Uneasy Rhetoric

How can anyone give The Waterboy less than four stars? I suppose it is possible, but given my dinner this evening, highly unlikely.

From time to time, one will have a meal that surpasses most, if not all, others. This meal will make ordinarily timid people send compliments to the chef, will make those same people secretly wish that the chef would come out among the diners so that others may kiss his or her feet. This is an experience beyond good food; this is something where a particular combination of tastes, the wine, the service, and the atmosphere all mix to create something truly extraordinary (see Update #2).

Prior to tonight, I had had this experience in only two other places: a now-defunct restaurant in Portland called Korgans and a McCormick and Schmick’s restaurant, Jakes Grill, also in Portland. At Korgans I had a trout in almond sauce that was beyond perfect. It had been served by an overworked waiter, serving more tables than they had anticipated for the evening. But he was still attentive, the evening went well, and the trout was out of this world. At Jakes, the chef had experimented with a “sturgeon wellington.” That is, a sturgeon with a spear of asparagus cooked in a puff pastry and served with a red pepper sauce. That was the only time I had ever seen this dish on the menu, then or since, and it was marvelous. I am predisposed toward sturgeon, but this introduced me to a new way of eating what is often a troubled fish. How can one really eat a bottom feeder?

Tonight’s meal adds a third to my list, and it is all because of the soup.

The evening started with a couple of Maker’s Marks at the bar and a fun discussion with three ladies also waiting for a table. Our appetizer was a perfectly good bowl of feta-stuffed olives, and we had a glass each of the Ceaderville Syrah (2000? 2001?), a surprisingly good, even-handed, and flexible wine. After hearing the specials we both chose to start with the potato-leek soup.

Potato-leek soup is something of a staple in our kitchen. My wife makes it purée style and I make what is really more of a stew. We have definite opinions of what makes a good potato-leek soup. We both agreed this soup (puréed) was phenomenal, and argued over what gave it the sweetness. My wife argued it was the onions; I could have sworn there was a little corn in it. Much to my chagrin, it was the onions. Nevertheless, I would have been satisfied had the kitchen brought out the entire soup pot and put it in front of me. I never expect much from restaurant soups, but this one threw my general opinion on its head.

For our main course, my wife had the skirt steak, which was cooked well (that is, medium, and probably with a stick of butter) and a gratin that I did not get to try, but which she insisted may actually be better than hers. Maybe. I had a Riso alla ‘o-something (see Update #1), basically a non-tomato-based bouillabaisse with rice. The fish was a tad overcooked (dry), but the squid, clams, shrimp, mussels, and scallops were all perfectly done, and the broth was easily as good as anything else I’ve had short of cioppino, which doesn’t compare.

Quote of the evening: “Yay! I have tentacles!”

For the second time, dessert at The Waterboy was the low point of the dinner. That isn’t to say that the bread pudding or the apple crostino were bad - they were quite good, but they didn’t compare to the other courses. Often, a restaurant will make up for lackluster food with good desserts (or at least desserts that attack your sugar craving head on); The Waterboy has no such need to do so.

This meal was the kind of meal that makes me miss my old friends in Portland, people with whom I’ve shared many a meal and even more bottles of wine (some good, some bad), people for whom I have cooked and with whom I have talked food. People who understand my obsession with Iron Chef. This kind of meal, that left me with a pleasant buzz from both the food and the wine, ought to be shared with those who know me best. It was an excellent intimate evening with my wife - but we did end up talking about absent friends.

I do need to talk about the service: impeccable. The hostess made sure to let us know that, even though the seating was running late, we were on her radar; the bartender was chatty but efficient; the busser was always there to fill my water glass; and the waiter clued in early that we were the kind of people who talk to our waiter, trust his judgment on food, and consider our waiter to be an integral part of the dining experience.

In short, if you go, and potato-leek soup is the soup du jour, give it a try. Provided you like such things. And bring your credit card. You’d be crazy to be walking around with that much cash, but it is worth every penny.

Update #1: I believe it was called “Risso alla ‘Onda.”

Update #2: I can’t forget to mention Genoa in Portland, which is in a class by itself and which really is about the entire “experience” of dining there.