The Nov. 2010 article by Jason Sheehan takes a close look at Seattle's food scene with Spur and our Sous Chef Nina pictured. Here's what it says about Spur:
"Dana Tough is one of the chefs currently standing at the forefront of the food revolution in Seattle.
"With the scene we have here now, there's no room for mediocre food," he says. (At least among the city's more ambitious chefs, that is.)
Spur (spurseattle.com), the restaurant that Tough and his partner, Brian McCracken, run in Belltown, is a perfect example of that-- an innovative place where two chefs from decidedly classical backgrounds use every trick in the modern kitchen toolkit, finding ways to make those traditional impulses work in concert with their interest in molecular gastronomy. The result is an ever-changing menu that perfectly blends the traditional with the modern, grounded in local ingredients (mushrooms, salmon, potatoes, leeks, and bacon). Their handmade tagliatelle with smoked oyster mushrooms mimics the favor of a carbonara. It's topped with shaved Parmesan and Parmesan foam, then served with a sous-vide duck's egg, cracked at the table, to create a sauce.
And yet, what's the first thing Tough wants to discuss when interviewed last summer about the evolution of Seattle's dining scene? Strawberries.
"I just got back from the market a few minutes ago," he says. "I got the first of the season's strawberries. They're beautiful."
Then the only question becomes how best to use them. The answer is in an artistic riff on French toast, with housemade mascarpone and lemon-- simple, perfect, beautiful.
Seattle is a place where ingredients rule-- a city of farmer's markets (everything from the iconic Pike Place Market to dozens of smaller, producer-driven neighborhood markets), and of dedicated farmer-fisher-chef relationships.
"People don't have to boast about going local here. Everyone who's good already does that," Tough says."
Thank you Jason and Cooking Light!
STORY BY JASON SHEEHAN, NOVEMBER 2010
