Sunday dinner, the ritual, is what restaurants like to do. Saturday nights are from hell (most places), Monday's dark (many places), so Sunday's when the chefs strut their stuff. At Tavolata, for example, they do $65 "feasts" that feature suckling pig or whole goat around their communal table. Emmer & Rye does Sunday dinners in their lofty upstairs space. Le Pichet does Sunday afternoon events, Harvest Vine does special Sunday menus.
And then there's RN74, Michael Mina's downtown Seattle wine bar, with its upscale menu and down-home atmosphere. No hoity-toity wine stewards in tuxedos looking at your brand of wristwatch to decide whether you're a $30 or $300 spender. They all wear jeans, gingham shirts, no ties. On Sunday nights, there's a $48 chicken dinner special that features a whole Mad Hatcher bird roasted in duck fat; it tastes almost nutty, like almond butter. Two sides: truffled mac & cheese and a braised kale with pork cheek. You might want to start with exceptional lobster "corn dogs" on a stick with a crème fraîche dipping sauce ($12), but even the garlic and goat cheese toast ($6) makes a great starter.
You might be tempted to go for one of the "last bottle" wines on the Solari board. (If the clacking sign reminds you of running for a train at station in Europe, that's the idea.) But you don't have to buy an expensive bottle. The sommeliers have the gift of describing wines so that you want to drink them, whether it's a familiar wine like Beaujolais or something you've never heard of them (a stunning glass of cabernet franc from Pyramid Valley in New Zealand's Hawkes Bay).
There are both sweet and savory desserts, if you're up to them. Good luck!
UPDATE Jan, 24th: Winter hours: the restaurant will close on Sundays, so the chicken dinner moves to Mondays. Price goes up to $65 (for two), adding freshly shaved truffles under the skin and in the sauce.
Leave a comment