Special Dinners Out

When it’s time to go out for a special occasion celebration, some really good options are easily accessible from Leschi. As a fan of farm to table dining, where meals are built around locally-sourced, in-season foods, I gravitate to restaurants that have perfected this concept. I especially like it when they prepare a meal around a theme, offering three, four, or five courses for a set price. When impressed by what a chef can do, I’ll go back another time and order from the à la carte menu.

Four minutes away (1.2 miles) from Leschi’s restaurant row, Iconiq sits on the ridge at 31st Ave South. Enter the small space and you’re facing west, greeted by a killer view of downtown Seattle’s skyline. That’s not all that will impress you. Toshiyuki Kawai, the chef and owner of Iconiq, fuses French and Japanese techniques to wow the palate every time. Current sit-down main dishes include black cod, roasted lamb loin, and filet mignon with wasabi herb butter. On Wednesday to Friday nights, Chef Kawai often (but not always) offers a three-course Take Away Menu. One recent to-go menu started with arugula salad with haricot vert and cherry tomatoes, a main of king salmon in a caper-butter sauce, and lemon cheesecake for dessert. Each generously portioned course is boxed separately, and ready to pick up at a predetermined time. All that for $38!

Every few months Kawai offers a four-course $120 prix fixe meal that takes you on a culinary journey. He occasionally invites rising chefs to use his space, and has also hosted wine and sake-pairings that highlight the labors of local vintners and brewers. Head over to Iconiq for a meal you won’t forget.

A bit further away, a fourteen-minute drive (2.8 miles) from Leschi to Pioneer Square leads you to 84 Yesler. This seafood restaurant, steps away from the waters of Elliott Bay, also fuses cuisines from around the globe, partners with local growers, and offers both à la carte and prix fixe menus. Their wine program is outstanding, and a night out here feels very special.

You may be wondering why some restaurants offer only set course meals. These allow a chef to shine way beyond an à la carte menu. Think about the usual menu: you can predict it will feature at least one chicken, one beef, and one pasta option. But why limit yourself when the Pacific Northwest is blessed with fruit orchards, vineyards, fields of vegetables, pasture-raised animals, and a bounty from the sea? The best chefs develop long-standing relationships with local growers and fishing boats. We diners get to enjoy meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, cheeses and wines, all from Washington State.

Another reason chefs like to offer set-course meals? It helps contain costs. Joe Fish, the aptly named chef at Mana, an extraordinary restaurant in Leavenworth, WA, explained it to me. “The biggest costs to a restaurant are labor and the food itself. A traditional restaurant has thirty items on its menu and never knows what will sell. So, they have to depend on historical knowledge. They may have twenty portions of filet mignon, but they don’t know how many will sell on a given night. A pre-set menu is more convenient. You can control the food costs.” Thanks, Joe, for making it easy to understand.

For a 3-course meal at the bargain price of $55, check out Guest Chef Nights by Fare Start, a non-profit that offers tuition-free food-industry training to unemployed adults. Students develop work and life skills and graduate prepared for careers in restaurants, cafés, catering and food production. From May to October, Seattle-area top chefs teach trainees to create and serve a special meal in their downtown Seattle dining room. The most famous chef nights have already sold out, but you can still reserve for some guest chef nights at Fare Start.

Whether for an ordinary week night, or a life-event celebration, these local restaurants offer great value and will make you feel at home. Enjoy!

~Mindy Stern

Mindy Stern’s travel column, Meanderings, appears in Sound Publishing newspapers including the Mercer Island Reporter. Her essays can be found at mindysternauthor.com.