My sister can’t get foie gras in California, so when she comes home to Seattle, we must have at least one foie gras. Since it was her birthday, we found restaurant that serves FOUR dishes using the succulent lobes – Pomerol. They’re a relatively new french restaurant in the Fremont area that has their own wood fired grill in a minimalist setting. There’s nothing stuffy about this place, but it’s trendy without being too edgy.
grilled octopus – a job well done on the texture, they made good use of their grill
beef short rib – a massive bone in rib grilled, fall off the bone tender, generous portion
lamb steak – also done on the grill, not too gamey, cooked well, served with spaghetti?
pork flank + belly – this is what they used their grill for, the pork belly was delicious, flavorful; flank nice and tender
quail – stuffed with foie gras; it’s a challenge to eat quail with the bone in and the flavor of the foie gras seemed to be lost
sablefish – crispy skin, cooked well, on a bed of potatos
lamb belly pot pie – this was kind of hard to keep together and the pot pie concept was genius, but this fell short of expectations. Not quite flavorful enough, especially for a lamb belly cut.
squash salad – with radicchio, goat cheese, and hazelnuts; this is actually the first time I’ve had a squash salad and it was lovely; the sweetness of the squash paired quite well with the radicchio, smoothed out by the goat cheese.
foie gras – we came here for this dish and they did not disappoint, scattered with huckleberries and topped with a quail egg; the crust on the foie was perfect and the quail egg only served to provide more moisture and richness to the dish; there’s piece of toast hidden under here for texture too
Pomerol doesn’t disappoint and all the dishes are very solid, probably not exceptional, but watching them work their magic on a flaming grill is pretty amazing. It’s a different take on what is traditionally French, and follows in the footsteps of their previous restaurant June. I would say it’s a little more free flowing than June with the same minimalist décor and hubbub.
SUMMARY
Overall: happily ever after
Highlights: foie gras, beef short rib
Footnotes: sit at the kitchen bar for a better view of the grill, ask for bread, you’ll probably still have just enough room for dessert after just ordering an entrée
