Dressed up in my undercover Belltown disguise on a recent summer evening (fooling nobody), I suffered from the guilt of the privileged--even though I'd probably never taste the food at Belltown newcomer ZoË if I weren't on assignment. At least that's what I tell myself to avoid the unending possibilities of shame: It's hard to really enjoy a $40--or $9 for that matter--bottle of wine while watching a deeply troubled woman screaming "BITH! HOAR!" at a one-legged pigeon for 20 minutes.
ZoË is another one of Belltown's middle-uppers, and it delivers the goods. It is hot right now--chock full of pretty thirtysomethings drinking pretty cocktails in BCBG, with gobs of foodies kibitzing over kibbles. But don't get me wrong: Competent food served by competent waitstaff is a genuine treat amid all the uneven possibilities out there, and ZoË's menu indulges the tiny gourmand inside me, despite any Marxist sentiment in my breast. Everything looks marvelous, and tastes so--and ZoË excels in Seattle's highly competitive seafood category.
Take, for example, their grilled wild salmon ($21). Far too often a sad, pink mess of stick-in-your-throat dryness, salmon's rich flesh, if handled properly, is moist and flavorful all on its own. Zoe's medium-rare fillet was some of the best to ever pass my lips--which is saying something, since I thought I was sick of salmon, having grown up on the stuff. I don't even know why I ordered it, except that I was intrigued by the roasted shallots and pale pink beets layered with fine, nutty French lentils and watercress. A sculpture doused in a citrusy browned-butter vinaigrette, it seemed a shame to topple it with the smear of crème fraîche. Spice-crusted pork tenderloin ($18), another incredibly rich dish, lacked a certain depth of flavor, but maybe I was put off by the barley risotto, Bordeaux-poached figs, and redundant curry flavor throughout. I know I'm being picky, but I longed for a more restrained complexity.
Backing up to appetizers: Grilled romaine salad ($7.50)--whole baby heads of lettuce, spiked with apple, bacon, and Roquefort--was a hit. The albacore tuna tartare ($9) dazzled me with its cooling cucumber coulis, which offset the tower of tiny cubed new potatoes and tuna, delicately spiced with a horseradish vinaigrette and topped with miniature greens. I can't think of a better summer snack, especially when paired with one of ZoË's many handsomely wrought cocktails from their rather unsettling "designer" drink menu. When properly mixed, drinks are a joy to behold, but it felt a little fussy and over-the-top to get hit with this name-brand cocktail business. (The upside of this excess, however, is the presence of non-sweet virgin cocktails for those on the wagon.)
Desserts rocked steady--not too pretentious or overwrought with sauce flourishes, and damned satisfying--and included seasonal fruit tarts ($6), deep-like-a-river flourless chocolate cake ($7), and ethereal sorbets ($6) ringed in fresh-baked spice cookies.
ZoË's chef, Scott Staples, thoughtfully selected some Northwest standards and crafted a crowd-pleasing menu. He brings it on home with the execution of these sure-fire favorites, throwing in a few distinctive dance moves on the way. The waitstaff, thankfully, lacks the terrifying teeth-grinding speed-freak tableside demeanor found at many culinary hotspots, although they are caught in a casual, elegant atmosphere that throbs with an everyone-proving-how-subtly-highbrow-they-are dynamic. What would be nice is a real mid-range restaurant and lounge with real good food--the kind of joint you can booze it up at without worrying about the proper placement of your napkin when getting up to pee.
Zoë
2137 Second Ave, 256-2060. Dinner nightly, Sun-Thurs 5:00-10:00 pm, Fri-Sat 5:00-11:00 pm. $$.
Price Scale (per entrée)
$ = $10 and under; $$ = $10-20; $$$ = $20 and up.
