Santé

Cade and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on 11/11/11.

Everyone was all sorts of excited for the numerical palindrome that occurred that day. There had to be something special happening, right? Luckiest day in 100 years!

I tried to think of what we did last year on our anniversary, and couldn't remember. Cade couldn't either. The year before that, we only had enough money to go to dinner at one place, and so we tried The Onion. If you're from Spokane, you know that The Onion is a glorified sit down burger place. In fact, I had a burger. And it was awesome, but not anniversary-worthy. The year before that? Again, don't remember.

Are you seeing a trend? We always do something fun on our anniversary, but not special enough to really remember. This year, Cade had something really special planned. And it involved his obsession with this place:

Santé. If you have ever met Cade, I'm sure he has mentioned it. If you have ever asked him where you can grab a bite to eat in Spokane, he's emphatically recommended this place. He eats there several times a week, and has become friends with the owner and chef, Jeremy Hansen. I think it started when Cade offered up raspberries from our garden for Jeremy to use in delicious ways, and Cade has been trying to find random food items for him every since. Lunches at Santé are more than reasonably priced, and that is usually when we hit it up. We have had a couple of dinner services, which have been phenomenal. We went with Cade's parents when they were in town, and there was also a Gonzaga Law Health Law Society dinner that Cade helped pull together. I can honestly say that those were the best meals of my life.

Until yesterday.

Cade and Chef Hansen decided that we would be a tester for a dinner in the kitchen. A sort of Chef's table, if you will. We felt like rock stars as we strolled through the restaurant to the back where the kitchen is, and took our seat at an amazing tablescape that waited for us. Four candles lit our table setting with a white linen covering one of the tables in the kitchen. It was beautiful. We would have gotten a photo, but we were a little shy in the beginning. I mean, it was a little humbling being in the belly of the beast so to speak. The way the kitchen was situated, we were on display for the entire restaurant, and in the middle of all of the action with the chefs. It made us feel exceptional. We aren't used to the spotlight, so it was a little uncomfortable at first. But uncomfortable in a really cool way, in a way that you are finally sitting at the cool kid's table at school lunch.

We were thrilled to be there. We'd been waiting for this night for a while. You can see the glimmer in Cade's eye. See it? This is where he gets giddy. He loves Santé. He loves the food, the atmosphere, and the people. This was the apex for him. He had a glimpse of what was in store, and couldn't wait. I was excited too, but had no idea what was ahead. Oh, we were in for it.

This is the man of the hour. Chef Jeremy Hansen. He is kind of a celebrity around Spokane. If you are a foodie, you know his name. Santé is consistently rated among the top restaurants in Spokane, and in the Pacific Northwest. He is both health conscious as well as environmentally conscious. He has a passion for organic food, farm food, and eco responsibility. (This is the same fellow we hit up Rocky Ridge Farms with to see all the animals. I've seen the reverence that he has for these beasts and for food. It's incredible). It felt really special to be there to see how he prepares this food.

The first thing that hit me was the smell. You don't get this kind of experience sitting in the dining room. You smell everything that is being cooked at once, and it got me really excited. Watching chefs chop, saute, stir, and mix only made the anticipation more intense. Sitting in the kitchen was a great idea. I knew that it would be special. I really had no idea how amazing as the night wore on.

Do you see the crabs in the picture below? They were blue crabs. They are blue in the picture below because they are alive. Minutes after this, he put them in a boiling pot of water on the counter behind us. I can't emphasize enough how cool it was to watch him in action and prepare everything from scratch. The amount of work and preparation that goes into each dish is incredible.

Have you ever imaged what it would be like to judge Iron Chef America? You know, just be that one random celebrity guest judge that has no idea what they are talking about, but gets to eat all of the food and enjoy themselves? We are avid Top Chef watchers, and someday want to sit next to Padma and Tom and taste all of the goodness that comes our way. However, this was way better. Because he had planned all of this out carefully, and went above and beyond to show us a great night. Dishes were made especially for us. Almost everything we ate was unique and no one else in the place was eating what we were eating. Better than that, every plate was perfection. Tom Colicchio would have sung praises all night long. Nothing was over cooked, under cooked, too bland, or too spicy. I've never had flavors like that before. Perfection.

