south meets northwest (pomegranate bistro, redmond)

On Friday night, we ventured over to the eastside to try Lisa Dupar's Pomegranate Bistro. A well-established caterer (she's cooked for President Bill Clinton, Julia Child, Martha Stewart, and Bill and Melinda Gates, to name a few), Dupar opened Pomegranate Bistro in 2005 and recently released her first cookbook, Fried Chicken and Champagne.* Her style of food reflects a combination of her Southern roots, French training, and life in the northwest -- I guess you could say it's refined comfort food for the locavore.

Pomegranate Bistro: 18005 NE 68th Street

Pomegranate Bistro is oddly located in a small business park next to some Microsoft offices and directly across the street from the Redmond Whole Foods. Without its large sign, it would be easily missed by passersby, and I can only guess that this location was selected because of its ample space for the catering side of her business. Once inside the restaurant, the industrial space still feels slightly cold, but it's offset by the warm, orangy-red walls, glowing glassybabys, and firey oven as the focus of its kitchen.

View of the center of the dining room with the fiery oven in the back.  

The restaurant was completely full on this particular evening, and I've heard this is common on most weekends. Reservations are only accepted for parties of 6 or more, but you can call ahead and be put on the waitlist for a table. Beware that doing so may make others who have been waiting in person complain that you're getting a table when they were there first! This happened to us, and we let that couple go ahead of us.. allowing them to take the drafty table by the hostess stand knowing that a quieter table for two was just being set :)

Quiet table for two.

We started the night with two recommended small plates: crispy calamari and artichokes and sharper mac and cheese gratin. The calamari and artichoke hearts were wonderfully seasoned and fried in a light, crispy batter and served with a caper citrus aioli. At first I wasn't sure what to think of calamari-fried artichoke hearts, but they were bright and sweet and a refreshing complement to the salty calamari. It was a more than generous portion of food, and we enjoyed every mouthwatering bite. In fact, it may be one of the best plates of calamari I've ever had! (Leave it to a Southerner to know how to fry food.)

Crispy calamari and artichokes served with citrus caper aioli.

The mac and cheese consisted of springy, spiral noodles that gave the dish a playful feel and a creamy, sharp cheddar cheese sauce. It was topped with crispy breadcrumbs and what I assume was a basil leaf. While tasty (as most mac and cheese dishes are), it was nothing spectacular and was left behind in the shadow of the delightful calamari. There was the option to add oil cured tuna or sliced prosciutto to the dish, and I would recommend trying either one to future diners.

Sharper mac and cheese.

We ordered the braised beef short ribs and Painted Hills beef burger for our two entrées, deciding against trying one of the firebreads (oven-fired pizza breads) on this visit. The braised short ribs rested atop horseradish and rosemary grits and braised greens, and finished with au jus. Overall the dish was very good, but seemed to miss the mark in a few places. It arrived lukewarm (the worst!), and while the meat was tender, I still picked up my knife a few times while eating (a disappointment when it comes to braised meats). And while I'm no expert in grits, these seemed to be slightly undercooked and noticeably chunky rather than smooth and creamy. Yet, the flavors of the dish were wonderful, and I have hopes that it would be a knock-out dish if better executed.

Braised beef short ribs with horseradish and
rosemary grits and braised greens.

The Painted Hills beef burger was served on a house-made onion bun with bacon-orange juice aioli, white cheddar, and slices of tomato, lettuce, and pickled onions. To one side was heap of coleslaw; on the other, golden fries served with house-made ketchup. Again, everything tasted great, but some things were slightly amiss. The beef itself had the wonderful, meaty flavor typical of this Oregon raised beef, but unfortunately we weren't asked how we'd like it prepared and it arrived medium-rare -- generally not our preference for ground beef. Also, the coleslaw was underdressed and rather bland.

Painted Hills beef burger.

As many of you now know, I'm skeptical of restaurants' desserts in Seattle, so it's hard to say what made me go ahead and order one given the slightly off characteristics of our entrées. I'll blame the yummy-looking baked (and unbaked -- like cookie dough) goods on display upon entering the restaurant and the fact that I figured a successful caterer with Southern roots should make good pecan pie. Unfortunately, the chocolate bourbon pecan pie was a letdown. I mean, it was good.. it just didn't stand out and wasn't very chocolatey, which is what I was looking for when ordering chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Oh well.

Chocolate bourbon pecan pie with spiced
whipped cream and caramel.

There were two things that made up for the not-so-spectacular food (besides the calamari): the wine and our server. On the wine list were two Zinfandels from Seghesio Family Vineyards in Healdsburg, CA. We ordered the 2009 Home Ranch Zinfandel, and it was (as to be expected of Seghesio's Zins) excellent. Also, our server was friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive throughout our meal. While pouring the wine, there was a little drop on the table which she promptly came back to clean up. During our enjoyment of the calamari, we were nearing the bottom of the aioli dish and she surprisingly showed up with a new one. She pleasantly carried on conversations but also knew when to simply check in and let us enjoy the food. I don't know whether she forgot to ask how we wanted the burger prepared or if that's typically left up the chef at Pomegranate Bistro, so I'm willing to let that possible mistake slide. Unfortunately, she did forget our request for espresso with our dessert so we were left with a sleepy drive back across the bridge..

Seghesio Home Ranch Zinfandel (2009).

hhf says: Pomegranate Bistro has lots of potential, and it's hard for me to say whether this was an off night or how it always it is. The types of dishes and flavor profiles were very appealing, and I'd recommend giving it a try if you're in the area. However, the 30-mile roundtrip plus new 520 bridge tolls make this a place I may not revisit for a while.

Prada brown suede boots.

Boots: Prada brown suede boots with pointed toe. Warm and cozy for this freezing Seattle weekend!

* Book Larder, the charming community bookstore in Fremont, is hosting an event with Lisa Dupar on Feb. 1. Meet the caterer/chef and learn to cook recipes from Fried Chicken and Champagne!