Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Spur Gastropub Goodness

Spur Gastropub, in Seattle, is probably the best culinary experience I have had in the United States. Yes, these are strong words, but, my oh my, was this a divine dining experience. YUM.

Sitting at the bar, Jeff and I perused the menu, drooling over the possibilities. Unable to make any sort of choice, the only choice we could make was to each order a 5 course tasting menu with wine pairing. To begin, Foie Gras Terrine - rhubarb, rose, sorrel. Heaven on a plate. The darker dots are rose hip ash...wow.
For my second course, Endive and Treviso salad - fava bean, spring onion, creme fraiche. Perfectly balanced and so very fresh and crunchy.
Jeff's plate: Warm asparagus salad - truffle, crouton, chive. The best use of truffle oil I have ever experienced. Normally, it takes over...here it complemented the perfectly cooked and served warm asparagus. Beautiful little edible flowers added an elegant touch. Bravo!
Third course, which we each chose. This, my friends, is corned duck. Yep! You read right. Corned duck breast - sunchoke, brussel sprout, apple. Sigh.
Jeff's fourth course: Slow cooked pork cheeks - nettles, spring onion, guanciale. Piggy goodness.
My fourth: Wagyu Sirloin - cauliflower, baby artichoke, almond gremolata. Wagyu beef is grass-fed beef with beautiful marbling. Of course, the meat was cooked medium rare and the combination of all the flavors together was unlike anything I had ever eaten. The almond gremolata was amazing with the extremely flavorful meat. Drooling, drooling, drooling as I write...
Jeff's dessert: Corn & Blueberries - whole milk, ice cream, meringue. Holy sweet corn goodness. The amount of corn flavor packed into this dish is insane. Light as air and once again, the balance is spot on!
My dessert: Lavender Sponge Cake - yogurt, white peach, chestnut honey. The most spongey sponge cake with lavender essence, but not so much that you think you are eating air freshener, as often happens when chefs venture into lavender combinations. They have fun in their kitchen using molecular gastronomy in creative ways that don't scare away the diners.
Amazing. Go there. Now. That is all.
I just realized that I didn't even mention the spot on wine pairing that went along with all this! Terrence, the bartender, knew his stuff. These weren't your boring, typical, predictable pairings. I enjoyed a Gruner Veltliner with my endive treviso salad! I wish I had written them down, but I barely took photos since I was enjoying the experience so much. Take my word for it, they were amazing.

Spur Gastropub is located at 113 Blanchard Street. Check out their website: www.spurseattle.com or their blog: http://www.spurseattle.blogspot.com. And get over there!!
Check out their cocktail joint which has now been open two years: www.tavernlaw.com, which was voted one of the 25 best bars in America by GQ magazine! We weren't able to go and are definitely going next time we are in Seattle, which will be sooner than later...I am already craving Spur!

Below: Me and the Chefs - Dana and Brian. They were eager to meet these two happy diners and even took us on a tour of their new space, Coterie, which will be opening soon. They will serve Brunch and lunch there and I personally can't wait!! Their passion is vibrant and real and you can see and taste it in their culinary creations and when they speak to you. Did I mention they are considered part of the Top 5 Rising Chefs by Gayot?! And many more accolades, but their big goal is a Michelin star.

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