If I had a dollar for every time in the last year that I used the phrase "small plates [0]" when reviewing a restaurant, I might actually come close to digging myself out of the financial hole the darn things have put me in.
On the one hand, I can say that the small-plates trend (ka-ching!) has done us all a favor by reminding us that we don't need to fill our stomachs to the breaking point in order to feel satisfied by a meal. I have also sampled dishes I never would have tried had they been full-size, $17 entrees. Many of them have been adventurous works of gastronomical art that I'm richer for having eaten.
On the other hand, though, I can't seem to shake the feeling that we're somehow being duped here. The small-plates concept (ka-ching! ka-ching!) supposedly makes highly refined food more accessible by offering it in smaller, less expensive portions, so why am I going home $50 poorer -- and still hungry?
In the four years since it opened, Ethan Stowell's flagship restaurant, Union [0], has established itself as a reliable place for a conversation-stopping meal, joining Wild Ginger [0], Dahlia Lounge [0] and a scant few other downtown restaurants with real staying power.
Small plates have always been on the menu at Union, but in January, the full-size entrees were eliminated in exchange for diminutive versions that fall into the categories of appetizers, pasta and meats, of which the menu advises you to order three of four. Prices fall between $10 and $16 per plate. More accessible? I wonder.
Still, whether it's at the Italian late-night mecca Tavolata [0] in Belltown, the neighborhoody How To Cook A Wolf [0] atop Queen Anne or Union, the debut kitchen that made him a star, everyone in Seattle should try Stowell's awe-inspiring food.
New banquet seating has been added to the rear of Union's dining room to make the space seem more casual and inviting, and grubby jeans do seem to cohabitate just fine next to power suits here. But the bar is the real comfort zone, where a smaller space and cozier atmosphere make a chicken-liver mousse feel like something you can just dabble in on your way home from work.
Fortunately, part of Union's new concept includes a bar menu that is served nightly from 5 to 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight. This is when you'll see prices truly fall. Everything from the duck salad -- heavenly slices of rare duck meat with shaved vegetables and herbs -- to the ahi tuna tartare and pennine pasta with rabbit Bolognese is an accessible $8.
The menu is always changing, so there's always something new to try. Just sip your $14 glass of pinot noir slowly -- getting too excited about sampling the wines and specialty cocktails, which are not discounted, won't make for an affordable evening.
I have a feeling that my days of discussing one-word restaurants that serve food like there's a porcelain shortage are far from over. But as long as I'm still given opportunities to step through the smoke and mirrors onto a bar stool where the food and price point match up, I'll stay on the bandwagon.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
