Wander This Way!
Stop what you are
doing and look at your calendar. Find a free date and make reservations for the
Wandering Table in the newly revamped Kendall Yards District of Spokane.
Chef and owner, Adam
Hegsted, and Chef de Cuisine, Ryan Stoy, deliver an over the top and truly
unique dining experience with their small plate/tapas style menu in this trendy
new must-visit restaurant. Striving to
use ingredients from within 450 miles of their front door, this local gem is
truly a home-grown treasure.
So here is the
story…On January 16th Jacque and I had to head to Spokane to deliver
Greg to the airport for an early morning flight. In what has become a Sklar family tradition, we
take the boys out for their “last supper” before it is back to fraternity house
food. For this meal we decided to
gamble with the Wandering Table - a restaurant we had heard about, but had
never been to. If meals were poker hands,
we were dealt a Royal Flush.
We arrived a little
before our 7:30 reservations and found three seats at the small bar at the
front of the establishment. I was
genuinely impressed with their liquor collection and even more impressed with
the libations and hand crafted cocktails offered on their menu.
Jacque had “The Valley”: a combination of Cherry Bourbon, Blood Orange
Liqueur, and lemon. I was tempted to try
“The Cannon”: a combination of Bourbon, Barenjager, Habanero
and lemon, but instead I opted to try one of the three Japanese scotches on
their shelf. I went with the 12 year old
Yanazaki that in taste more resembled a cognac.
Greg tried “The Lincoln Heights”,
which is Rye, Dry Vermouth, Amaro, Aperol, and lemon…he ended up with an Old Fashioned
after deciding “The Lincoln Heights” was
just not for him. Their creative combinations
strike a perfect blend between old and new - reason enough to visit the
Wandering Table.
Promptly at 7:30 we
were shown to our table, one of less than two dozen in the entire restaurant. Make
reservations. Before our server Ken
had come over to introduce himself, we had already decided on the “you choose
the price” option. They give you the enticing
option of trusting the chef and simply telling him how much you want to spend
per person. The one caveat is that the
entire table has to do this. This option
ranges from $25 to $65 dollars per diner.
I had originally intended on settling somewhere between $45 and $55, but
when I asked about the difference between the $55 and $65 dollar meals, the
glimmer in Ken’s eye told me that we had to opt for the $65 menu option. For $20 more we also added on wine pairings,
which I think was a great value and special treat.
Ken started us with
a Treveri Cellars http://www.trevericellars.com sparkling wine. (Here
is my only negative comment about the night: Traditionally when you are doing a
pairing menu, the waiter will give you more details about the wines. While all the parings were incredible, we
would have enjoyed more information about the wines themselves.) Treveri
Cellars is a winery that neither Jacque nor I are familiar with. I have subsequently learned that Treveri does
a total of eight sparkling wines and is located in Wapato, WA. The next time we are in that area, Jacque and
I will assuredly be stopping by for a tasting.
Our first course was
Baby Kale Salad, prepared with
crumbled bacon, candied pecans, sliced apples and lime dressing. While still enjoying the kale salad we were
brought out Braised Radish Brochette
with a little goat cheese and dill…who
the heck even thinks of braising radishes!
The braised radish reminded us of backed pear with cinnamon.
With our first plate
we enjoyed a glass of Va Piano Sauvignon Blanc, http://www.vapianovineyards.com/pages/wines.php?pi=42 that
had a hint of vanilla bean and green apple giving the perfect pairing to the
kale salad.
While Ken may have
been conservative with his details about the wine pairings, he more than
compensated with his keen perception and corresponding customer service. Seeing
Jacque’s disappointment when I told him that we did not want any shellfish in
the beginning, Ken decided to bring us out a small order of Fried Muscles in Cilantro Sauce. The muscles themselves were very small and
sweet according to Jacque; Greg suggested that it probably had some Sarrichi
and lime to it. This was Greg’s first go
at muscles and they were a winner…I of course stayed away from them.
Our next plate was Popcorn Cauliflower - (fried cauliflower
florets) -
Our next wine was a
chardonnay that accompanied my favorite dish of the night - Spaghetti Squash Carbonara, prepared with
a fresh
julienned green onion. This was
followed by fried, homemade Mozzarella
Cheese Curds accompanied by a honey mustard dipping sauce. These weren’t your normal breaded, frozen,
microwavable cheese sticks!
Now mind you these
were all small plates and servings, but we were already starting to get pretty
full, when Ken brought us an Empanada
with Smoked Carrots and Lentils inside the fine crust, with the outside and
plate drizzled with a cream cheese honey sauce.
Pinot Noir was next
that served as a compliment to Blackened
Albacore on a bed of what appeared to be fire-roasted squash. Delicious!
It was then to one
of my local favorite wines, Barrister’s Rough Justice, http://www.barristerwinery.com/#!our-philosophy/c1cdn a red blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet
Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our next dish was
their Roast Chicken Wings in a chili
caramel, with nuts, onions, and Thai apple salad. This is what I would probably get with the
cauliflower if I were to just stop by and sit at the bar for a drink and small
bite. Finally, our last dish before dessert was a satisfying plate of Beef Tacos with cilantro and bean
sprouts.
Desserts’ prelude was an 18 year Tawny Port. For dessert we had a double header consisting
of the Wandering Tables’ Pumpkin Donuts with
olive oil gelato and the Cinnamon Role
Bread Pudding with cream cheese ice cream.
We had a total of a dozen different dishes, not a single one with any
room for improvement. The service was awesome;
the atmosphere has a fun urban feel to it.
A definite must-do restaurant. Do it with a group, and do the Chef’s
tasting menu. Even though the $65 option
was a lot of food…do it! One more
comment: Uber it there so you can enjoy the wines and the awesome libations.$22
Thank you Wandering Table for a great culinary experience…looking
forward to future visits. No doubt we will be wandering your way again soon!
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