A Dinner to Remember

Last night I was treated to a spectacular meal at Canlis. I have only been to Canlis one other time in my life and that was over 20 years ago. It used to be that Canlis was one of a handful of "Fancy" Seattle restaurants. Over the last 20+ years there has been such an amazing number of great new restaurants that I tended to think of Canlis as old school. After all they have been open since 1950. To me it's one of those places that I've glad we have and don't want to see close, but never really makes my "must try" list.

So is Canlis still a GREAT restaurant or just living in the past? Well I have to say I'm impressed. The space had a major, multi million dollar remodel in the late 90's and a recent redesign in 2005,It has a very tranquil feel and of course the view is stunning. We were lucky enough to have a window seat and had our first drink served to us just as the moon start rising over the mountain. Due to our dark Seattle days the color of the moon had a sun like reddish glow and the rising was pretty dramatic against the dark skyline. I think it's possible the Canlis staff have paid to make the elements perform for their diners. Add the piano player and it's possible to think you are in a Hollywood movie.

When you first arrive you are seated, handed a wine BOOK and asked if you'd like a cocktail. Dinner menus are for later when you've had time to relax and settle in. Turning over tables is not part of deal here... I'd love to pretend I could judge the wine menu and tell you where it ranked but as much as I love drinking wine-most this menu was well beyond my knowledge base. The list is over 100 pages. They apparently have a wine costing over 10k-French of course. They have 3 cellers, 2 on site and one off site. Not sure who you have to know to get a tour, but that would be fun. Browsing the wine list is enjoyable if not a little intimidating. Of course they don't really expect you to make a decision without the help of one of the 3 sommeliers on site. Prices were high, but looking at a few wines I knew the markup seemed pretty standard at 3-4x retail. They also have a reasonable corking fee of $35.

So on to the food. After the moon was properly positioned for us, it was time to make a decision about the food. I confess I went with the tasting menu mostly so I could choose the wine paring and not have to make a decision on just one wine. Before the tasting menu started we shared some of the freshest oysters I've tasted (and I've had oysters right from the "farm" on Samish Island). They were so good my dining companion had to order a second round.

The tasting menu was good although a little on the conservative and safe side compared so some of what is out there these days. The wine parings were prefect and of course we had the fun of the sommelier's explanation with each course. They also have a vegetarian tasting menu.

Here was Sunday nights menu:

Alaskan Sea Scallops w/cauliflower shellfish emulsion and mushroom vinaigrette. Served with a 2002 Soulez "Chateau de Chamboureau" Savennieres, France.
Sooo good. This one I'm going to try to find out in one of our wine stores.

House Smoked Muscovy Duck Breast w/Apple goat cheese salad and caramelized onion dressing. Served with a 2006 Craggy Range "Te Muna Road Vineyard" Pinot Nior, New Zealand.
This wine was served in the biggest wine glass I've ever seen. I guess they are designed for tasting Pinot. A full bottle of wine would fit in the glass (of course that would defeat the purpose of the glass).

Fomage Blanc Sorbet

New York Strip Steak w/Walla Walla Sweet Onion Salad. Served with a 2006 Buty Syrah called "Peter Canlis". They have worked with Buty (a great local Washington winery) to make their own wine. They did have this one on the menu for $32 a glass.

Chocolate and Chocolate and more Chocolate. There were better names, but basically we had chocolate and who can go wrong with that. Served with a 1966 Porto Kopke Colheita, Douro.

I asked if I could have a list of the wines we were having as I knew I'd forget the minute they walked away. Again this place is all about service, before the 1st course was served I had a printed mini menu with the meal and the wines.


The staff has that well honed skill of being there exactly when needed, but never intrusive. The final service trick might be the best. As we walked out to get the car, 4 hours after arriving, I said I'd wait inside due to the cold but the car pulled up just as we walked to the door. They have this down so well there is actually a post in the Q&A section of their website.

Q: How do the valets do it?A: They never hand out tickets, and yet more often than not, your car is waiting for you before you make it to the door! We’ve been accused of never telling the secret. The truth? You wouldn't believe us if we told you.

Gone are the days of Cigar smoke and Kimono wearing waitress (neither were missed by me). Despite our falling economy the restaurant was busy with a wide verity of people including "date night" couples, special occasion family dinners and a few old school business "old guys in suits" which I remember from my first visit. I was surprised to see some families with kids (maybe 11 and older).

The web site says you can not over dress. A slight point of stress for me, but with the help of a good friend I picked out a snazzy new dress that I would normally not wear around our town. This blog is about food not food issues so we'll keep this part short, but picking out a dress when you need to shed 30lbs can be torture. On the other hand, it is fun to dress up and Canlis is a really good excuse wearing something pretty.

While I doubt Canlis is going to be my top regular celebration restaurant (I've still not made it to the Herbfarm), it does have that special something and is a dinner to remember.

From a week of menu's for under $100 to dinner Canlis all in a week. Almost like watching the ups and down of the stock market.