Book Bindery Restaurant

Posted on | October 10, 2010 | 5 Comments |

Book Bindery, yet another restaurant named after the prior occupant of its space (like French Laundry and Staple & Fancy Mercantile) opened just a week ago in Queen Anne. I’ve been looking forward to trying this place out mainly because of the impressive resume of the chef. Chef Shaun McCrain used to work at Per Se, New York and Michael Mina, San Francisco, two Michelin rated restaurants we have tried and loved. Also, I have been reading statements like “the most exciting restaurant opening of the year” in the press about this place. So this Friday night four of us headed over to Book Bindery to check out if the hype is justified.

Book Bindery is located below the Freemont bridge right next to Ponti Seafood grill, but it is one tough place to find, especially on a wet, dark Seattle night. We drove right past the building and totally missed the sign. Finally we had to ask for directions to the Ponti valet, who accurately described it as the big green ugly building around the corner. Looks like that is another theme with the new restaurants, Staple & Fancy looks pretty darn ugly from the outside too. But once you are inside, Book Bindery is simply beautiful, open and inviting décor, overlooking the water on one side and big wooden barrels of wine at the Almquist winery visible through the glass windows on the opposite side. The open kitchen is not directly visible from the dining room, but it is in full view on the way to the rest rooms in the back. The kitchen reminded me a bit of the Per Se kitchen, but not anywhere as grandiose as that one.

Service here was polite, friendly and attentive, but we were meeting our friends after so long that we got way too busy catching up and kept ignoring our waiter. So any delays in service we experienced were totally our fault. Even though we were pretty preoccupied with the conversation, the food really blew our minds off. The best food I’ve had in Seattle in a while! Since there were four of us, we got to try a major percentage of the dishes in the relatively small menu. Brilliant flavor pairing with some unexpected ingredients and beautiful plating seemed to be the common theme for all the dishes. We loved everything we had, though towards the end of the meal the three bottles of wine we had between the four of us kinda got in the way of fully appreciating the flavors. I will just share the pictures and descriptions of the food we had, that is a bit more than 50% of the menu right there. There are 8 starters and 7 mains in the menu and we ordered 5 starters and 4 mains. Oh and we got 100% coverage on the dessert menu, we tried all the three they had to offer! I love dining out with others who appreciate food as much as we do!

First we were served an amuse bouche of a cold potato soup with black truffles. Simply wow, there were so many flavors in that tiny glass, I knew we were in for a treat when I tasted this one. Book Bindery

Compressed Watermelon with Crispy Pork Belly and Garden Basil ($12)
Book Bindery-2

Sweetbreads with Caramel Apple Purée, Wild Arugula ($14)
Book Bindery-3

Terrine of Hudson Valley Foie Gras with Summer Peaches, Candied Filberts, Ginger Bread ($18)
Book Bindery-4

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Horseradish Panna Cotta, Worcestershire Aigré-Doux ($12)
Book Bindery-5

Marinated Scallops with Celeriac Rémoulade, Black Truffle, Garlic Bread Crisp ($14)
Book Bindery-6

Duo of Pork – Crispy Belly, Roasted Chop, Lacinto Kale, White Bean Purée, Maple-Bourbon Jus ($28)
Book Bindery-7

Liberty Farms Duck Breast with French Lentils, Frisée Lettuce, Asian Pear, Red Wine Vinegar Sauce ($24)
Book Bindery-8

Glazed Lamb Shank Panisse Croûtons, Fried Artichokes, Slow-Roasted Tomato, Lamb Jus ($26)
Book Bindery-9

Grilled Sturgeon Sweet Corn, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Black Pepper Gnocchi ($20)
Book Bindery-10

We tried all the three desserts in the menu, but 1/4th of 3 bottles of wine is a bit too much for me, so I was pretty much out of it by this time. I remember beignets, Pot de Crème and something chocolaty. Book Bindery-11 Book Bindery-12 Book Bindery-13

Book Bindery is definitely a new favorite in Seattle. Hope it sticks around for a while. Do give them a try and it will please your taste buds for sure. It is not vegetarian friendly, the tomato salad was the only vegetarian dish in the menu, so you might want to call and check if the chef would customize dishes for vegetarians.

http://www.bookbinderyrestaurant.com/

Category: American, Queen Anne

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Comments

5 Responses to “Book Bindery Restaurant”

Miri
November 1st, 2010 @ 9:43 pm
Reply

Wish you and Siv a very Happy Diwali!

Miri
jeena
December 14th, 2010 @ 3:49 pm
Reply

its been close to 3 months..where the F are you?
torviewtoronto
December 31st, 2010 @ 12:57 pm
Reply

first time here lovely site
Srivalli
January 1st, 2011 @ 2:47 am
Reply

Wish you and Siv a very Happy New Year…hope things are fine..no updates?
Laavanya
January 2nd, 2011 @ 1:09 pm
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Just popped in to wish you a very Happy New Year ahead