inspired by Sicily

Tonight I had a business dinner with out-of-town guests at a restaurant called La Medusa in Seattle. It's a casual but elegant place in the up-and-coming Columbia City neighborhood. They serve "Sicilian-inspired" food in a storefront kind of osteria. I was curious about it, since we traveled a lot in Sicily and were certainly inspired by the food there.

We started with a plate of a soft warm flat herb bread with fresh figs and some kind of fig relish (whose exact composition I didn't catch) that was quite tasty. An insalata semplice was just that—very simple red leaf greens with shaved parmigiana, not very exciting but palate cleansing. A grilled pluot salad looked more interesting but I didn't sample it.

For primi, we had three dishes and shared tastes: spaghetti con le sarde; a risotto with corn, fava beans, and crabmeat; and a pasta dish called trofiette with lemon and bottarga (mullet roe).

I recommended the spaghetti con le sarde because it is the signature dish of Palermo and quite delicious, and have made it a few times since experiencing it in Sicily. There are many different versions of it, of course, but they all represent a magical blending of cultures that is evident throughout Sicily (not just in the food, but in the language, architecture, attitudes, and culture in general). At various times in history, Sicily has been conquered and ruled by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Moors, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, and Romans, and you still see traces of all of those civilizations on the island.

Spaghetti con le sarde is made with fresh sardines, fennel, onions, currants, pine nuts, olive oil, and saffron, all tossed in the pasta. Hungry yet? This version, to me, was a bit tame and not particularly authentic, lacking some of the robustness of flavors it should have, but quite good nonetheless. The risotto was also very nice, subtle and perfectly cooked, perhaps a bit on the shy side, and not Sicilian in the least.

The trofiette were the best of the three. It was described by our server as light and delicate and it was that, but wonderfully flavored with (if I were a food writer I might even say redolent of) lemon in a sparse sauce and just a hint of the bottarga sprinkled on top. This was an inspired dish, because of the simplicity and fragrance of the ingredients, allowing them to make themselves known without overpowering.

The wine list was small but sophisticated (and expensive) as far as I could tell, not being much of an oenophile. We had a bottle of a Dolcetto d'Alba, from Piemonte (in the north of Italy near where we lived), which was assertive yet not dominant, with a nose of...oh, puh-leeze. Anyway, it was a good red.

For dolci there was a chocolate cherry biscotto served with vin santo, a slightly sweet wine typical of Tuscany. The biscotti were a bit fussy for the vin santo because you are supposed to dunk them in it, but delicious nonetheless. Also good were a bowl of fresh strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries served with a bit of whipped cream. I had a perfect espresso, ristretto come in Italia.

All in all, even if it wasn't a truly Sicilian meal, it was a wonderful dining experience with excellent food and perfect service (attentive and knowledgeable, yet not hovering). La Medusa is true to its word: Sicilian-inspired food.

Comments

forget the disclaimer:
(if I were a food writer I might even say redolent of)
you are a food writer, we both know it.
these chronicles prove it.
now, get to work on my website!
once again i am locked out of my email account, so i have to talk 2 u here

just wondering, do you eat in between the meals that you chronicle? or are these adventures sustenance in and of themselves...?

love your mumma in