In her blog, All You Can Eat, Nancy Leson did a great job describing a night at Seattle’s recently-opened Book Bindery which sits next to the ship canal on the north flank of Queen Anne Hill. Your typical big box warehouse this is not. Most of the footprint is taken up with the Almquist winery and distillery, but the end of the building formerly used to make books is now a restaurant. Not just any restaurant either. The space manages to be both casual and elegant and the food Shaun McGrain is sending out of the kitchen suggests that the Book Bindery is poised to slip past many of its culinary neighbors to claim a top spot in the local ranking of fine dining establishments.
Order a glass of the Almquist Family Vintners wine and start with the simply stunning Compressed Watermelon with Crispy Pork Belly and Garden Basil. At $12 it just might be the best appetizer I’ve had all year. Check out the food images posted on the the restaurant website for the full food porn picture of this amazing dish.
No doubt Seattle will deluge the Book Bindery so if you have the chance to book a reservation soon… do it. With nearly all the entree prices in the twenties, it is truly a fine dining find.
Then there is their decision to close Sunday night and stay open on Monday evening. This seems like a possible stroke of genius and insures them a steady stream of other chefs and industry professionals looking for a great place to go on the one night of the week nearly everyone else is closed.
