By J.P.
Heartwood Provisions opened in Seattle in February 2016. It belongs to the Consolidated Restaurants group that has been in the restaurant business in Seattle since 1951. The group owns two hubs of the Seattle gastronomic scene: Elliot’s Oyster House, already reviewed by Tasting Bites, and Metropolitan Grill, a famous steak house that we visited several times while living in Seattle in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
This illustrious background raised good expectations for our late April 2016 visit to Heartwood Provisions. The restaurant occupies an ample space in downtown Seattle where McCormick’s and Schmick’s used to be. The menu has the unusual proposition of pairing food with cocktails. To this end, Heartwood Provisions assembled a pair of experts in each area: Chef Varin Keokitvon and Beverage Director Amanda Reed.
Chef Keokitvon was born in Laos and raised in Seattle in a household where he was exposed to influences from local and Southeast Asian cuisines. He has worked at Elliott’s Oyster House and, through a scholarship from the Institute of Culinary Education, he had the opportunity to spend nine months in Spain and cook in restaurants like the celebrated El Celler de Can Roca and Espai Sucre.
Amanda Reed has more than ten years of experience in bartending, initially in San Francisco and more recently in Seattle where she has been since 2011. She has worked at Michael Mina’s RN74 and more recently at the Seattle fixture Tavern Law and its upstairs room Needle and Thread.
We had reservations for 6:00 PM on a Sunday and when we got to the restaurant most tables were not occupied. The menu of Heartwood Provisions includes four sections: snacks, vegetables, raw, and meat and seafood. We started sharing, among the four adults, a duck liver terrine (cassis gelée, mustard seed, pickled rhubarb, bread), an item included in the section of snacks.
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| Duck terrine |
The serving was not large enough for four, but it was quite good. To accompany that, three of us had a glass of sparkling wine, a Crémant de Limoux from Domaine J. Laurens ($11/glass). This winery is located near the city of Carcassone in southern France and the wine is a Blanc de Blancs, made of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Mauzac. A.M., however, preferred a glass of a Ribera del Duero - Tempranillo, Bodegas Ontañón, Teón Roble, 2012 ($10/glass). Bodegas Ontañón produces mostly wines from the Rioja region, but also has a vineyard in Ribera del Duero, near the town of Sotillo.
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| Crémant de Limoux |
We then moved to an appetizer and three of us picked from the raw section, while F.A. picked from the vegetable section. With the exception of A.M., we decided to have the cocktail pairing suggested in the menu. A.M. decided to accompany the whole meal with the same glass of Ribera del Duero.
Appetizers and pairing cocktails were:
- Yellowtail (grapefruit, avocado, horseradish, lemon-pimentón vinaigrette) (J.P.) accompanied by a cocktail of Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, lemon, celery bitters, and sparkling wine. Hayman’s is an English gin producer that has been in business for more than 150 years.
- Lamb carpaccio (caramelized lemon caper marmalade, green bean, mint, mustard) (A.M.)
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| Yellowtail |
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| Lamb carpaccio |
- Lacinato kale salad (Parmigiano, lemon, olives, quinoa, jamón serrano) (F.A.) paired with a cocktail of fino sherry, rhum agricole blanc, Cocchi Americano, and lime. Fino is the driest and palest of the Sherry varieties. Rhum agricole is the French term for cane juice rum. Cocchi Americano is an aperitif wine produced by Giulio Cocchi in the province of Asti, Italy.
- Beef tartare (lemongrass, puffed rice, mint, pickled onion, egg yolk) (M.A.) and a mixed drink of cachaça, late harvest roussanne, Mancino Secco, and verjus. Cachaça is a Brazilian sugar cane spirit. Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône region, France. Mancino Secco is a traditional Italian Vermouth. Verjus is a highly acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes, crab-apples or other sour fruit.
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| Kale salad |
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| Beef tartare |
Then, we all moved to the meat and seafood section of the menu. Our choices were:
- Wagyu Butcher Steak (tallow potatoes, mushrooms, garlic-herb vinaigrette) accompanied by a cocktail of ruby port, Dolin Rouge, Blanco Tequila, and Spanish bitters. Tallow is a form of beef or mutton fat. Ruby is the less expensive and less complex style of red Port wines. Dolin Rouge is Vermouth originally produced in the town of Chambéry, France. Blanco tequilas, also called silver or plata, are clear, essentially unaged tequilas, unlike reposados, which spend 2 to 12 months in oak barrels, and añejos, which are generally aged 1 to 4 years in oak. This definition of “blanco tequila” is from a 2013 New York Times article. For those willing to know more about tequilas this NY Times article is an excellent reference.
- Grilled pork chop (spring onion, romesco, rainbow carrot) (A.M. and M.A.) and a mix of Calvados, Cream Sherry, Yzaguirre Dry Reserva, and Cardamaro (M.A. only). Yzaguirre vermouth is produced in the Catalonia region, Spain. Cardamaro is a digestif amaro from Piedmont, Italy.
- Roasted scallop (Meyer lemon vinaigrette, maché, lentils, sea beans) (F.A.) and gin with Yzaguirre Blanco Reserva, elderflower, Salers gentiane, and lemon. Elderflower is a soft drink made from a refined sugar and water solution, using flowers of the European elderberry. Salers gentiane is a classic French aperitif made from the root of the yellow gentiane plant, grown on the high altitude volcanic slopes of Auvergne.
Again, the Wagyu steak and the cocktail were very good.
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| Wagyu steak |
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| Pork chop |
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| Roasted scallop |
Now, it was time for desserts. I decided to skip the cocktail pairing and ordered a Port to accompany dessert, Fonseca, Late-Bottled Vintage ($10/glass). There was no error with the Port since it came from one of the most traditional Portuguese producers. M.A. was still brave enough to order the cocktail paring with his dessert.
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| Fonseca port |
- Smoked Caramel Panna Cotta (brown butter apple, hazelnut crumbs, vanilla ice cream) (J.P.)
- Rhubarb shortcake (white chocolate mousse, lemon ice cream, poached rhubarb) (M.A.), paired with Copperworks Gin, Licor 43, lemon and Moscato. Copperworks Distilling Company is a distillery, tasting room and retail store located on Seattle’s downtown waterfront. Moscato is the Italian word for the Muscat grape and may refer to the Italian white wine made with this grape (e.g., Moscato d´Asti).
- Banana Pudding (rum crème legère, Nilla wafer, Marcona almond, roasted banana sorbet) (A.M. and F.A.). Nilla and Marcona are brand names.
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| Panna cotta |
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| Rhubarb shortcake |
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| Banana shortcake |
The whole idea of the pairing with cocktails received mixed reviews. I thought it became a bit stressing to pay attention to the several components of each dish and also the several components of each cocktail. Even wine pairing can become a bit overwhelming in this respect, although being much simpler to follow as you deal with one wine per course. In this respect, the Seattle Times cocktail writer expressed the view that “pairing cocktails with food usually doesn’t work”. He further observed that “Heartwood Provisions tries to solve that by making cocktails with the DNA of wine - including vermouth and sherry - and also with lower-proof spirits” (see). I agree with the Seattle Times assessment that the cocktails were on the light side and one my initial fears, too much alcohol during the meal, did not materialize.
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| Bodegas Ontañón Ribeira del Duero |
Overall dining at Heartwood Provisions was a good experience. Very nice atmosphere, although when we arived at the restaurant at 6:00 PM on a Sunday, the place, which is big, was almost empty. Service was attentive, but a bit slow. The two children were able to have pasta dishes and juices.
Dinner for two adults and one child, including tax, tips, and $50 of wine and cocktails, added up to $232.
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