While the Chef prepared, we were given our first course. Amuse Bouche, which was a quinoa custard with cranberry sauce and chive. I love these spoons. We were too busy scarfing our first course to remember to take a picture, so we snapped this picture while it was waiting to be served to someone in the dining room. That's right, we watched everything get made that went out, and watched all of the chefs interact. The experience was amazing. I keep saying that. Amazing. I hope the word doesn't lose its power as I blog this post, because it really was the greatest experience. It was the perfect combination of textures, tastes, and a great way to start off the night.

Notice the butter. It's clarified. And gorgeous. Notice the blue crab. Chef had to pop it open with the back of a knife, because he didn't have any crab clackers. I think that is a sign of an awesome meal: When the chef makes something so different and off the menu that he doesn't have the hardware for it. Above and beyond. This crab was so delicate and delicious. Not over cooked or gritty, just soft and tender. Oh drool.

Next up: The Charcuterie plate. We get this on a consistent basis when we come for lunch. I was so excited. It included berkshire prosciutto. I was in pork heaven. I love food that melts in your mouth, and the prosciutto did in a salty dream. The cheeses, chorizo, and duck prosciutto were all incredible. And the sauces. That plate was cleared, and then we licked the mustard aioli out of its container.

Here is Mr. Fish. This is where Chef started breaking it down. In front of us. We kept trying to guess what kind of fish it was. Pomfret. We totally did not guess correctly.

Next up: on the left-Beet Salad with radish, goat cheese, fennel confiture, shallot and herb vinaigrette, and walnuts. On the right-Waldorf salad with walnut, raisin, apple, celery, fig, greens, goat cheese, and apricot vinaigrette. The Garde Mange made these. Watching him work was art. You'd think that being in charge of the salads would be boring. I mean, think about the side salads you usually get that accompany your meal at other places. Some iceburg lettuce with some shredded carrots, a grape tomato, and a slice of red onion. Blah. Drab. Gross. Probably from a bag. I hate getting side salads. This man, though, Clint, is my new hero. He sliced granny smith apples with the greatest of care and ease, sliced radishes into thinner-than-paper slices, and created the greatest flavor and texture mixtures I've ever experienced in cold food. He's also in charge of the charcuterie plates. So impressive. The picture does not do this justice. Cade ate most of the beet salad, and I had the Waldorf. I will be order the Waldorf more often when I come in. Santé's salads are the best I've ever had.

Chef started cooking our Pomfret while we were eating our salads. This was really neat. And I say that in the most non-nerdy way. See the rosemary? See the big slab of butter? He just kept putting more in. Cade joked that he was "Paula Deaning". It was awesome watching him take such care in cooking it. There's a finess that comes with his cooking, and all of the chefs at Santé.

(I kept the butter by my side throughout the dinner. I just wanted to look at it. It was just so pretty! So please pardon it's appearance in all of the photos). Golden Pomfret: Shaved fennel, chive, sprouts, kiwi berry, kalamantsi or tamarind butter. Cade's (on the left) was tamarind, and mine was kalamantsi (on the right). Both were extremely delicious, but I really loved mine. The kalamantsi was citrusy and sweet, my favorite combination. The gourmet "potato chip", as Cade calls it, on top added a delightful salty crunch. I'm not a fan of peppers, but I didn't mind them because this dish was over the top delicious.

You know the crazy part of all of this? Here we are, 6 plates in, and I'm not full, but I'm not hungry. I maintained a satiated balance the entire meal. With each plate, I was more excited than I was for the one before it. We left feeling full, but not overly full, or "bust your gut on Thanksgiving Day" full. I always feel that way after leaving Santé. It's perfection.

Next: a trio. On the right: Wheatberry Risotto with beet, onions, chard and watercress. Middle: Pear risotto with asiago, lemon beurre fondu, balsamic reduction, and kiawari.

On the right: (my favorite) Ghnocchi with mushrooms, squash créme, fine herbs, guanchale ragoút, and sherry glaze. I admit that I have only seen trio plates on Top Chef and other fancy shmancy shows. This was perfect. The wheatberry risotto had a great bite to it texture wise and a deep flavor that I didn't expect. The pear asiago risotto was also surprising, because I've never experienced fruit in my risotto before. I LOVE asiago cheese, and the sweet and salty was a perfect pair. Also, the lemon butter fondu was so fun. The best, though? The gnocchi. I love Santé's gnocchi. Get it. They are little pillows of fluff and delight.

