I gave Iris the leftover crispy duck leg (which I recrisped in a pan before serving), and Laurie and I went out to dinner at Eva, a neighborhood restaurant in the Tangletown neighborhood. I was after the Market Menu, a three-course prix fixe featuring many ingredients from the U District Farmers Market.
For me, It’s always a special treat not to have to choose from the menu, which is why I pushed the regular menu aside without even looking at it. This is part of the appeal of the underground restaurant, I think–aside from the illegal aspect, which is an undeniably delicious sauce, there’s no opportunity to think wistfully about what you could have ordered. I understand waiters at Lutèce used to take advantage of this as well: they’d say, “Tonight, the chef would like to make you…” as if André Soltner had personally psychoanalyzed you and found you to be a turbot kind of person.
With Sunday’s market menu I hit the jackpot. Corn chowder with Nueske’s bacon. Roast duck with fresh shelling beans, broccolini and carrots. Poached peaches with buttermilk panna cotta. I really *am* that sort of person.
Yes, Iris was pleased to hear that I also had crispy duck leg for dinner. The market menu is served on weekends for at least a few more weeks. Check it out.
**Eva Restaurant & Wine Bar**
2227 N 56th St
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 633-3538
man, that sounds like an awesome menu.
I also like this about omakase. “hello! just bring me yummy things!”
There was also some kind of sauce with the duck and vegetables, but I forgot whether it described the sauce on the menu, and I couldn’t really figure out what was in the sauce anyway, so I didn’t mention it. But now it can be told.
I find myself leaving my meal choice in the hands of the kitchen more and more often. Although some call it laziness, I prefer to think of it as a Zen-like practice of letting go. Plus, it usually results in some of the best meals. Contacting the restaurant ahead of time and asking them to put together a meal can be even more rewarding, such as my experience at Mixtura a while back.
The “poached” peaches were not actually cooked! I steeped them like a tea in a syrah syrup along with thier more robust cousins the nectarines. But I was very happy to hear that the menu was a hit with you! You would decide to finally come in while I am on honeymoon…..
Dana, thanks for the peach clarification. The panna cotta was great–perfect texture. And welcome back. We’ll definitely come in again.