Epulo Bistro
Epulo Bistro, Edmonds newest restaurant, is a stellar addition the dining community. Located in the heart of downtown Edmonds on 5th Avenue one block east of the fountain, you'll be delighted with how Shell Creek's former opulent façade has been tastefully transformed into an inviting space with plenty of warm wood and cozy lighting. The staff is welcoming and personable, making you instantly feel like part of a big, happy family. epulo (n.): guest at a sumptuous banquet or feast - and that's exactly how you'll feel!
Already a huge fan of Executive Chef Taylor Park's cooking; he's widely admired for his creative and flavorsome menus, incorporating what's fresh and in season. Epulo's menu is a celebration of Europe's influence on Northwest food and Chef's team approach in crafting each dish has successfully resulted in a well-rounded menu utilizing the time-honored techniques and passion of the Mediterranean region. Epulo's sous chef recently returned from Spain after an amazing opportunity to spend time with world-renowned Chef Ferran Adrià, the father of molecular cooking in Spain. Chef Adrià runs the best restaurant in the World; up to one million people try to book a table per year, and only 8,000 succeed - less than one percent. Epulo's line cook will be spending four months in Italy, refining his wood-fired pizza skills. Their pastry chef is currently studying in Iran; her Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cooking background is reflected in Epulo's menu. With a team like this, the menu is sure to please at every visit.
Prior to Epulo Bistro, you may have experienced Chef's cooking at The Loft, also in Edmonds; I'm sure they will miss his mad culinary skills. Originally hailing the east coast, Chef Park received his Bachelors degree in Culinary/Nutrition from Johnson and Wales University. Relocating to Seattle about six years ago, he honed his already impressive culinary skills at Canlis under the tutelage of Chef Aaron Wright (Exec), Jeff Taton (Chef De Cuisine) and Steve Ariel (Sous Chef). Chef Park credits all three team leaders with having had a great influence on his life and helping him develop his own philosophy on food: Keep it simple, fresh, in season, and as local as possible. Prior to his stint at the Canlis, Chef spent some time at Rays Boat House (downstairs) with Chef's Charles Ramseyer and Peter Birk. Before that, he worked in a Five Star Five Diamond resort called the "Cloisters at Sea Island" in Georgia and a Four Star Four Diamond resort in Anguilla (British West Indies) called the "Cuisinart Resort and Spa".
No stranger to preparing food with the freshest of ingredients, Chef Park sources as much product as possible through local purveyors who buy from the local farms no further than Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Chef stated, "I prefer to cut out the middleman on products and source straight from the farms, to ensure a greater sense of freshness. It's also the best way to get insight from local farmers on what's in peak season and what it's been a good year for."
Since their recent opening, I've dined at Epulo several times and plan on going back often. Not only is the entire menu affordable ($3 to $17), so is their outstanding wine list. Menu standouts for me are the Pear & Blue Salad, the Duck Sliders, and the Fig & Blue wood-fired pizza. For beverages from their fully stocked bar, I recommend Epulo's signature Epulo Raz or the equally delectable Raindrop.
So much fun to order in courses, stretching the meal out and savoring all the deliciousness. Even though we had to waddle out we were so full, I can’t wait to go back and work my way through the rest of the menu!
- Kelly L., Edmonds
The Loft
The Loft is a fairly new addition to the Edmonds community and I, for one, welcome their presence. Chef Taylor Park honed his culinary skills at Canlis and is quite the talented chef. Because Chef sources locally, the menu varies, depending on what's fresh and in season. I've eaten there four times in the past few weeks (I'm telling you, they are that awesome!) Each time I visited the Loft, I ordered the extremely delicious Tapenade di Bruschetta with caramelized onions, sofritto, pesto, tomato and brie as well as the exquisite seared Ahi tuna with Swiss chard, garlic confee, cherry tomatoes and savory creme. At one point, I had a wonderful butternut squash risotta, although it has now been replaced with a seafood broth risotta. For my last trip there, Chef prepared a tasting menu for me so that I'd stop ordering the same few favorites. That was a wise move because I now know that the pan-seared sea scallops with caramelized apple, pancetta, brussel sprouts and a Dijon mustard cream are incredible. The spicy pancetta pesto prawns and zucchine fritto are also quite good. For beverages, I highly recommend the Loft Drop or the Kamikazi.
- Kelly L., Edmonds
Café Flora
On a recent trip to Café Flora, Chef Cathy Geier prepared a tasting menu for several of us, while the rest ordered from the menu. I was pleased with the opportunity to taste a variety of offerings to better experience the menu, including their new summer raw market menu. The standout for the entire group was the Lentil Pecan Paté with red onion confit. I am a huge fan of pate and wasn't sure how good one would be without any chicken or duck liver, but I am delighted to report, it was amazing. The confit really totally made the dish. The spring mint pea and porcini risotto was outstanding. The red pepper rocket salad was fresh and delicious. The artichoke croquettes were served with a nice lemongrass kafir lime sauce. The coconut tofu with sweet chili sauce was nice and the fried avocado served with cayenne aioli and papaya chutney was delicious. From the raw market menu, we had a sundried tomato pinenut cheese stuffed zucchini served with shaved fennel in a scallion parsley pesto and marinated mushrooms with red pepper coulis - a very nice dish. Café Flora has a nice cocktail menu, the evening's favorite was the Lady Flora. To finish the meal, we ordered almost the entire dessert menu because it was impossible to narrow down the elegant-looking choices they brought out on a tray. We were not disappointed with the especially delicious coup de foudre, jasmine mango rice pudding, crème brûlée, and chocolate strawberry layer cake.
