We last ate here in June 2019 in between our birthdays. I remember where we sat and having a good time and I also remember the numerous homeless people out in front of the restaurant. They were a Michelin 1-star back then, but picked up a second star in 2021. Andrea had mentioned this place a couple times recently, but I still never got around to making a reservation. I did receive an e-mail about the partnership with IWA 5 sake for the launch of their new release for Assemblage 5. We were first introduced to IWA sake when we last dined at Saison where they had it for part of the pairing. We were very impressed then and loved the story an I ended up purchasing a couple bottles from True Sake which also very much enjoyed. So when this invite came around, I booked our reservation for a Friday evening, second seating (7:30pm) which we rarely do.
First thing I noticed walking up is how much emptier the street was…no homeless people loitering around and no smell of urine which was a big step up. Walking into the restaurant, it seemed so open and airy with the high ceilings and a warm and inviting oasis. Even though it had been over 5 years, I have to admit that it is nice to be acknowledged as a return diner.
We had seating at the chef’s counter, which is in two sections. Last time we were here we were seated at the smaller section that gave you a view of the part of the kitchen with the wood burning grill, but this was pretty nice and we were seated right next to the pass where the chef was standing with all of the orders. It was quite a traditional pass, but it was placed out in the seating area between the two sections of the chef’s counter where he could see both prep areas. The plates would be brought to him so he could review before they went out to the diners.
As we sat down, we were soon greeted by the somm (who also welcomed us back to the restaurant) who started with the first pour of some 2013 Dom Perignon. I can remember fondly buying Dom Perignon even back in the 90s (yeah, I’m that old), but it had additional significance here since the maker of IWA sake is Richard Geoffrey who was the head winemaker at Dom Perignon for 28 years before leaving to make sake. Such a wild origin story (which we had heard at Saison and completely intrigued us then and ultimately led to us being here tonight).
The somm did also describe the ethos of the restaurant, Pacific NW cuisine with a focus on using the entirety of the ingredients whether it was plant or animal. Sounds great! As we reviewed the menu and sake pairings it we were quite pleased to see that the IWA 5 sakes would be from all the different releases from Assemblage 1 to the newest release of Assemblage 5 (this dinner was part of the launch tour of Assemblage 5). It was interesting to note that some of the Assemblages were going to be served at different temperatures (e.g. chilled, body temperature, cellar temparature, etc.).
Our first dish came out – raw local halibut, seaweed and sea greens, with bone vinegar paired with chilled Assemblage 5 in a white wine glass (which is how we typically drink sake at home). It was a nice fresh seafood and seaweed dish to start.
Our second course was the Trout Roe. The trout roe was smoked and served with a delicate presentation of radishes and all covered in a butter sauce. This was also paired with Assemblage 5, but in a different vessel.
After our second course, Richard Geoffrey came by to greet us and speak about his sake (as he would come by several times through the course of the meal). He explained how he uses 3 different rices (Omachi, Yamadanishiki, Gohyakumangoku) and 5 different yeasts (hence the IWA “5”) and blends all the different brews to make his sake. At one of his visits, I asked him which of his releases was his favorite and he said without hesitation Assemblage 2 because it was so luscious.
Our third course was Red Abalone. It was serve grilled with a boullion made of the liver (I didn’t even know abalone had a liver…) and some pigface (I didn’t even know there was an ingredient called pigface. On the menu it’s listed as “pig’s face” (shades of The Silence of the Lambs or Face Off) and I did a double take) and local lettuces. This was also paired with Assemblage 5, but served at “body temperature” (i.e. about 98 degrees) and in a more traditional . They use a water bath that basically sounded like a sous vide device or appliance to set the temperature. We’ve always consumed our sake chilled and I always think of hot sake (and to be clear this wasn’t hot, just body temp warm) as being the cheap alternative for non-sake connoisseurs at Japanese restaurants, so this was an interesting way to serve the sake and had the effect of making it a bit more savory.
After that came the Dungeness Crab – every part. I can’t vouch for every part, but it certainly included crab meat from a few different parts. There was also a smoked yam, slightly mashed. This wasn’t a typical orange-colored yam, but was much more of a yellow color. This was served with Assemblage 5 in a white wine glass, but this time kept at cellar temperature.
Our fifth course was the Ember Roasted Black Cod served with Assemblage 4 at cellar temperature. In the dish, there was also kelp, some small sections of (pearl?) onion all in a sunflower seed milk sauce. This dish also included the sea lettuce parker house roll (you could see the green in the rolls) that they grill/heat on the little hibachi. The rolls were topped off by Chef Chris with a buttery sauce with some herbs. Andrea found the rolls to be a touch undercooked for her taste, but I was fine with it. Either way, it was the perfect vehicle to soak up all of the additional sauce with the fish.
