Steak and Frites: The Spur Way
Spur gastropub, which softly opened three weeks ago (today, in fact) in the former Mistral space, is going to be my new favorite hangout. Not only because the food is fantastic, but the atmosphere and vibe of the place is so laid back in an upscale-saloon sort of way.
Plus, the chefs did something to me that has never been done to me at any restaurant: They enticed me into ordering the flat iron steak with fried mashed potato ($24), which I never order ANYWHERE. I'm just not a big red meat eater. The boys couldn't have been nicer or more cordial (or cuter).
I say boys, because owner/chef Brian McCracken, formerly of Flyte, and chef Dana Tough, formerly of Tilth, are only 27 years old. Twenty. Seven.
The two started talking about the idea of opening a gastropub in Seattle years ago when they both worked together at Earth & Ocean.
But I wasn't in the mood for steak and potatoes this night. I wanted something sweet. I ordered the Pistachio Financier, a pistachio brown butter cake topped with Rainier cherries accompanied by foie gras ice cream and elderflower gelee set atop an elderflower gastrique ($11). Yum!
What came next can only be described as an upscale version of Dippin' Dots.
A strawberry sorbet with vanilla cocoa butter crumble ($4). A COCOA BUTTER CRUMBLE (!!) topped with slow-poached strawberries:
I also had one of the best cocktails I've ever had. It's called the Empress ($12), and it's made with rum, St. Germain, grapefruit juice and topped with heaven (officially: fresh grapefruit and lemon juice foam). The picture I took didn't turn out so well, so I took a photo of my friend's cocktail, the La Rocio ($12):
This drink starts out as a foam of red wine, lemon juice, sugar and egg white before the bartender topps it off with a mixture of tequila, stone fruit and red wine.
Spur is open until 2 a.m. every night. Right now, they're enjoying an extra spill of folks being turned away at Tavolata, which recently stopped serving at midnight.
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