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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 2015)
Street 14 Café I In October, Street 14 Cafe began a week- end dinner service. And while just getting out of the gates, it’s been a promising start. Indeed, the meals I’ve enjoyed beneath the glow of that neon red “Coffee Shop” sign have been some of WKHPRVW¿QHO\SUHSDUHGIUHVKHVWDQGPRVWWDQ talizing I’ve had since taking over as the Mouth this spring. The transformation of Street 14 from cof- fee shop to cafe has been roughly three years in the making. Espresso enthusiasts Micha and Jennifer Cameron-Lattek bought the business in October 2012. Last December they ran a public ¿QDQFLQJFDPSDLJQWRUDLVHWREXLOGD QHZNLWFKHQDQGKLUHDFKHI,QFKXQNVRIRU PRUHSHRSOHFRQWULEXWHGZKDWDUHHVVHQWLDO ly zero-interest loans. Construction began this spring and was completed in September. $VGHVFULEHGLQWKHLU¿QDQFLQJSLWFK6WUHHW 14 hoped to “serve more locally and sustainably sourced foods” and that’s mostly what they’re doing. The menu’s list of sources includes some of the North Coast’s most renown producers like .LQJ¿VKHU DQG 1RUWK IDUPV 6NDPDNRZD Farmstead Creamery, Jacobsen Salt and more. Most everything but the animal proteins comes from the region. (Micha Cameron-Lattek says WKH\KRSHWR¿QGORFDOUDQFKHUVWRR And while you or I or anyone can take top- shelf, fresh ingredients and turn them into some- thing worthwhile, a talented chef can make them transcendent. And that’s what Andrew Catalano, who came up at New York’s illustrious Gramer- cy Tavern, is doing. At Street 14 chef Catalano is VKDUSDQGLQVSLUHG$VZHOODV¿QHWXQLQJKH¶V responding each week to what’s locally avail- able. That much is clear from the menus, which are printed anew for each Thursday-through-Sat- urday dinner service. One week, for instance, the Braised Pork Belly was accompanied by white beans, rosemary and sunchoke chips; the next it came with beans and preserved tomatillo. Thus far Street 14 appears determined to do only a few things and do them well. There were MXVW¿YHHQWUHHVRYHUWKHZHHNV,YLVLWHGWKRXJK ,¶G FRQVLGHU WKH 3RUN %HOO\ D VL[WK 7KHUH¶V EUDLVHG FKLFNHQ ¿VK EHHI DQG WZR YHJHWDULDQ options — at the time, a spaghetti with locally foraged mushrooms and a black-eyed pea stew. :LWKOLWWOHWRQRVWDUFK\¿OOHUVWKHHQWUHHVDUH designed to be coursed. (Which is to say: one en- WUHHLVQ¶WJRLQJWR¿OO\RXXS$ORQJIRUWKHULGH are a handful of salads, a trio of crustini, a few obvious odds and ends like bread, cheese and olives, and the lone appetizer, Seared Squid with ¿QJHUOLQJSRWDWRHV On each trip to Street 14, I had two dishes and cleaned every plate — both because they were delectable and modestly sized. I never left want- ing, nor syrupy and tired — indeed, I bounced out satiated in the afterglow, my tastebuds still 12 | December 3, 2015 | coastweekend.com twinkling. (But I may also have had a midnight VQDFNVRPHKRXUVODWHU ,VDYRUHGWKHOLJKW3HWUDOH6ROHDÀDW ¿VK IRXQG DOO DORQJ WKH 3DFL¿F FRDVW ,W ZDV lightly seared, dripping in brown butter and dot- ted with capers. While the edges were perfectly DQGHYHUVRVOLJKWO\FULVSWKHOLJKW¿OOHWVKDUGO\ required chewing. The accompanying fennel sal- ad was sharp, a briny exponent to the capers that WKHULFKURXQGQHVVRIWKHEURZQEXWWHUDQG¿VK were just enough to buttress. 7KHQWKHUHZDVWKH3RUN%HOO\ZKRVH OXVFLRXVULYHUVRIPHOW\IDWW\ÀHVKZHUHDVGHFD dent and drool-worthy as anything on the North &RDVW,WZDVH[TXLVLWHO\FRRNHGWKHVNLQÀDN\ and crisp, the innards so succulent as to defy gravity. In the bowl alongside the standing slab was a thin slice that would make traditional ba- con sweat with inadequacy. The white bean and rosemary mélange (along with tidbits of other greens I couldn’t quite make RXWSURYLGHGDUHIXJHRIOHDQHDUWK\GHFHQF\ against the almost gluttonously fatty, salty, de- licious pig. The wavy, quarter-sized sunchoke chips, however, added little to the dish that need- ed neither more salt or crunch. (Which may ex- plain why, the next week, they were no longer RQWKHPHQX My second visit began with the Marinated Photo by Joshua Bessex The Pork Belly and Beet Salad at Street 14 Cafe. %HHWV7KHEHHWVERWKWUDGLWLRQDOZLQHUHG and golden, were prepared in a way that mel- lowed without removing their essence — these were indeed agreeable beets. They were joined by arugula, hazelnuts and pickled rhubarb, on a bed of chevre, which too had seemingly been softened, perhaps whipped, the goaty bite eased. It tasted delightful as it felt healthy — and, of course, fresh. In the dark room, the nuts could be a bit of jolt. The more welcome surprise was the pickled rhubarb, which resembled a grand new mouth OF THE COLUMBIA COAST WEEKEND’S LOCAL RESTAURANT REVIEW Story by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA • mouth@coastweekend.com STREET 14 CAFE Rating: 1410 Commercial St, Astoria 503-325-5511 www.street14coff ee.com HOURS: Dinner is served from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday to Saturday PRICE: $$ – Entrees hover between $12 and $19 and are portioned to be coursed SERVICE: Knowledgeable and unpretentious VEGETARIAN/VEGAN OPTIONS: Vegetarians should do well, vegans can make it work. DRINKS: Cocktails, beer, wine, coff ee and espresso fruit. While marvelous, the beet salad was small and over too quickly. , RUGHUHG WKH +DQJHU 6WHDN FRRNHG to the chef’s liking. “Have him do his thing,” I said. “I’m not scared of a little blood.” It arrived sliced; the edges were caramelized and sprinkled ZLWKÀDNHVRIVHDVDOW7KHFHQWHUZDVWHQGHUDQG UDUH7KLVZDVDEHHIWKDWZDVTXDOL¿HGDQGWKXV allowed to speak for itself. It came with Brussels sprouts atop a subtle, creamy celery puree. As intended, the side dishes were evocative of the fall season. Like everything I ate at Street 14, the steak wasn’t trying to re-invent the wheel. The goal, rather, was to be perfectly round. The food was matched by the feel. It’s in- timate, hip but not radical. Street 14 would be DQ HTXDOO\ ¿QH SODFH WR FDURXVH ZLWK D JURXS and share multiple dishes or have a quiet date. Though the adjacent, essentially private sin- gle-tabled room could be a gas, the main din- ing area still resembles more coffee shop than restaurant, with those damned tall stools and chest-high tables. It must also be mentioned that the attentive service and pristinely prepared food I received came while the Street 14 was relatively empty. Indeed, the word has yet to get out. So for every bit that this is an exhalation it’s also an expecta- tion. Once pressure and monotony set in, here’s hoping Street 14 can remain in the moment. KEY TO RATINGS poor below average good & worth returning excellent outstanding, the best in the Columbia-Pacific region