Then came our supplemental course, the caviar course (no sake pairing). This was a fairly intricate presentation of caviar. It starts with some cornbread in it’s own little triangle cooking tin. This is then spread with a creme fraiche sauce and then in turn covered by grilled walnut butter. A decent amount of caviar (Tsar Nicolau) is then scooped out and spread onto the cornbread and then served. The cornbread, dripping with the sauces was a delicious vehicle for the caviar…some starch from the cornbread, the richness from the creme fraiche and butter, a bit of nuttiness from the grilled walnut, and the saltiness of the caviar made for some very delicious bites.
The seventh course came in three parts. First came the sea urchin/uni cream puff. The uni was sourced from Santa Barbara and had a savory butterscotch sauce. The second part of this course as the “lacquered & smoked” quail. The leg of the quail had a bit of twine on the end to make a more convenient handle. This dish was consumed with our hands and they considerately provided hand towels for afterwards. This dish also came with some “condiments” made of innards (again the complete use of the quail) in an XO sauce. I did enjoy this lighter (compared to the deep fried preparation at State Bird Provisions) yet still flavorful (the condiments packed a flavor punch) presentation. Normally I’m not a huge fan of quail, but I found this to fit nicely in this tasting menu. The third part of this course came as a broth. This came with a small twine-bundled herbs and some vintage herb scissors in their own little leather case which were a very nice touch and nice way to finish this 3-way serving of quail. The Assemblage 1 at 60 degrees Farenheit was paired with this course.
The eighth course was an interesting take on a carrot. It was dehydrated and marinated and grilled over the coals in the hibachi (we had been watching them grill carrots all evening). This was topped with a sauce made with bone marrow (check out that bone!), huckleberries, and other “spring ferments”. i really enjoyed this carrot dish where the carrot had really been quite transformed and was so rich and flavorful from the multi-stage treatment of the carrot itself of course but also that bone marrow sauce. Yum! The only other extensive carrot treatment we’ve seen was the one at Saison (which wasn’t on the menu the last time we were there) and this was far superior to the one at Saison. This was served with the Assemblage 2 at body temperature. The bone marrow sauce made for a rich dish and I can see why Richard and Chef Chris chose to pair the lush Assemblage 2 at body temp for this one.
The final savory course was called Pork and Beans which was paired with Assemblage 3 at 60 degrees F. The pork was prepared two ways and did in fact include baked beans. There was also some a bit of their Raging Falcon Hot Sauce (they sell this as a product) which is produced in a double fermentation to develop the acidity (rather than just adding veinegar). That did make the acidity and presumably the overall flavor more nuanced than typical hot sauces.
For dessert, it was Winter Citrus served with Assemblage 2 at cellar temperature. This dessert was actually two dishes. The first was ??? and the second was some satsuma oranges.
At the end of our meal, we were ushered downstairs. There were a group of folks already seated down there around the small table so we sat at the large table. We were brought some of our additional dessert (a “lollipop”, cookies, a couple fruit based desserts) and we were also joined by Julia who was a VP for IWA who had worked with Richard for many years previously. It was interesting to hear about the launch and all of the different venues they had been too and were going (e.g. Jungsik, Addison, SingleThread, etc.).
A couple seats opened up at the smaller table so we moved there where Richard and Chef Chris were seated. The pours of IWA sake kept coming. We had an interesting time talking to them and the other diners and since this was the second seating and there were no more diners coming in, they sat and drank and talked to us for quite some time. It was great to talk to Chef Chris and to hear about the execution and timing of the food since we witnessed him inspecting all of the food before it went out. I also asked him about what they did when someone went to the restroom (having gone several times through the course of the evening myself) and he said that if something sits on the pass for 2 minutes, it gets thrown out and remade. It’s so interesting to see how diner-centric this was which was in sharp contrast to our experience at é by José Andrés where they basically were on their rapid timeline and if you went to the restroom, you would just miss out on the action during that time (which is why they had recommended we go to the restroom before dinner service).
Before we knew it, it was already 1am, well past my bedtime (I’m usually asleep by 10pm!). I ordered a Waymo and we headed home.
All in all, it was a fantastic experience, from the food, the sake, the service/hospitality and the experience of it all which included the opportunity to speak to Richard and Chef Chris as well as our fellow diners. This definitely went into our list of best dining experiences and we won’t wait so long to revisit!
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