Archive for July, 2011

Canlis Restaurant, Seattle

Posted 29 Jul 2011 — by S.E.
Category Fine Dining

It’s nearing sunset on a crystal clear blue-sky day in Seattle and I need to relax.  My meetings required traversing the city at  morning and evening rush hour and a good part of the day was wasted in traffic. I hate traffic. Now that’s all behind me and I am on my way to dinner. After a few wrong turns (as usual) I find Canlis restaurant and pull up to the front entrance. The building is a dark brown wooden gem with a modern mid-20th century “Frank Lloyd Wright meets the North West” aesthetic including large exterior walls of pitched glass facing Lake Union down below. I step out of the car and the valet opens the double glass door entrance for me and takes my car keys. Before I can turn around, he is gone with my car and I walk away wondering why he didn’t provide a claim check prior to departing. Shrugging it off, I head for reception to check in and after a very short wait find myself sitting in the lower dining room facing the windows and a magnificent view.

Peter Canlis founded his namesake restaurant 1950 when he was 69 years old after a career in the hospitality industry that spanned the globe from Greece to Cairo to New York, Hawaii and, ultimately, Seattle. According to family history Peter is credited with being an expert restaurateur and innovator and was one of the first in the country to employ team-style service n the dining room. He also understood how to create a niche for the restaurant and, in addition to excellence in the kitchen, employed  kimono-clad waitresses in his dining room; a likely influence that travelled back with him from his stint in Hawaii. Stunning photos of these waitresses serving the likes of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Junior and Frank Sinatra line the wall along the back stairwell to the restaurant. Peter was a genius and Canlis was a definite “A-List” restaurant from the very beginning.

Incredible as Peter’s story is the leadership displayed by third generation owners Mark and Brian Canlis (Peter’s grandsons) is equally impressive. Talent is woven into the genetic fiber of this family. After taking the restaurant over from their parents (Chris and Alice) in 2005 Mark and Brian came to a point where they had to either sell the restaurant or double down, go all-in, and reinvest in the restaurant to bring it back to its former glory. The boys had a great opportunity to cash out and sell to a developer who planned to construct condominiums. They didn’t sell out.

Like many restaurants in the U.S. that have more than 20 years of history, Canlis’ food and service had gradually diverged from contemporary preferences and, from what I hear, the restaurant had become a bit threadbare and dated. What makes this story so different and so inspiring is that Brian and Mark took on the challenge of redirecting the restaurant and never looked back. Both displayed the courage and leadership required to wipe their approach to food and service clean and start over, something that scarcely happens in restaurants like theirs. Darwin’s theory of evolution suggests that the most adaptable (fittest) organisms survive the test of time and adapt the restaurant did!

This is where Chef Jason Franey comes in. A friend at Eleven Madison Park in New York raved about Franey, her former colleague who served as executive sous chef at the restaurant prior to taking the helm at Canlis. She suggested that I visit Franey and have the chef’s tasting menu. It was excellent advice. Franey joined Canlis in 2009 after Brain and Mark conducted a national search for what would be the fifth executive chef in the restaurants history. He took on the role of executive chef with full confidence and commitment and hasn’t looked back. His kitchen, much like Eleven Madison Park, works like a Swiss watch with an ergonomic design (Brian and Mark rebuilt the kitchen for Franey) and sequence of production nothing short of perfect. I stood to the side in the kitchen as Franey seamlessly organized and expedited each order while carrying on a conversation with me. To say he is comfortable in this kitchen is an understatement. Franey is of medium height and build, wide around the shoulders, and radiates pure confidence. He is a culinary athlete in the major leagues just about to hit the top of his game. Delighted, I head back to the dining room.

Soaking it in, I begin to relax as the setting sun casts an orange glow through the long row of windows. Several smartly dressed couples from Seattle’s young, urban and wealthy community hold hands and chat while leisurely sipping cocktails and sampling Franey’s fare. In the distance I spot a single-engine sea-plane taking off from Lake Union below. The plane makes a wide circle around the lake gradually gaining altitude until it floats level with the restaurant, a bright flash of yellow paint passing between the tall evergreens just outside the window. My amuse bouche magically appears in front of me (I didn’t even notice the server who brought it) and I forget the day, the stress, the traffic, the early departure in the morning and feel wrapped in comfort and care. Canlis has grabbed hold of me and I feel a depth of professional and authentic hospitality rare in the world today.

