Seattle-to-Santiago

Seattle Restaurant Week is halfway over, thank goodness, and restaurants will soon be back to doing what they do well: serving dinner to regulars (and not to cheapskate looky-loos). Seattlest may be in the minority here, but we fail to see the point of promotions that overwhelm small neighborhood restaurants with money-losing "special" menus, replace regulars with penny-inching one-timers, and leave everyone exhausted—all the while taking business away from colleagues who didn't pony up the $1,000 or so required by the event's sponsors.

What's an owner to do, then?

For example, you could do what Paco Pena is doing at Belltown's Taberna del Alabardero: in addition to Restaurant Week, a series of themed dinners based on the famous pilgrimage route, the Camino de Santiago de Compostella. (In English, it's known as St. James's Way.) The routes wend through much of Europe, converging in southern France, crossing the Pyrenees, heading to the cathedral in Santiago, in the northwest corner of Spain.

The first dinner earlier this week "followed" the northern route, with food and wine from Navarra, and Rioja; subsequent dinners will tackle Asturias and Galicia, with a grand finale in July 21st, on the Feast Day of St. James.

But if the pilgrimage route is as old as medieval Christianity, Taberna's kitchen is capable of turning out a series of modern Spanish dishes (some of the world's most innovative cuisine): paper-thin carpaccio with a made-on-the-spot peach sorbet; trout with a Serrano-flavored foam and a crunchy ribbon of dried, ground mushrooms; oxtail stewed with honey and cinnamon. The wines were impressive: a barrel-fermented, oaky white viura; a tempranillo aged in American oak; a second tempranillo blended, Bordeaux-style, with cabernet and merlot; a third tempranillo blended, Rhone-style, with carignan and grenache; and, finally, a tempranillo reserva aged for five years in French oak.

Ever since it opened its doors in the old Cascadia space, Taberna has specialized in traditional Spanish fare, most notably, paella. It's heartening to see the kitchen's move toward more adventurous fare.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ronald in Food on April 23, 2010 1:00 PM

Comments [rss]

cfdseattle

lol.

ronaldholden

Sorry, cfdseattle, it seems we're actually in agreement on this one. It's Walmart's fault.

cfdseattle

Then let the restaurants speak for themselves! They can do that by NOT participating in Restaurant Week. They're adults, they can make that choice. If they make the decision to participate, live with that decision, don't go insulting customers who participate!

And, I do not believe this small promotion is training us to expect discounts: the entire culture is training us to do that! Look at the banner at the top of SeattleST itself -- advertising "discounts of up to 90% on dining and events." I don't particularly like it either, but it's our entire culture. It's what enables Walmart to thrive despite it's destructive influence on our communities. Just admit you're wrong on this one and quit being so #@&! defensive.

ronaldholden

Please stop calling me elitist, folks; I'm unworthy of the compliment.

Read my words: it's the restaurant owners who secretly despise Restaurant Week and their ilk because these promotions are lots of work, barely pay for themselves, and create clients who expect discounts.

cfdseattle

I'll have to agree with Alonganong, BiggreenFrank and Sonja, and I'd say your reaction, ronaldholden, is quite defensive. I too found your comments amazingly elitist and insulting. I enjoy Restaurant Week and similar ilks because it does give me an opportunity to try some new spots. And, I'll have to say, I enjoy the smaller menu and smaller portions of the fixed-price menu. It gives me a chance to see what the restaurant is like, and if I like it, I'll be back. This seems to me the whole point of the promotion. To catagorize that as being a cheapskate "looky-lou" impinging on the rights of the "regulars" is simply arrogant, elitist, even stupid.

ronaldholden

Restaurant Week and all the other promotions are good for diners, sure, but only in the short run. What I'm saying is that they're a nightmare for restaurant owners (some will admit it privately) because they condition customers to expect money-losing "deals," "happy hours" and promotional giveaways.

Folks, if you want your vibrant restaurant community to survive, visit them even when they're not running promotions. Pay full price and be grateful.

Sonja

I have to say that I too was a little offended by the introduction in this column as well. I dine out frequently but do not consider myself a looky-look nor a cheapskate. I thought SRW was started by chefs wanting to offer a more inclusive promotion than 25 for $25. As someone who loves to try new (to me) restaurants, this promo provided me with a great list to use as a starting point.

I pride myself in ordering drinks and tipping well no matter what "deal" is going on (SRW, Prime card, Living Social or Groupon deals, Strangermart coupons) and from what I have seem during SRW, I am not alone. Don't make me feel like a cheapskate, when my bill at Mistral last week was over $50 per person.

BigGreenFrank

I'm with Alonganong. Ridiculously elitist position you're taking in your introduction...

And I'd offer that it's not even all that true. Clearly many restaurants are benefiting from increased exposure to people who would have otherwise never visited for a first or tenth time.

You're telling me a place like Canlis was backed into a corner to participate in this?

I'm sorry you and your food snob friends can't get in as easily to your favorite places (or your service is a tad slower) for two weeks while we "normal people" visit some nice places we have heard about but haven't had the chance to enjoy.

Just remember this when you complain about people not visiting some new place that you've really enjoyed and they are forced to close after a year...

ronaldholden

Restaurant Week may get diners excited, but not all the restaurant owners. I was reporting what they won't say publicly for fear of offending customers like alonganong.

alonganong

There was probably something worthwhile in this article about Taberna, but I couldn't get past the douchebag introduction.

I can call myself a 'regular' at maybe a handful of restaurants in Seattle. Restaurant week gave me the motivation to leave my tried and true choices and experiment a little. I'm not sure why you would characterize me as a cheapskate. You've never even met me.

If a restaurant only wants to serve 'regulars' then they wouldn't take part in restaurant week, would they? Either they want new customers, or they don't. But I'm guessing that it's a pretty easy marketing decision to spend a thousand dollars to have a swarm of new customers that most likely have never been to your restaurant.

Restaurant week gets people excited; it gets them into the city, enjoying all the fantastic cuisine Seattle has to offer. That's got to be a pretty good thing, hasn't it? At least it's better than Applebee's.