As someone who focuses on fresh, local, seasonal and organic ingredients in my family meals, I am always delighted when the restaurants I dine at do the same. This is what you will find at Chef Ethan Stowell’s restaurant called Mkt., located in Seattle’s Tangletown neighborhood. This intimate restaurant offers a creative menu that highlights the best Pacific North West ingredients with a major emphasis on seasonal offerings of vegetables, meat, fish, and grains. Every dish was beautifully prepared and tasted remarkably clean and fresh. The chef let the ingredients speak for themselves, embellishing them with just enough sauce or seasoning to accentuate their fresh seasonal flavors, not overpower them. The large variety of vegetable dishes was a plus for me. It seems many restaurants concentrate on carbs and protein leaving vegetables as an afterthought. Not Mkt., there are many lovely vegetable dishes to choose from made from seasonal ingredients grown at nearby farms.
I’ve been hearing a lot about Chef Ethan Stowell and his remarkable restaurants Staple & Fancy and How to Cook a Wolf, but had not heard much about Mkt. This restaurant is outstanding in such an approachable and friendly way. Every aspect from the decor to the menu is straight forward and clean. Nothing is over done or fussy. Just exactly the perfect vibe for a relaxed dining experience that is still very memorable. The dishes are designed to be shared so my husband and I did just that. We enjoyed the Rainbow carrot salad, the Purple sweet potato croquettes, Penn Cove Mussels, Rainbow Trout, and for dessert a perfectly rich and creamy Chocolate Budino, (thick Italian pudding) that was so intensely satisfying it was the best ending imaginable to one lovely meal.
The amazing food and well constructed menu are not the only high points of Ethan Stowell’s Mkt. The informative and friendly staff compliment the entire dining experience. They are approachable, kind, and very attentive. We chatted with the servers who were very knowledgable about the menu and the other Ethan Stowell restaurants. The chef shared stories with us about a recent trip to Thailand. My husband and I enjoyed the food, wine and conversation very much. I highly recommend Mkt. It is no wonder that Food & Wine Magazine just named Ethan Stoewll one of the Best New Chefs in America. Congratulations Chef Stowell, this honor is well deserved. I just hope we can still get a reservation at your restaurants now that all of America will know about Seattle’s own rock star chef and restaurateur.
Learn more about Mkt. or the other Ethan Stowell restaurants at www.ethanstowellrestaurants.com