I have no way of gauging the quality of today’s Canlis compared with the original operated by Peter in the 1950’s but I bet Peter would be delighted and the Canlis of today could very well be the best yet. As my time at Canlis comes to an end I find my car waiting right outside the front entrance. Peter Canlis believed in anticipating the needs of his guests and surprising them by staying one step ahead with service. Having your car ready when you exit is one of the traditions preserved along with many others – no claim check required. Congratulations to Brian, Mark, Jason and the whole Canlis team! I leave relaxed, sated, and truly inspired.

 Chef’s Tasting Menu

Amuse Bouche: Melon and Dungeness Crab

 

Peas and Carrots, Farm fresh goat cheese and a morel mushroom crumble

Duck Egg Slow poached with asparagus, watercress, and uni

 

Black Cod Pan seared, with fava beans, nettles, and fermented black garlic

 Short Rib Braised for 48 hours, with ramps, broccoli rabe, and smoked bone marrow

Strawberry Fizz

Rhubarb Tart Strawberries, fennel ice cream, and Champagne espuma

Canlis Restaurant, Est. 1950

2576 Aurora Avenue North   •  Seattle, Washington 98109

www.canlis.com

La Laiterie: Three Reasons to Dine at a Restaurant Operated by a Rising Star

Posted 19 Jul 2011 — by S.E.
Category Fine Dining, Food Alert Trends

  

La Laiterie Bistro Dining Room

One of my favorite ways to experience great food is by visiting a restaurant owned by a chef whose reputation is on the rise. Matt Jennings, owner of La Laiterie and Farmstead in Providence, Rhode Island is such a chef. Jennings exhibits the three traits common among up-and-coming culinary talent; he is relentless when it comes to quality, extremely innovative, and present rather than absent on most nights at his restaurant (although he is known for hiring talent behind the stove to handle daily operations). You might think these traits are common at all great restaurants but this isn’t always the case.

Chef Matt Jennings and Chef Daniel Bolud outside the South Portico of the White House

When I first met Matt Jennings he was preparing food for a private catered event in Providence. His sleeve of tattoos reminded me of Jesse James, his size of Fernand Point. And like Point in his day, Jennings’ commitment to quality is relentless. The cheeses and salumi he served were impeccably sourced and he knew every detail about each one. He radiated emotion when speaking about certain items and explained how he was experimenting with raising his own Berkshire hogs to assure a level of consistency and quality for house-made salumi and sausage at La Laiterie. Jennings showed the same passion and commitment when I caught up with him on the south lawn of the Whitehouse in the fall of 2010. As I listened to him last October I imagined Jennings’ mind moving a mile-a-minute as he contemplates new sources and resources for food and ingredients in keeping with his mantra of honest, seasonal, handmade food. A chef who is on the rise never relaxes when it comes to ingredients and quality nor does he or she fail to produce food that is unique and innovative. Such a commitment is enduring.

 

Roasted Beet Salad, Sorrel, Pickled Beet Puree, Marcona Almonds

Innovation, in the broadest sense, means to modify something for the better; to renew or change. Jennings is one of the first chefs in Southern New England to innovate procurement of ingredients and to focus on sustainability. He and his wife and fellow chef Kate make sustainably sourced ingredients and quality a focal point at La Laiterie and have since it opened in 2006. As the restaurant has matured, the menu has evolved along with the artisan level ingredients used to produce each item. Although artisan sourcing and sustainability are not uncommon today, these practices were uncommon back in 2006 when Kate and Matt got their start. Their innovative sourcing practices have influenced a wide pool of culinary peers, this is something I really like. Another reason I like Jennings  is that he is consistently present.

