Crush, Seattle

I’d been reading and hearing about Crush for years, but every visit to Seattle was so planned out that an indulgence of that scale was impossible.  Not so for my 30^th birthday weekend in gorgeous Seattle!  I had three full nights to plan out and Crush was at the top of my list.

The restaurant is technically in Madison Valley, but feels like the backside of Capitol Hill.  A sweet Victorian house opens into a downstairs bar with open kitchen.  The style throughout is modern mixed with traditional and the sustainable food theme is carried straight through to the green glass and foliage decoration.

For our first course, we shared the steak tartare and ahi tuna crudo.  The steak was prepared two ways: chopped, with Dijon mustard and pickles in a sweet-savory combination that melted in my mouth, and as carpaccio.  I couldn’t say what cut of meat the carpaccio was, but it was fire engine red, generously salty and served atop funky chopped hard-boiled egg.  The tartare was most impressive when added to a toasted baguette slice, smothered in cippolini onion compote.  The tuna was an interesting foil to the steak because it was equally flavorful paired with far more delicate flavors: crème fraiche, compressed celery, and foam made from something sweet, maybe a berry.  There’s something about the richness of raw beef that is very satisfying.

Our second course was a show-stopper.  Never one to pass up foie gras (unless at French Laundry! Why!?) I was drawn to Crush’s unique preparation and appreciated our waiter’s suggestion to bring it as its own course.  It arrived lightly charred on a bed of clove cake, perfectly warm on the outside and room temperature on the inside.  Rather than a terrine, as is how many restaurants serve foie gras, we were savoring the actual “steak” itself, an unmatched decadence. 

My main course was highly recommended by the waiter and I was not disappointed.  Perfectly cooked duck sliced thin over a bed of root vegetables, Brussels sprouts and candied kumquats.  Across the board, the flavors were perfectly matched to the sustainable fish, meat and poultry on our plates. 

As we waited for a cab, we sat at the bar facing the open kitchen and chatted with the chefs as they shut down for the night.  The owner and maître’d poured us a few glasses of champagne to celebrate my birthday and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to celebrate!  The funniest part of the evening was our hilarious discussion about the California law banning foie gras, and our intention to return to Crush to satisfy our ridiculously indulgent appetite for it!