lark

About a month ago there was cause for great celebration in the house of icarus, so my partner and I decided to hit up one of our favorite places in Seattle — Lark.  It would probably be difficult to substantiate, but I credit James Beard award-winning chef John Sundstrom for popularizing the small plate approach to cuisine that has taken off around here since Lark opened five years ago.  He may very well have started the “no reservations” trend as well, but that’s perfectly fine with me since his adjunct cocktail oasis next door is a destination in itself.  I’ll comment more on Licorous in a future post.

This particular evening was already on record as the hottest day of 2008, and the ridiculous heat definitely improved our seating odds as we were able to roll right up to a table without a wait.  The lofty timbered ceiling and ethereal sheer curtains hung throughout the restaurant immediately cooled us off and we relaxed into hushed tones.  We ordered around 7 plates and I paired with different glasses of wine throughout the evening (notably, both a Roussanne and a Veltliner that I hadn’t heard of before).  Decided on a couple of cold salads to start with — one made of Local Roots Farm greens with beets and a sherry vinaigrette (yum) and a Maine lobster salad with avocado dressing.  The lobster in particular was fresh and delicious.  Then I was served pork rillettes with a peach mustard and the finest, thinly-cut slices of asian pear I’ve ever seen — they were virtually translucent.  Combine on warm ficelle crostini and prepare to induce mouth orgasm.

We were thrilled to see the yellowtail carpaccio on the menu that evening, as this was one of our favorite dishes from a previous visit.  Served with finely chopped green olives and preserved lemons, with beautiful slices of fennel shaved on top of the raw fish.  It was maybe a touch oversalted for my palate (this is actually my number one gripe with food in this town), but it was a carpaccio after all and it was coarse ground sea salt, so the quality was there.  Regardless, the total combination of seasoning on the yellowtail was genius — I will definitely order it again next time (and every time).

Next up was the biggest surprise of the evening: “Rosti potatoes with clabber cream”.  I knew Sundstrom was famous for this dish, but I had no idea what to expect and I was genuinely taken aback when it arrived.  Basically it’s hash browns with sour cream!  But conceptually it’s the most whimsical thing I’ve seen in ages.  Served in a tiny cast-iron skillet, the julienned strips of potato are arranged in a circular, interwoven pattern, with a dollop of cream right in the center — so it looks like a cute little bird’s nest with a tiny egg in the middle.  Worth noting:  even though we ordered off the list at the beginning of the meal in a particular way, the servers actually constructed and paired the courses very deliberately.  So for example, the potatoes were the first thing I ordered, but they were served alongside our final course: the Painted Hills Culotte steak with “Billy’s” tomatoes and toasted garlic butter.  The steak had an incredible richness, was perfectly prepared and wonderfully textural.  Also worth noting: the service itself was impeccable.

We finished with an outstanding pot de crème.  I mean, it rivaled the pot de crème at Boat Street Café, and that’s the best I’ve ever had.  But this was unequivocal PERFECTION.  It was another truly superlative dining experience, and there wasn’t a single dish that wasn’t flawless or genuinely innovative.