main courses were even better big plates with a lot of thought behind them. I especially liked monkfish medallions in pancetta, served with roast pork medallions -- the contrast really works -- over cold apple-turnip purČe with vinegar. Super. Spice-rubbed king salmon over mashed potatoes spiked with lobster chunks (from Maine -- so much for ''local ingredients'') is a luxury dish, well executed; each table of four ought to have one order of this.
Desserts are not nearly as adventuresome as the rest of the menu. The most interesting was the Douglas fir sorbet, made from local trees, whose piney, woodsy flavor was as enjoyable a use of a local ingredient as I've experienced in a while. The wine list is among the best in town, with a sensational selection of the great whites of the Northwest.
Bill of fare: local ingredients
All major credit cards are accepted unless noted otherwise and all are nonsmoking.
Cascadia, 2328 First Avenue; (206) 448-8884. Open 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday to 10:30 p.m. Appetizers, $6 to $16; main courses $23 to $30. Tasting menus, $55 to $80; three-course set menu, $25. Dinner, with wine and tip, can run from about $35 or $40 a person to well over $100.
