Small dishes that let you try many things.
We had hoped to make it in to Seattle in time to line up for Elemental, but given that we had only arrived at the hotel at 4:30 (Elemental opens at 5), that wasn’t happening. So with our back-up plan in effect, we had our choice of Joule or Poppy. Originally, I had intended to hit Poppy up for happy hour, but decided instead to go for the full meal. Glad that I had made that choice.
Poppy‘s thali (small dish) concept is something I haven’t really seen in Toronto, and I’m very fond of being able to try as many things as possible at a resto. But many things all at once make shooting food porn difficult. So instead I went for capturing the concept of it all.
Light and crispy eggplant fries. Quite an interesting starter.
Cod fritters with a super-tasty smoked paprika dip. Really liked that smoky paprika.
September Veg Thali, clockwise from Top Left: Chanterelle, leek, and chard lasagne. Beet and huckleberry salad, cucumber-shiso pickle, eggplant walnut salad, warm leeks with taggia olive and savoury. Ricotta dumplings with king bolete mushrooms. Kale, oregano, and pine nut strudel and a cauliflower gratin with ginger, dill and sesame. Remember, this is one "plate"!
While there were repeats on the various Thalis (meat, veg, and four “Smali” options with 3/4 of the main thali dishes), there was so much variety. Of the thali options, we ordered both the regular and vegetarian Sept thalis and two Smalis that featured scallops and duck. Of note was the chanterelle, corn, and basil bisque. Very tasty soup. I also liked the eggplant and walnut salad… though nobody else did. The Beet salad was also one of my preferred dishes.
But wait, there’s more! On to desserts.
Warm nectarine deep-dish with muscovado ice cream. Good overall, but the high-note was the muscovado ice cream. So. Good.
Peach-shiso and chocolate mint chip. Peach-shiso didn't quite taste like the shiso we know, but that chocolate mint chip should definitely be ordered.
We also had the Lemon verbena panna cotta with huckleberries, but that was pretty terrible as panna cotta. Very dense with too much gelatin. However, the muscovado and mint chocolate chip ice creams more than make up for it.
You could peek through and see the kitchen from there.
On leaving the restaurant, we noticed that they had a garden in the back where they grew their herbs. We saw the shiso that had been plated with the ice cream earlier, as well as lavender and thyme. I’m sure there were more, but we didn’t stay to pick through it all.
Overall, a really fun and interesting dinner. Some hits, some misses, but you never have to eat too much of any one thing and get bored by it. Desserts were especially good. Definitely a worthwhile visit.
- Poppy 622 Broadway East, Seattle
More Poppy dishes on flickr
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