Caviarblog got word of a couple unique dishes on the tasting menu up at Canlis in Seattle so we decided to make the trip up from San Francisco. Chef Jason Franey is one of our favorite chefs and a rising star in the culinary world. We will be bringing you an interview with Chef Franey next week, but want to share our dining experience at the famed Seattle landmark.
There are two things that you will notice immediately at Canlis. The first is the view and the second is the service. Nestled in amongst the trees, the dining room overlooks Lake Union in Seattle. During the day or early evening in the summer, you can see sailboats on the water.
As for the service, it really speaks for itself. Among other awards and recognition, the restaurant is a four time nominee for Outstanding Service from James Beard Foundation. Literally every single tablecloth is ironed at the table before you sit down to dine. It is quite an experience.
Now onto the food, which somehow surpasses the view and the service. Chef Franey put together an incredible menu that featured a variety of seafood focused dishes and culminated in suckling pig prepared three ways. First up was a delicious black olive cornet with tomato mousse and topped with wasabi tobiko. It was accompanied by smoked salmon and egg yolk rolled in a panko crust and then deep fried. Now this is a way to start a meal!
The dish that got us really excited came up next. On the menu as simply dungeness crab, this dish features crab rolled into a plum and topped with farmed Osetra caviar from Bulgaria. The combination of the slightly sweet dungeness crab paired perfectly with the rich, buttery Osetra.
After starting with those two dishes, Chef Franey followed up with a delicious serving of Kampachi and Geoduck. Geoduck is also known as Mirugai in Japan. This dish was delectable and featured a touch of black garlic on the Kampachi.
The delights continued with a black cod and then the suckling pig before two separate desserts. Unfortunately, I don’t have a great picture of the suckling pig. You’ll just have to take my word for it that it was incredible, especially the one in the trio that was sous-vide prepared. And you’ll have to make the trip yourself if you’d like to see the wild plum or vanilla custard desserts.
Trust me, you’ll thank me for it later. Canlis is an incredible dining experience.
-matt
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