J. Lo comes a long way from D.C. to visit us and he’s always looking for extraordinary dining experiences in Seattle. I’m happy to oblige, as conversation is always full of witty banter, worldly affairs analysis, and the allure of great food. I had a couple of options that I threw out, but the seared foie gras with huckleberries sealed the deal for Lark. In a party of five, we were able to try quite a few dishes.
chilled corn soup – with truffle mascarpone and chanterelle mushrooms; this dish was perfect with the sweetness of fresh corn, made creamy with the mascarpone, enhanced with a little texture from the chanterelles and punctuated by the truffles; we had a hard time figuring out who was going to get the last bite of this dish it was so good – definitely one of the highlights
crispy pork skins – chicharones, in a fine dining restaurant? why not? They came extra crispy, sea salted, and unbreakable but completely chew-able; I’m not sure how they fried them so they didn’t have any give to the touch, but they crunched perfectly in our mouths
Crispy porchetta di testa – porchetta is always a treat, tasty pork wrapped with more tasty pork, but this one is made from head meat, which made it all the more interesting; the crispy fat on the outside paired perfectly with the tartness of the peaches and the bitterness of the endives – all in all, a very well balanced dish!
charcuterie plate – coppa, serano, speck, toscano salami, and landjager; a nice sharing spread for the table chosen by the chef; the landjager was an interesting sausage full of flavors on the chewier side, though I think I liked the toscano salami the most. The pickled tomatoes were also a nice surprise – bright and flavorful, a nice contrast to the salinity of the cured meat
seared foie gras – with huckleberry compote, blackberries, caramelized onions, and crispy chicken skin; the foie melted in your mouth with the richness of butter and a hint of char, was punctuated with the tartness of huckleberries and almost mellowed by the endives; the chicken skin provided the salt and an additional type of crunch; I chose the restaurant for this dish, and I would say, that it exceeded my expectations in the combination of ingredients and textures in this dish. It was so good, we order two orders for the table.
cod ragu – smokey cod in a creamy tomato based stew, loved by the table as something they had never had before, the pieces of cod held up well in the stew, but I found it a little bit on the salty side
pork belly – flavorful meat, but it was slightly dry on the outside; I liked the browned butter fig sauce, but I dont’ feel like the orca added much to the dish
squab – delicate and tasty!
venison oxtail osso bucco – the substitute since they ran out of elk, the venison was a fine substitute with a hint of sweetness in the meat and plenty of bone marrow. Also, oxtail is a cut of meat, not an actual oxtail, though I’m pretty sure I’ve had that too at some point.
hanger steak – this is the cut of meat you should always order, it’s not the most tender, but it’s the most flavorful, and everyone who ordered it said they would go back just for the steak
pear tart tartin – with chevre ice cream; the flakiest and fluffiest pastry with pear, not too sweet and my personal favorite dessert of the night
walnut cake – with vanilla ice cream, candied walnuts, and maple butter; a favorite of the table
chocolate panna cotta – an oddly firm panna cotta that more resembled ganche with cocoa nibs, decadent and chocolaty
berry sorbet – with strawberries, basil seeds, and meringue; tart, refreshing, the last bit of summer, though I’m not sure the basil seeds added any flavor
We shared all of the dishes so everyone could have a taste of the deliciousness. Although Lark isn’t a nose to tail restaurant, I noticed their use of a variety of animal parts that would not normally be on the menu such as chicken skin, oxtails, porchetta di testa. Service was friendly and patient with our rather indecisive group, as there so many things on the menu that we wanted to order. They also made a pretty good Lark and Stormy I hear.
Lark, has evolved, from the days when it served small plates, but it absolutely still rises to the occasion. After all, Chef Sundstrom is a James Beard award winner and one can taste exactly why. All of his dishes are perfectly balanced with flavors and textures, without relying on the same old tropes, giving it a slightly new twist without going overboard into experimentation territory. Everything is perfectly executed – there are no misses here.
On a night, when a group of friends gathered to enjoy a fine meal, partake in revelry, Lark made the night special. While our group of friends joked about pythons and waxed about politics, there were moments where conversation died and we were lost in our bites of food. There were questions about who would be brave enough to take the last bite of a dish we knew that everyone would gladly eat. Somehow, there were no fork or spoon duels, though there might have been some talk of table flipping. There are so few restaurants that have the entire table collectively cooing and yumming over plates for over three hours, and leave wanting to come back to try next season’s menu.
SUMMARY:
Overall: happily ever after
Highlights: corn soup, porchetta di testa, cod ragout, foie gras, maple walnut cake
Footnotes: make reservations; they also have a casual adjoining crudo, oyster, and charcuterie bar called Bitter/Raw; it is without doubt, one of the best restaurants in Seattle