 

Chestnut Trofie, Pumpkin Puree, Tallegio, Juniper, Crispy Garlic

Over the past year I have dined at more than two dozen nationally ranked restaurants where the executive chef was absent due to other commitments. What could be more important than supervising his or her own cuisine? Although I completely understand the expanded demands placed on a chef once the full attention of the public and the press is drawn it’s still disappointing to dine in a well know restaurant when the chef is absent.  Whenever I visit La Laiterie or Farmstead in Providence, Matt Jennings is there.

 

Arctic Char, Smoked Ham Broth, Autumn Vegetables, Chicarones, Manchego Cream, Shellfish

Jennings is representative of one of my favorite culinary communities, the growing number of rising star chefs in the U.S. If you visit a rising star it is likely you will discover each of the three reasons I list to be true. One way to find rising talent that is just emerging onto the national scene is to keep track of the chefs that populate the annual list of James Beard Award nominees published each March. Jennings earned a nomination this past March (2011) and I suspect he will eventually win a regional James Beard Award. Knowing Jennings, such an award will not change his approach to culinary arts, but there is always a risk.

Farmstead Counter

Three Reasons to Dine at a Restaurant Operated by a Rising Star Chef:

1)     A rising star chef relentlessly pursues quality because s/he burns with the desire to become a member of the community of varsity chefs in the U.S. as a matter of pride, professionalism, and accomplishment

2)     A rising star chef is innovative as a means for differentiating his/her self and as a strategy to uniquely satisfy the
ever-changing cravings of a public that is obsessed with food

3)     A rising star chef is consistently present rather than absent out of financial necessity and personal concern and commitment

 

La Laiterie Bistro

 184-188 Wayland Avenue

Providence, RI 02906

401-274-7177

Top 4th of July Seashore Dishes

Posted 03 Jul 2011 — by S.E.
Category Uncategorized

 

Cottages by the Seashore

We live in a great country; one whose ideals are worth celebrating and certainly worth protecting. Each 4th of July communities small and large fly the stars and stripes, shoot fireworks into the air and gather together. For me a classic gathering on the 4th of July involves one of a short list of options; a ball game with fireworks, a hike in the mountains or a trip to the seashore. With each comes a specific set of food choices linked directly to the type of  festivities and surroundings we choose. The Culinary Arts are always central to daily life!

This year I opt for the seashore and a menu featuring lobster, fresh shucked oysters, steamed clams, traditional New England clam chowder and an emerging favorite; steamed mussels with Panang Curry and Sweet Red Chili sauce.   

Lobsters at Woodmans – Essex Massachusetts: Woodman’s is an institution. The food is simple, the setting rustic and the food delicious. A 4th  of July mainstay: grab-and-go steamed lobster.

Raspberry Point Oyster, Prince Edward Island: You have seen these before on this blog and you will see them again. These are such wonderful oysters with a deep flavor and perfect brine. I have been eating oysters like these since I was five years old and every time I eat them I am reminded what a joy life is!

Home-Made Bowl of Steamers: Toss a couple chopped green onions into the pot when they are steaming. Serve with broth and drawn butter. If you can’t dig them yourself, buy them online from American Mussel Harvesters. During the summer, I will go through 15-20 pounds eating them as a snack.

New England Clam Chowder:  This is a modification of a family recipe. We use Nueske’s apple smoked slab bacon instead of salt pork and a good bit of celery. Rhode Island little neck clams are the best choice for maximum flavor. Good chowder takes time to make and doesn’tinvolve anything from a can. The results are worth the effort.

Steamed Mussels with Panang Curry, Sweet Chili Sauce and Sauteed Fennel: Not your typical seashore selection but the flavors in this dish burst. The mussels and their brothprovide savory depth to this dish and eliminate the need to use traditional Thai fishsauce. Serve over jasmine rice.

I never take for granted how blessed we are in this country. We are the beneficiaries of the best form of democracy on the planet not withstanding some issues from time to time. With a table set with food, a chilled bottle of white wine ready to pour and smiling faces engaged in warm conversation, I am reminded what freedom means.