New Blue Star Cafe Already Shines Bright

Dec 11, 1992

John Hinterberger

XX 1/2 Blue Star Cafe & Pub, 4512 Stone Way N. American. ($$) Dinner ($6-$10) 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday; until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. No lunch. (Weekend breakfast pending.) Beer, wine. Major credit cards. No smoking. Reservations: 548-0345. --------------------------------------------------------------- This may be a bit premature, but the birth was long expected and the infant appears to be healthy, so here goes.

The Blue Star Cafe & Pub, the brainchild of Steve Cohn of Consolidated Restaurants (The Met Grill, the Union Square Grill, etc.) has been in the works for months. I was as eager to sample its first fare as the surrounding Wallingford/Green Lake neighborhood.

What follows, therefore, should not be considered a full-fledged review, but a preview of a brand-new place constructed to look old. A series of first impressions - almost all of them favorable.

Cohn is not a typical restaurant owner, and the Blue Star (it was named for the original name of Highway 99, the Blue Star Highway) was not a typical restaurant project, seeking to cash in on the latest fashions in food or marketing.

You will find no star-sliced kiwi or flower garnishes. There is not a single running foot of neon in the lounge. There is no television set in the spacious, dark walnut bar. And there is no smoking allowed anywhere.

As the bartender said to an inquiring patron Tuesday night:

"If I can't smoke, neither can you."

The place, which is on the corner of Stone Way North and North 45th Street, opened Dec. 1 and evening crowds were heavy right from the start.

The intent was to create a space that was classy, yet comfortable; a menu that was imaginative, but substantial - and affordable. Nothing on the menu would cost more than $10. All of that seems to have been achieved.

Seattle historian Paul Dorpat supplied old photos of the neighborhood, which lend a sense of time and antiquity to the restaurant. But there is another, more intriguing piece of art. An Art Deco poster from La Coupole in Paris (dated 1927) reveals what Cohn intended.

La Coupole is not Paris' most elegant restaurant - merely its most popular, accessible to all, wildly energetic late into the night. I knew, from conversations a few years ago, that Cohn was struck with what La Coupole stood for, and had said he hoped someday to translate it in Seattle.

The Blue Star is undeniably smaller, but it has lost little else in translation. It seems destined to become a Seattle institution.

Chef Greg Tushar's menu is brief but, like his girth, ample.

Appetizers include Roasted Garlic and Artichoke Dip with Toasted French Bread ($3.95), a variation on the popular baked artichoke, crab and mayo theme. Instead of crab meat, you get the nuggets of garlic with red pepper strips in a generous ramekin. It's a bold dish, perhaps too potent to serve as a starter.

Caesar salad ($3.25 for a small; $6.95 for a dinner-size portion) is excellent. It has a creamy, traditional dressing topped with fresh-grated "Parmesan" that is a surprisingly good South American import from Uruguay.

A very nice touch is the option of a half-order of Fettucine Alfredo with a Caesar salad for $5.95. Vegetarians will be ecstatic.

Other first courses and starters: Black Bean Chili, a soup of the day for $1.50 (we had a fine pureed cream of butternut squash with ginger), a massive order of fish and chips ($5.95 included four large fillets), or the Blue Star Hot Dog with grilled peppers and caramelized onions ($3.75 and worth a visit).

The menu gets interesting with its a la carte section and its nightly specials. Monday evenings an Orange-Glazed Roast Pork with Potato Pancakes ($8.25) is featured. It's a delightful dish, moist, perfectly tender (not easy with a meat as lean as loin of pork) and subtly set off by the citric saucing.

The following night, two of us split Lamb Shanks Braised with Beer and Onions ($8.95), a classic Belgian treatment. Other nightly features include: Seafood Risotto (Wednesday), Short Ribs Marinated in Stout with a Honey Glaze (Thursday), Braised Brisket of Beef in Zinfandel (tonight), Chicken Parmesan with pasta on Saturday, and Skillet Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits and Honey Pecan Butter on Sunday nights. All are priced at between $7 and $9.

The Pan-Fried Calamari Steak ($9.50) is gorgeously tender and flavorful, but mild. Beef Stew with Wild Mushroom (shiitakes) over Spaetzle is a fine idea, but the wine-laced beef on our last visit was slightly overcooked and stringy.

The ravioli (made by Dave Brown at Carso's) changes nightly. We split a plate stuffed with minced Thai shrimp pureed with ginger and scallion in a peanut-ginger-red pepper sauce, garnish-ed with two huge prawns.

Tushar's desserts are commendable; he started his career as a bakery chef under Karl Beckley at the old Green Lake Grill.

The Blue Star is just getting started in a culinary sense; regard its 2 1/2-star rating as minimal and strictly preliminary. Within two months, this will be a tough place to get into - any night of the week.