Return of a classic: Boat Street born again

The re-birth of The Boat Street Cafe and Kitchen on the edge of Seattle's city core is an exciting development for our neighborhood. This just might be the most serious restaurant in the business. In a world full of disposable garbage, we need people who aspire to be indisposable -- to aspire to the classic.

You descend to the new Boat Street down a concrete rampway -- above you, retail and office spaces, behind you, one of the busiest intersections in the city. Stepping inside, you are transported out of the urban and into the urbane. The ethos is classic -- clean white walls and crisp table settings. A comfortable but looming formality envelopes and the restaurant has the confidence to seal it all with a classical soundtrack of Ravel.

The food befits a classic -- dishes that emphasize craft and effort without being hip, dramatic or showy (though some of the effort does emerge from behind the scenes -- the vegetable flan menu entry notes a wait for the dish's extra prep time). Best of the bunch at our table was the oysters in cream sauce with its rich saffron pool and an island of crisp biscuit. The menu emphasizes the expected but with less-explored classics like the oyster dish. The plates offered, as a collective, won't read as 'exciting.' It is the details like perfectly ripe pear slices atop the salad where Boat Street wins the day.

Dessert? Like any great restaurant, the sweets transcended the classics. The crisp, vanila-y bread pudding was devoured nearly as quickly as the perfectly balanced sweet-tart berry cobbler. Two desserts were perfect for a table of 5. Another body and we would have had to try three.

We are excited to have Boat Street in the neighborhood so know that enthusiasm colors our experience. But it's nice to meet a classic and find out that she deserves her legendary status.

The Boat Street Cafe
3131 Western Ave.
Date: Friday, Nov. 5, 2005
Time: 6:30ish
Mood: Party of 5
Wine: a spicy viognier
Starters: pear & blue cheese and several organic greens salads
Entrees: crab cakes, oysters in cream, salmon, veggie flan, braised beef
Dessert: pread pudding, berry cobbler

-- j/k

Tags: uptown, seattle, restaurant, boatstreet