Toast of the Town

Before you finish reading this paragraph, pick up the phone and make a reservation at Santé. What is going on in the delightful restaurant next door to Auntie’s Bookstore is nothing short of extraordinary.

Our server suggested we try the seven-course tasting dinner ($70; $83 with each course paired with wine). That’s a lot of cash for dinner, and it was a little hard to relinquish control over selections — but the menu was enticing, and sometimes it is nice not to be in charge. We surrendered.

To toast our decadence, a glass of ice-cold sparkling wine quickly arrived to accompany our amuse bouche — plums from our server’s garden that the chef had dried and incorporated into an olive tapenade with a bit of walnut. Served on a slice of the meltingly good house-made baguette, the appetizer convinced us that we were off to a good start.

We were pleasantly surprised when two different first courses arrived. My white platter held a slice of Wapato tomato, a scoop of a meaty fresh mozzarella and crisp thin slices of the house-made baguette ($9 if ordered separately). This was a perfectly framed plate, with top-notch ingredients adding new interest to a well-loved flavor combo.

For my companion, the offering was a crespella ($8 if ordered separately), the Italian equivalent of a stuffed crepe — here done with a rich goat cheese and leek filling. A spoonful of tangy tomato confit with a drizzle of basil gastrique added not only beautiful color but also a bright note of acidity. The combination of flavors was wholly satisfying.

Course Two for my partner was a seared sea scallop with red pepper puree and lime emulsion ($11 if ordered separately). The bowl was just big enough to hold the sizable scallop, and a playful drizzle of balsamic reduction made this one of the prettiest plates of the evening. A perky spoonful of masago, orange-colored roe from the capelin fish topped the scallop. The scallop was sweet and perfectly cooked and seemed meant to abide in the gentle sauce.

Meanwhile, I enjoyed a cheese platter (“fromage,” $13 if ordered separately) including Point Reyes bleu cheese with apricot preserves, brie with thin-sliced crisp apple, and pecorino Romano with a slice of house-made salami. This was the first time we sampled the chef’s own preserved meats, and the salami was delectable. The house-made apricot preserves were also perfect with the earthy bleu cheese.

For Course Three, I was a little surprised to get the charcuterie platter, with some elements of my previous course. But who could complain about more of that salami? The duck prosciutto proved to be a revelation of both duck and prosciutto. The thin-sliced chicken terrine was so mild it was hard to appreciate among the other bold selections.

When I glanced up, my partner appeared studious and reluctant to make eye contact, as though he hoped I wouldn’t require a sample of his dish, the gnocchi ($10 if ordered separately). I immediately realized the reason for his reserve, as little pillows of the tender potato pasta practically dissolved in my mouth, aided by a buttery wine sauce with fried capers and basil. Here, the bacon — Italian guanciale — was crafted in-house from pork jowls. Sublime.

Salads offered a refreshing fourth course. My partner’s spinach salad ($10 if ordered separately) with Gorgonzola dressing was accented by some unexpectedly spicy nuts that gave it a nice kick. I couldn’t have been happier with the pear salad, which offered a whole different take on Gorgonzola, combining it with a delicate pear sauce ($8).

If you hadn’t noticed, this meal is not for those trying to lose weight.

The soup course arrived in cute coffee cups — a pleasant cabochon squash number, drizzled with crème fraiche and accented with a few watercress leaves — followed by a palate-cleanser of delicate pomegranate champagne sorbet.

For entrées, the chef sent out free-range chicken with a mushroom risotto ($30 if ordered separately) for my companion. The chicken was moist and flavorful, and the glacé added a bright note to the earthy risotto. This was comfort food, taken up a notch.

I was more than pleased with my wild Alaskan king salmon ($30) with dainty pea risotto. The faintly floral honey-mustard beurre blanc sauce was so civilized — a thing of beauty to look at and even better to eat — and a wonderful counterpoint to the wild richness of the salmon.

Finally it was time for dessert. The meal ended as it had begun, with small rectangular platters highlighting the simple presentation of small delicacies: light-as-air glazed madeleines and rich, moist macaroons dipped in dark chocolate, a luscious end to a fabulous dining extravaganza.

If you can’t swing the three-hour dinner, brunch is available daily from 8 am to 5 pm, where the house-made cured meats are showcased even better.

Consider the shirred eggs ($9, pictured above) with spinach, red-pepper confiture and pancetta. Or the Parisien sandwich: house-cured prosciutto with pear, brie, peach chutney and that delicious baguette ($9). There’s even a BLT for just $7, only a bit more than a Wendy’s burger — and when was the last time your Wendy’s sandwich included house-made cherry wood-smoked bacon, mustard greens and heirloom tomato?

If meat is not your thing, the restaurant also has a full vegetarian menu, with vegan items available on request.

It’s a testament to the quality of Inland Northwest food suppliers that Santé features many local ingredients on the menu — Quillisascut cheese, Small Planet tofu, Rocky Ridge Ranch eggs and Berkshire pork. And if you need another reason to feel good about at Santé, the restaurant will donate 1 percent of sales to the Main Market from October 9-25.