Cafe 5-Ten: New Location, Culinary Heights

A new restaurant is doing the best food in Spokane. OK, so Cafe 5-Ten is not exactly new. It relocated to a larger space last summer, in the old Cafe Roma restaurant.

There, Michael Waliser has the room to realize his considerable ambitions. Waliser — who started his career here at the fondly remembered Amore, before moving on to Fugazzi, Bountiful Foods and Huckleberry’s — has always been a good cook, but with his new place he has truly become a great chef.

This isn’t praise I dish out casually. Rather, it’s based on several virtually flawless meals, making them among the most memorable I’ve ever eaten in Spokane.

Last weekend, with icicles glistening on the atrium windows, the dining room felt festive. Votives flickered on the linen tablecloths. Cool jazz played over the sound system. People were dressed up for parties.

I’ve heard some grousing from readers about 5-Ten’s uncomfortable metal chairs, the high prices and the noise level when there’s a full house.

But the only complaint I have about this self-dubbed “American bistro” is that I can never get past the tempting daily specials.

The main menu, which is being revamped, seems too broad. There’s a $13 burger, shortribs, curried lamb patties with Cuban black beans, steak and lamb, some pasta dishes.

Nothing in this eclectic lineup ever sounds as good as the specials, though.

Last weekend, we started with sauteed oysters served on top of grilled bread with a pretty red pepper aioli. It was like an open-faced po’ boy. The lightly breaded oysters tasted briny fresh and the coating had a touch of cumin that goosed them up a bit. There was a nicely dressed salad piled in the middle of this fine plate, so the dish served double duty and we skipped the greens.

If you do order a salad, they are definitely big enough to split between two people, something the kitchen doesn’t mind doing. (I certainly hope the new menu has a simple, small dinner salad as an option.)

Of course, I couldn’t help stare longingly at a neighboring table’s sauteed calamari appetizer. This squid starter has become as ubiquitous as deep-fried mozzarella. But at 5-Ten, they do it right, with lots of garlic, chili flakes and a hit of lemon as a bright finishing touch. It’s simple, but done well. (Though it does seem to be given more attention some evenings.)

For the main courses, I ordered off the fresh sheet: a grilled double-thick pork chop with port sauce. I talked my tablemate into trying the baked sea bass. “But baked fish is so boring,” he whined.

Oh, not if it’s cooked correctly. This firm-fleshed fish was perfectly prepared: flaky and moist, lightly seasoned. It was paired with a subtle citrus-chive sauce. That might be what I like best about Waliser’s cooking: He doesn’t rely on gobs of butter to make the sauces taste good. Those intense, concentrated flavors come from reducing made-from-scratch stocks, and from judicious use of herb-infused oils. They allow the great tastes of the food — the fish and meats — to shine.

The sea bass sat atop velvety mashed potatoes, which were seasoned with a smidge of truffle oil, giving them an exotic (but not too far-out) edge.

With the tender-crisp green beans and sauteed leeks on the side, the combinations of flavors and textures added up to a perfect plate. And that’s not something that happens every day.

You might think I would be suffering from entree-envy, but mine was just as wonderful.

My chops were well-seasoned and seared almost black, but inside the meat was juicy and succulent. The dark, deeply flavored port sauce really enhanced the flavor of the chops, as did the just-right risotto with dried bing cherries.

I was only sorry I couldn’t clean my plate. Even with taking half my dinner home, I still couldn’t fathom eating dessert, though the list sounded enticing. Pastry chef Dorothy Hooper, along with talented sous chef Jeremy Goldsmith, put together an interesting mix of both old-fashioned and elegant treats that can include caramel apple pie, cherry-almond bread pudding, a chocolate pot de creme and something they call the Cafe 5-Ten Bombe: cake layered with gooey stuff and covered with chocolate ganache.

I might chalk up last weekend’s magical meal to some sort of culinary fluke if I hadn’t experienced at least three other near-perfect repasts since the new Cafe 5-Ten debuted.

The very best dinner I ate anywhere this year — and I’ve been around to some food meccas in 2000, including New York, L.A., San Francisco and Seattle — was this incredible tenderloin special I tried last fall.

Imagine the most savory slab of beef you’ve ever eaten and then turn that up a couple of notches. Is your mouth watering yet? But here’s the shocker — this tenderloin was poached!

Yeah, and how can boiled beef possibly taste good?

By gently simmering it in rich veal stock, it’s infused with concentrated flavors and the meat doesn’t toughen up under the flame of the grill. It was an absolute knockout, especially when paired with the decadent savory bread pudding that was loaded with Gruyere, cream, fresh herbs and toasted pecans. Oh, baby.

Fortunately, that special is graduating to the main menu, which Waliser plans to launch in January. The pork chops will be on there, too.

On another evening, both featured specials were game dishes — a bold move, even during hunting season. But, hey, we bit.

A buffalo ribeye was terrific. It tasted exactly like a great beef steak, but was leaner. You didn’t feel overstuffed after eating.

My grilled rabbit came with handmade noodles in a chanterelle mushroom sauce. It was good, but I think rabbit lends itself better to braised dishes; it was on the chewy side. And the noodles were a little shy of those wild (and expensive) mushrooms. I don’t mind paying extra for the exotic ingredients, but show me the money — I mean, the mushrooms.

At lunch, I’ve enjoyed the smoked chicken salad, tossed with raw sweet corn in a vinaigrette bolstered by Oregon blue cheese. Of the inventive sandwiches, I like the roast turkey club with sliced Granny Smith apples, smoky bacon and mayo spiked with green peppercorn and sage. And I appreciate that they serve lunch on Saturdays.

With the move last summer, Waliser also finally has a liquor license (the other location was too close to a school), so you can order cocktails, beer or wine. The wine list isn’t long, but there are some good choices. Among the best food-friendly whites are the Caterina sauvignon blanc, a bargain at $14, and the stellar L’Ecole semillon. I’m also a big fan of the Ravenswood zinfandel. (It’s worth noting, there’s now a hefty $15 corkage fee if you bring your own bottle.)

So, this place has got it going on. From the polished waitstaff and hard-working kitchen crew to the inviting ambiance and the exceptional eats, Waliser finally has put the pieces of his delicious pie together.

This sidebar appeared with the story:

What the ratings mean: **** Excellent *** Great ** Good * Fair

Cafe 5-Ten

****

Serving

Lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. Reservations are recommended, especially on weekend evenings.

The tab, etc.

First courses are in the $7 to $10 range, with entrees priced between $12 and $25. Count on spending around $10 for lunch. They take Visa, MasterCard and American Express, as well as personal checks. The dining room is nonsmoking and wheelchair accessible.

Staff map: Cafe 5-Ten