Our inaugural foodscapade turned out to be something new and quite different than any other restaurant I had been to in Seattle.
In trying to decide where to go for dinner, Tom suggested Poppy in Capitol Hill because they have an ex-Herb Farm chef. It should be noted that Tom has long pined over finding any opportunity to eat at the famed Herb Farm in Woodinville. Although that adventure was not for today, a restaurant featuring an ex-Herb Farm chef was the next best thing!
So what kind of food would Poppy be classified as - Ethiopian? African? (ha!) No, a quick search revealed it was "modern Northwest" cuisine presented in an Indian-style thali. What is a thali? It's a big plate that contains samples of various food presented on smaller individual plates. Being that I will try anything once, I was excited to check out this new dining experience.
Upon arriving at Poppy, I was afforded an ample amount of time to observe the restaurant's decor since Tom was steadfastly determined that he was going to find free street parking, no matter if he had to go 4 or 5 blocks away from the restaurant to do it (hint: this area can get fairly busy in the evenings, even on weeknights, so parking can be difficult to find). As such, the decor appeared IKEA-esque shrouded in a dim light rather than cushy and luxurious, but it was comfortable-feeling nonetheless.
Once Tom made the trek from his car to the restaurant, we were seated and given our menus. There was a "regular" meat-containing thali and a vegetarian version, both of which had a daunting number of dishes listed in their respective descriptions. It all looked fine to me, so I ordered the vegetarian thali and Tom ordered the meat one. I also ordered the eggplant fries to start, since I had read several people rave about it.
As it turns out, the eggplant fries were the star of the show. They were served crisp and piping hot and drizzled in a buttery, salty, yet sweet sauce which instantly reminded me of kettle corn. I could hardly tell that the fries were even made out of eggplant. It was pretty amazing!
Eggplant Fries
Eggplant Fries
Unfortunately, the thalis did not live up to the same level of deliciousness as the eggplant fries. As daunting as it was to simply read the contents of the meal on the menu, it was even more challenging for my tastebuds to take in all the different flavors that each dish presented. Perhaps the dishes are better eaten in a certain order, but randomly sampling each one seemed to just end up mixing the flavors together in odd ways. I did enjoy the minted melon and tomato salad; the sweetness of the melons and sourness of the tomatoes played off each other in harmony. The cucumber kimchi was a miss as it lacked ingredients in traditional kimchi that I was use to and ended up tasting like pickled cucumber that lacked spice. I really liked the cauliflower gratin with ginger, dill and sesame - the top had a nice crunchiness which gave way to creamy, cheesy innards. And while I was excited to have a fried stuffed squash blossom as one of my dishes, I was disappointed with the strange aftertaste of the cheese filling.
Top: vegetarian thali; Bottom: meat thali.
Overall, both of us neither loved nor hated the food and felt that Poppy was just okay. I think I would give Poppy a second chance, but I'd only order a la carte from the menu instead of the thalis. At $32 for the meat thali and $30 for the vegetarian version, I'd say it's more economical to pick and choose what you think you might like. The nice thing about Poppy is that the menu does change fairly frequently, so its great for those who like to keep trying new things.
We passed on the desserts and opted to walk down the street to Dilettante Mocha Cafe and Chocolate Martini Bar. We shared a pretty good Chocolate Rendezvous cake, nothing revelatory though. Next time I'll have to try one of the chocolate martinis!
622 Broadway East (at Roy)
Seattle, Washington 98102
(206) 324-1108
538 Broadway Avenue East
Seattle, Washington 98102
(206) 329-6263
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