poppy

So!  Poppy!  Here are my first impressions, but I feel like I need to make a confession first:  I’ve never been to the Herbfarm.  I don’t know Jerry Traunfeld.  I don’t know the new guy.  And I don’t know about a $300 nine-course meal.

But I do know that I can’t wait to go back to Poppy.  What a fantastic experience.  I cannot believe the space they’ve carved out of that old brick building on the north end of Broadway and Roy.  It’s cavernous, with epic floor-to-ceiling windows and bright colors and a goddamned Alexander Calder mobile floating over the kitchen.  This is exactly the whimsy I crave, in a place where I least expected to find it.  This is not a precious restaurant, you won’t be speaking in dulcet tones, and you could probably afford to eat here every night.

The concept is simple and wonderful – an Indian style thali serving composed of ~9 distinct small plates.  But first, drinks.  The bar is fantastic and I eagerly anticipate a future where I imbibe everything on the menu.  For my maiden voyage, I ordered the papi delicious, a hornitos plata tequila concoction with crushed red bell pepper, jalapeno, lime and mint that completely knocked me on my ass.  The martini glass was rimmed with smoked paprika and hellfire.  While I sipped on my own mortality, we snacked on fried mussels (cooked and then plated in their original shells!) and curry leaf vadas, a spicy battered potato doughnut.

And then, the thali.  Accompanied by the man himself – yep, true to form, chef Traunfeld came to our table to personally describe each dish.  He was unassuming, humble and gracious.  It was a nice touch, considering the number of Herbfarm alum in attendance.  The platter was fastidiously arrayed with small cups and bowls, and upon arrival there was a wonderful moment of anticipation – where to begin?  My first bite (second bite, third bite, GONE) was a silky smooth cauliflower soup with clove.  And then I was off, leaping between romano beans with hazelnut, qualicum scallop with carrot and burdock, and a perfect piece of duck leg served with huckleberry on a parsnip purée (which lent a deceptive confit mouth feel to the dish).  Those huckleberries were probably the highlight of the meal, and were repeated on the lemon verbena panna cotta we shared for dessert.

The rest of the thali was rounded out with (comparatively) simple fingerling potatoes, a bulgur, melon and cucumber salad and a cup of surprisingly dull beets.  Seriously, it seemed like beets for the sake of beets.  The centerpiece of the platter was a bowl of matsutake mushroom rice and a large piece of sesame naan (used judiciously to mop up every last drop of huckleberry to be found).  Worth noting:  the duck and scallops could be swapped out for a total vegetarian experience, replaced by absolutely stellar chanterelle croquettes and a plate of tandoor-roasted lobster mushrooms.  Thankfully, there were enough people in our party for me to taste everything, but in the future it’s going to be difficult choosing between meat and fungus.

Overall, the experience utterly surpassed my expectations.  Our server (who was outstanding), mentioned that they’ll be revising the menu every couple of weeks.  I can’t wait to go back.