- Kelly L., Edmonds
Lark
Our dinner on December 6th at Lark was so nice! The food was amazing, the waiter had an incredible knowledge of the food served; how it was prepared, where the different meat and fish were obtained, organic information etc. The people that attended were (and always are) interesting and especially nice. So a really enjoyable experience. Lark was definitely worth visiting. I would like to recommend Supper Club Seattle to anyone who would enjoy an occasional evening out to try new and interesting restaurants, whether you are single or with a friend(s). I have gone by myself to several events and always found the company very friendly, fun, and easy to be with. Several participants mentioned last month's wine making event, which I missed, but it sounds like it was also really fun.
- Cindy D, Seattle
Lark
Last night I was in foodie heaven. Several members of the supper club and I dined at Lark. There were four of us and we each ordered three plates plus a total of four desserts to share. We let the waiter select the wine pairings to complete our experience. Every single dish was so incredible, I wanted to lick the plates. Out of politeness, I refrained. The waiter was delightful. He answered our numerous questions with knowledge and humor. By the end of the meal, none of us could really name our favorite dish, as each one was excellent. If forced to choose, the chicken liver parfait, braised lamb shanks and sweetbread were at the top of the list. The desserts were as incredible as the dinner. The only, and I mean only, thing that I would change is the size of the plates. I know Lark specializes in small plates, but if there were more than four of us, we would have had to order two of each dish for there to be enough to go around. (Translation: It's hard to have piggy portions with small plates!) I will definitely dine at Lark again and I highly recommend it. Oh yeah, the ambiance is very nice too. Check out what we ordered. Makes you want to go there, doesn't it?
- Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage, a sweet, velvety, rich blue cheese
- Sunchoke soup with brown butter and truffled sunchoke chips
- Full Circle Farm carrots with cardamom butter and vanilla salt
- Sautéed wild mushrooms with garlic, olive oil and sea salt
- Ricotta gnudi with roasted garlic, Parmigiano brodo and watercress
- Chicken liver parfait with 12th century chutney
- Penn Cove mussels with bacon, apple, shallots and cream
- Spanish Mackerel with cilantro, heart of palm and spicy Serrano broth
- Wild Striped bass with lentils, spinach and brown butter vinaigrette
- Veal sweetbread fricassée black truffle, bacon, pumpkin and salsify
- Liberty duck breast with cipollinis, chestnuts and Saluggia beans
- Braised lamb shanks with shallots, kale and orecchiette pasta
- Lemon pot de creme with mulled huckleberries and buckwheat cookies
- Caramel apple, ginger and walnut crisp and vanilla bean ice cream
- Valrhona chocolate hazelnut mousse with cocoa ladyfingers and candied hazelnut
- Candied Fuyu persimmon with spice cake
- Kelly L., Edmonds
Carmelita
Greeted by delicious fragrances wafting throughout the dining room, I couldn't wait to peruse the menu. A compact menu, only a single page, the choices were so mouth-watering, it took me nearly half an hour to finally narrow my choices down to one. Nevermind the inredible starters menu...entrée offerings included artisanal polenta cake served with apple/sweet potato hash, foraged mushroom sauce, fried parsnip; an heirloom tomato tart with herbed goat cheese, summer vegetable ribbons, champagne vinaigrette, thyme infused honey; fregola served risotto style, smoked corn cream, caramelized fennel, onions, red peppers, Yakima melon; and carrot-mascarpone gnocchi sauteed baby spinach, lemon-herb beurre blanc, fried shallots. I finally chose the butter roasted cauliflower crepe with French lentils, parsnip cream, apple balsamic, parmesan tuille. I was not disappointed - the crepe was incredible - a plethora of delicate flavors blended perfectly. I was almost afraid to actually eat it because I knew I would eventually have to take the last bite, it was that good! I will definately dine at Carmelitas again. (Note: I went back two weeks later and had the exact same thing!)
- Kelly L., Edmonds
Art of the Table
Chef Dustin Ronspies and his sous chef brother Derek bring epicurean delights to the smattering of tables at their teensy Wallingford establishment. A true hidden gem, Art of the Table quickly and reliably makes new visitors want to become regulars -- through its surprising culinary quality and uber-personal sensibility. Its "Happy Monday"-themed small plates night features a selection of incredible international dishes ranging from perfectly spiced lentil soup (replete with a spoonful of Chef Dustin's own homemade garlic-Greek yogurt on top) to pillowy housemade pastas filled with rabbit ragout, or grilled tuna fresh off of local fishing boats. The culinary family team's affinity for working with local farmers, artisans, and purveyors is evident at every turn, and at its weekend Supper Club, the personal presentation of each dish -- its roots, history, and description of the current preparation -- brings diners into this casual-yet-expert fold. Dishes of this caliber, inventiveness and passion are not typically what one would expect from an unassuming corner spot like this... but Dustin, Derek, and business manager-photographer Laurie (whose work decorates the walls of the restaurant) reliably and delightedly deliver an absolutely delicious and fun dining experience each week, each visit.
- Laura S., Seattle