I was a little nervous when I heard "escargot". I mean, I'm from small town Utah. In Cade's anniversary card, I even joked about how he's put up with an ignorant small town girl for 6 years. Snails are not something I'm familiar with ingesting. After battling the slugs in my garden all summer, I mentally squirmed. But, first and foremost, I trusted the chef. He'd served us some amazing plates already, and I wasn't about to turn something down because of mental insecurities. Secondly, I didn't want to embarrass myself. Vanity got the best of me, and I spooned one of those lumps onto some of the toasted bread provided, with some yummy crunchies (I'm super technical) and some sauce. Really good. There was no chewiness that I had anticipated. This was not the texture that I thought snail would be. It wasn't slimy or gross, it was soft. It was really good!

Escargot: garlic, lemon, thym, shallots, tomato concasse, baguette.

Next: Beef neck burgundy (left), with chantrelles, brussles, potatoes, carrot, laroons, onions, and baguette. Goose Confit on the right with beet blini, cranberry sauce, hazlenuts, and watercress. We ended up swapping, because Cade took one bite of the beef burgundy and knew that I would love it. And I did. I love braised things, especially in wine. I don't know what it is, but I love the richness and deep flavors of something that has been braised really well. This was my favorite of the night. The entire night. Oh, I would go back in a heartbeat and eat ten plates of this. And the wheatberry risotto. And the pomfrett. Oh hell, I'd eat all of it all over again in a heartbeat.

Break: Orange clove soda. I'm a soda freak. Everyone knows this. I drink carbonated beverages left and right throughout the day. This takes the cake though. Super sweet, bubbly, and delicious.

Next: Lapin au vin rouge (braised rabbit) with orzo, chard, leeks, tomato, onions, port fennel, and jus. Then there was the dry aged ribeye with bordelaise, vichy carrots, and parsnips. We did half and half on this one. I'd tried the braised rabbit when we visited with Cade's parents. I was in rabbit heaven. My mother in law, Liz, kept joking that I had killed thumper. I only envisioned the tastiness that was happening, not the sweet little rabbit that I had killed. The ribeye was the best steak either of us have ever had. I mean, Wolf's Lodge has had the top spot for a while, but this one wins the prize. It melted like butter. And the crunch parsnips on top? Amazing.

Chef prepared dessert. At this point, we had been at Santé for 3 hours. I was getting sad this was going to be over soon. I didn't pay attention to how many courses we had had, because I knew it would just make me melancholy that this experience was going to come to an end. Chef shaved some sugar on the bananas, then fired them. Cade was jealous of Chef's blow torch.

Dessert: Port poached pear, and banana brulée.

I had the pear, and Cade had the banana. Both were excellent, though, and the perfect end to the meal.

See the last candle holding on in the back? It finally went out when we were done with dessert. It was poetic. And romantic. And sad. All at the same time.

As we were getting up to leave, Chef said, "Hold on, I've got something for you." He came back with this:

Our personal menu from the night. Everything that he had prepared, so we could look at it and remember the delicious dishes that we had experienced. It was such a sweet end note to the evening. Chef asked what we were doing after this, and in honesty, I said, "probably renting a redbox and snuggling up on the couch". To me, we couldn't top what we had experienced at Santé, so we might as well just call it a night.

It was a romantic night. We have never done anything like this before, and might not experience something this spectacular for a long time yet. It was a perfect celebration of our marriage and the hard work that we have put into it. The experience was exciting. We saw everything that the chefs were doing, saw every dish go out, saw the interaction between the chefs, and the magic that happens in the kitchen. It's an atmosphere most don't get to see, and one that made the evening more special. I loved smelling everything that was cooking, and getting excited for what we were about to eat. You don't get that experience in the dining room. You might think that it was less intimate because we were sharing our dining experience with 6 or 7 other people in the kitchen, as well as some of the waiters that came in and out of the doors behind us. It felt so special, though, and it felt more intimate than having dinner in a room full of strangers who are eating the same things you are eating, and having the same experience that you are having. Eating in the kitchen was spectacular. Amazing. Incredible. All of the words I've used over and over again. And I mean that in the most sincere and genuine way.

This is one experience I never want to forget. It was such a special experience.

I can't wait to see what we do next year to top it.