INSIDE DISH

the ingredient combinations and presentations. (Ever had roasted radishes? If you order the very incredible Amishstyle pork chop, you will.) The best way to describe the food? You can taste everything. The flavors are distinct and clear; nothing tastes muddied. The dishes are executed with care and intention, with the inclusion of local and/or seasonal offerings as much as feasibly possible. (Chef says to look for ramps, fiddlehead ferns and other foraged items this spring.)

People are really responding positively to the menu, says Konish. Among those standouts is the grilled Atlantic octopus. Yes, octopus. There’s definitely a bit of a curiosity factor, for sure—it’s not exactly an ingredient most people will cook at home. However, it’s also an ingredient that’s really easy to overcook, but here, it’s expertly grilled and served with green olives, caperberries, grape tomato and pearl onions in a roasted garlic broth with just a hint of heat from Calabrian chiles. “People just love it,” says Beaver.

Other dishes leaving a lasting impression include the steelhead trout, which most people can’t believe isn’t salmon (the color and taste are somewhat similar), with a sweet potato goat cheese purée, roasted oyster mushrooms and a smoked trout caviar sauce. It wouldn’t be a fine dining restaurant without a short rib dish; this formerly inexpensive cut of meat has become increasingly in demand in recent years. It’s braised for more than 12 hours in red wine, and served with a kabocha squash purée and orzo, along with local ricotta with pumpkin seed. To say the latter is fork tender would be an understatement; it’s more accurate to say it melts in your mouth. Fettuccine is house made and served as a Bolognese with wild boar, another protein you don’t encounter every day.

But some are real winners that will undoubtedly take up something resembling permanent residence on this menu. (I, for one, am advocating for the beets and burrata dish, with creamy beets and earthy beets resting on some housemade rosemary sugar.) Indeed, since our interview, a few new dishes have already found their way onto the menu, such as Louisiana crawfish spaetzle, and another one, the duck with chestnut purée. “We’ve been using this crispy skin duck dish on our chef’s tasting table, and people love it,” says Beaver.

Oh, and about that chef’s table. The room you’ll dine in, if you opt for that option, is directly adjacent to the kitchen in a room loaded with a beautiful woodenbeamed ceiling. Expect seven