Sitka and Spruce

You could say that a meal at Sitka and Spruce is kind of like a snowflake: no two are exactly alike and they are beautiful in their own unique ways.

Everything about this place is great. I love how small it is, the communal table – very Montage (a la Portland) but the food here is in an entirely different realm (casual-sophisticate) and the room has a much calmer ambiance – no Rainier pounders here; the color of the walls, the unusual and unassuming location and most of all… the newness of the food; meaning freshness and what spectacular flavor combinations!

I was at Sitka & Spruce for dinner a few months back with a pair of friends, and it’s important to note, their two-year old little boy, who was treated like a king by our server. This is the type of place that could very easily have an unspoken ‘no-kids’ kind of rule, but we were treated very well, and when the little guy got crazy from sitting still for too long, I took him outside to run laps up and down the sidewalk.

The food here is fresh, fresh, FRESH and simple, but not the ‘dumb’ kind of simple. You walk out of this place asking yourself, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ No worries, because Chef Matt Dillon did the thinking for you. We ordered about six dishes that first time, including this wonderfully simple salad of greens, marcona almonds and lemons, (I want to say) a lamb ragout/Bolognese-style pasta dish, and a venison pate, among other uniquely delicious dishes. Having grown up in the wilds of Northern Minnesota with a deer-huntin’ Daddy, I never thought of venison as something other than stew meat. (And my Daddy knew how to cook a mean venison stew, don’t get me wrong.) Chef Matt Dillon put venison into a whole new category of goodness for me.

My latest meal was lunch with co-workers just last week. It’s the best mid-day meal I’ve had in months, if not years, and yes, that’s right, it was less expensive than most restaurant lunches I’ve eaten. I understand that there are some people out there who think the portions are on the paltry side, but, as I’ve always said, “Quality trumps quantity.” And quality is what Sitka and Spruce is all about.

For lunch, I had a beautiful, savory, duck-stuffed crepe, drizzled with what I assume to have been a reduced aged-Balsamic, accompanied by a wild/crazy salad of greens that you don’t find in most restaurants, meaning that they didn’t come from a bag. I felt like someone foraged for those salad greens, just for me. One of my lunch companions ordered salmon that was cooked PERFECTLY skin-side down (she didn’t eat the skin, so I ate it for her) served over oranges and avocado; the other ordered a romano-style gnocchi, which came out in the surprising form of a triangular cake. Wow – so good and unexpected!

I find much better luck getting a table without waiting during lunchtime than at dinner time, and the food is just as good. I know that Matt didn’t prepare my meal this last time, however, as I saw him working with his various purveyors, carrying in rhubarb, farm-fresh veggies and what were either goats or lambs. I should have gone back in for dinner that night, as what I saw being brought in were among my favorite foods. I’m still kicking myself… but I’ll be back next week, and the next week and…

The only thing better than a delicious meal is a delicious meal that is pretty to look at. And if you want to get picky, then a delicious and pretty meal is made even better by it being crafted from local ingredients that are lovingly grown and raised and then cooked up by a man who gives a damn about good food.

I’d try and eat here everyday if I had the means. And since the menu changes everyday I’d never get tired of the food. My advice is to be waiting outside @ 5:30 when the open the doors. It’s also fun to stand at the bar though!

At Sitka and Spruce, I had one of my the best meals since moving to Seattle. But what’s a great meal, anyway? Truth be told, food is only half the battle. The rest lies in the service, the ambience, and even the clientelle. Sitka and Spruce hit these marks so well that even if the food was mediocre, which it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have cared.

To start, we arrived about fifteen minutes earlier than Megan and Ross, whose review is below and would later become our tablemates. Valeria and I stood at the bar, read the menu on the chalkboard and started on a bottle of Malbec that seemed to be a hit that night. I base this on my observation of people to the left and right who were also enjoying the same. This wasn’t due to a lack of choices and I am still pressed to find an explanation that doesn’t involve mind control or moon phases.

