TASTE at SAM

New concept/look for TASTE

If you've followed over the years, the café at the Seattle Art Museum has gone through a number of changes. Not surprising, really. How do you best serve museum-goers and the neighborhood folks, other locals, tourists, etc. They're a diverse crowd. This time around, the TASTE staff are focused on making the café more accessible for museum-goers, and in the process hopefully creating a spot that attracts others as well.

General Manager Kristin White, who has been at TASTE for 14 years, has this explanation. "We're trying to make the museum, store, and  café a seamless experience. We've brought in art curated by the SAM gallery, added good lighting to show it off and brighten/freshen the room, and added vignettes of seating along the windows. Those are good spots to sit with a cup of coffee and your laptop: no need to hurry, take your time. We want people to relax." These 'vignettes' are brightly-colored chairs in different shapes-you feel kind of special sitting in them. Chairs at each table are white (it's a very white room), but each are shaped differently and quite comfortable. The curated artwork will change out every 2-3 months, so expect a different look each time you visit.

Executive Chef Josie Urbick (left) and GM Kristin White

"Food at TASTE has always been very high quality, local, seasonal and, when possible, organic," says Kristin. "With this change, we want to give people a quicker, more expedited, casual experience while still serving the same quality of food. We know a lot of local farmers; the ones we're using at any given time are listed on the menu. We want this café to support the community. We have a broad demographic: elders, kids, people here to see exhibits, people taking food to go, people stopping for a cup of coffee or glass of wine. We need to be accessible and offer plenty of choices."

Executive Chef Josie Urbick has been with Bon Appétit (management for TASTE) since 2008. She grew up in Mount Vernon and spent summers working in the fields before going to culinary school (Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale, Arizona), and has worked at Cafe Juanita and Lola. Her love of farm-to-table practices is a perfect fit for TASTE.

Entering through the front door on 1^st Avenue, the first thing you see is the grab-and-go cooler. Again, it's the same quality of food you get in the café, freshly made daily with local, organic, sustainably-grown foods. You'll find salads, sandwiches, seasonal items like roasted butternut squash salad in the fall, cheese, and charcuterie. There are vegan and vegetarian items, and local beverages. They also make pastries in house. "It's pure food," explains Kristin. "Ingredients are highlighted; things are made in-house." Items from the grab-and-go case can be consumed in the dining room to the left or the terrace to the right. Options!

A few steps further and you reach the counter where you can order off the menu. There are two soups (one is the classic tomato that has stayed on through most menu changes; it's that popular), and a seasonal choice. There are salads, flatbread, sandwiches (the turkey and tuna sandwiches are staples; turkey is roasted in house), a kids' pizza, and vegetable sides like fire-roasted cauliflower. Olive oil and spices (cumin, coriander and others) are heated until flavors start expressing themselves, then used to coat the cauliflower, and then into the pizza oven it goes until everything is caramelized. Wine by the glass is available (no spirits). A table shaped like an artist's palette holds compostable flatware and napkins. Off you go to choose a table, taking a beeper with you. Once your food is ready, the beeper lets you know and you pick it up at the counter, dropping the beeper in a basket. All serviceware and packaging is compostable. Menu items may reflect exhibits as well; for the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit, there was a Croque Monsieur sandwich, along with macarons and a shortbread cookie decorated like one of the Yves Saint Laurent designs.

Partitions holding the artwork at the far end of the dining room can be moved for private events. Behind them is a bar put in for one of the past concepts. TASTE has a liquor license, so private parties can use the bar and serve beer, wine, and spirits. Café hours mirror museum hours; open late on Thursday evenings, closed at 5 p.m. otherwise. The space is available for rent after hours. The museum store and museum itself are accessible through the back of the restaurant.

TASTE is well worth a visit (or two) whether you're at the museum or just in the area.

TASTE
at the Seattle Art Museum
1300 1^st Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
206-903-5291

www.tastesam.com/restaurant

Interior and food photos courtesy of TASTE at SAM

Connie Adams/November 2016