Donier Makes Kaspar's One Of Seattle's Best

Restaurant review

XXX Kaspar's, 19 W. Harrison St. Northwest-Pacific Rim. ($$$) Lunch ($6 to $11) 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays only. Dinner ($13 to $19) 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; until 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday except for catered events. Lounge, full bar. Major credit cards. Access for disabled. No smoking. Reservations: 298-0123. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Kaspar Donier, to put it bluntly, is still a genius.

The thought occurred to me midway through a mouthful of smoked tomato soup. And again as I took a hearty bite out of a classic onion tart. Then there was a Jambalaya that would have made Cajun heavyweight Paul Prudhomme weep with envy.

Donier, Swiss-born and trained, came to Seattle after prestigious tenures in Vancouver, B.C., and Houston's Inn in the Park, with the blue-chip Four Seasons hotel chain. He open Kaspar's By the Bay at the top of the First and Cedar Building in 1989 and, in the words of his Canadian-born wife, Nancy, "became the best-kept secret in Seattle."

Not entirely secret. Donier (pronounced DonYAY) was nominated best chef in the Northwest in national James Beard competitions twice, in '91 and '92. And probably should have won.

He moved his base of operations from Belltown a month ago, taking over the former Le Tastevin location on lower Queen Anne (a block up from Duke's) after an extensive - and gorgeous - remodel (the nature murals by Mary Fields are worth a visit all by themselves).

Usually, a restaurant takes up to 90 days to adjust to new accommodations, kitchen layouts, ovens, etc., but Donier's genius, to use the word again, is in full flower right now.

"Flower" is appropriate. Every plate is garnished with a sprig or blossom from some herb, from multiple varieties of oregano to, so help me, Turkish Tarragon.

"As good as the herb farm," said a friend after a weekend dinner, "and maybe better."

But Kaspar's is about much more than fancy floral garniture. The substance of this cooking is sheer, imaginative simplicity - the combining of bold elements in tantalizing complements, rather than mere daring juxtapositions.

Terrific appetizers

You start with a basket of three kinds of freshly baked-in-house breads: recently, wafer-thin, crisped and brown Italian flat bread, a walnut rye and a tomato-rosemary whole-wheat roll. In addition to a corrugated ribbon of unsalted butter, there's a small tub of a smartly seasoned black bean puree that looks like caviar and tastes like Santa Fe.

Appetizers ($6 to $8) are an important introduction to the menu. The Polenta ($7) is a minor masterpiece. The white corn meal is dressed with an almost Asian treatment of stir-fried strips of lamb in a subtly spicy sauce of basil, sun-dried tomatoes, red pepper flakes, mint and a hint of Marsala.

The above-mentioned tart ($7) is a miniature pizza coated with caramelized Walla Walla sweet onion rings, dollops of chevre and herbed with silver thyme. The Salmon starter (also $7) is unusual in that it is more like a Native American firm cure than the softer lox-like slices currently popular; it has a seductive smoky sweetness and comes with a gorgeous vegetable terrine.

Scallops best entree in years

Entree prices are a pleasant surprise ($15 to $19) and as creatively presented as the appetizers.

Like: Grilled Tenderloin with Primavera Mashed Potatoes and Marsala Sauce ($19), Roast Breast of Muscovy Duck with Kalamatas, Capers, Sage and Grape Leaf Rice Bundles ($18) or Sea Scallops Sauteed with Spicy Bacon Sauce and Mushroom Couscous (also $18).

The scallops, as I told the server upon being asked, was "the single best entree I've had in Seattle in at least five years."

The couscous was chock full of sliced portobella and button mushrooms and so heady with earthy fragrances that the first taste was like a blast of a forest morning. Alongside were two vegetable servings: an aromatic, crunchy heap of white corn kernels in a curried cream sauce, and thinly julienned carrots in a delicate fennel-butter glaze.

The scallops themselves (six large sea scallops) were sauteed to a light golden brown around the edges, but marshmallow tender inside. Delightfully fresh, they were set in an assertive, yet light cream sauce laced with tiny ribbons of crisp bacon, a hint of red chilies and a bed of spinach chiffonade. Overall was a spray of violet oregano buds and blossoms.

In a word: incredible.

Kaspar Donier has moved his restaurant into the front rank of Seattle's very best dinner houses. (Copyright, 1994, John Hinterberger. All rights reserved.) John Hinterberger, who writes the weekly restaurant review in Tempo and a Sunday food column in Pacific, visits restaurants anonymously and unannounced. He pays in full for all food, wines and services. Interviews of the restaurants' management and staff are done only after meals and services have been appraised. He does not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.