The wait staff was friendly, informed, and attentive, only pausing long enough to flip the record over on the turntable behind the bar. They had an IPOD below but, luckily for us, stuck to the vinyl. We were seated and asked if we would mind sharing our table. In New York City it is commonplace to eat in some pretty cramped places; I once ate Steak and Frites while sitting atop a family of Canadian tourists. This being the case, we were fine with company. Turns out it was Megan and Ross, the used-to-be strangers who arrived fifteen minutes after us. We didn’t notice at the bar, but they also had ordered the Malbec. Perhaps it was mind control.

The meal that followed was fantastic, made even better by our company and lively conversation. For menu details see Megan’s review; we ordered the same sans ravioli.

I think what makes this place special is the spontanaity that exists within, punctuated by the chalkboard menu, deliberate nature of music selection and the chance to meet new friends. I am looking forward to my next visit.

Ross and I went Friday night, and it was soooo great. The place was pretty full when we got there, but we were able to squeeze into a little pocket at the bar and start working on a bottle of wine while we waited to sit down.
We ended up being seated at a square four top table with another couple. They had been next to us at the bar, but until that we were strangers. (Another group of 2 who had been there before us decided to wait for a 2 person table instead of sharing the 4-top and they ended up waiting about an hour and a half to sit down)
Anyway our whole night was great. We talked with our tablemates for the whole couple hours we were there while we enjoyed dish after dish of amazing food.
Our server told us that 4-5 small plates are good for 2 people, so we went for it. Beets with blue cheese, brussel sprouts with bacon, mussel,octupus,romanesco salad with anchovy oil, porcini ravioli, and braised duck with persimmon and goat cheese.
I also love that it seems I could go back tomorrow and there would be a whole new menu written up on the chalk board.

There’s a great review of Sitka and Spruce in the newest issue of Seattle Metropolitan. It sounds like a really interesting place!

it lived up to my expectations. First of all, they do a great job achieving the ambiance they’re striving for – a laid-back kind of place in which you can relax with a few buddies (or make new ones at the communal table) while sipping some good wine and nibbling on some great food. The whole menu (changes daily) looked great last night, and included a chard and branzino tart with mint (excellent, herby olive oil dressing and a rich pastry crust); grilled hanger steak (had to have been cooked over coals to achieve such a deliciously smoky flavor); a rich and melty black cod over ratitoullie (loved that the fish was NOT overcooked, but somehow the veggies were…); the delicious-sounding items on the chalk board that we didn’t sample included “cow and corn” – a slow braise of leg meat served over polenta, a lebanese semolina cake with carrots and ricotta, and a game hen dish. The highlight for me, however, was the cold cucumber and melon soup (with mint and interlaken grapes). This was not your standard nice, but boring, summer soup. The (pickled?) red onions, fresh herby mint flavor, and cracked black pepper, as well as the plentiful (and high quality) olive oil whisked into the soup just before serving added new dimmensions to a the kind of dish every restaurant is serving to be “hip” these days. That same delicious liquid gold was also featured on the desert menu (which, regretably we did not sample) in the form of olive oil gelatto drizzled with 13-year-aged balsamic. wow.

It was great talking with Chef Matt Dillon between courses, and he was happy to share some of his techniques and preparations as well as discuss where he shopped for produce. Just the fact the executive chef (who, by the way, used to reside at the Herbfarm), also delivered bread, entrees, and wiped down tables was refreshing and indicative of the kind of community S&S is trying to build here.

Looking forward to a lunch visit next week.

Delicious Lev Black Lion Czech beer

The first 24 (plus a couple) people in the door at 5:30 and 8:30 get treated to a family style meal for a fixed price of $20. The food is varied and great and you can talk to the owner, Matt and the others at your table while dinner is being prepared. I really liked it.

The review I read of one of the latest chef owned foodie haunts makes this place sound pretty interesting. It sounds like a bit of good eating in a strip-mallish locale – with an interesting approach to portions and menus. Sounds like lunch might be the best time to check it out, but Anne and I are headed here for our datenight. I’ll try and take some photos and add a review soon.