The 2.5-mile long stretch of West Seattle’s Alki Beach can be daunting when searching for a culinary destination worth the outing. A mere 12 minute drive will get downtowners into the peninsula that is West Seattle, a “commitment” that is often saved for weekends or residents of the growing neighborhood that was once its own suburb. It’s the regulars to sandy eastern strip of the area whom benefit from this seemingly elusive exclusivity and its quietly opening culinary gems.
On the northern end of Alki — where Cactus Restaurant has held court for the last decade as the sole survivor on a block of revolving door neighboring businesses — now sits Marée Bistro, the lovechild of Francophile Chef Andy Dekle and enophile General Manager Megan Hartz that opened last May. The husband-and-wife duo leads a modest staff of servers, eager to share their favorites from Dekle’s ever-rotating menu and Hartz’s stellar French wine selection.
Housed in the defunct Cassis, where Dekle formerly helmed the kitchen and was a partial owner, Marée finds its footing in minimalist French country cuisine, where execution of these classic provincial dishes matter more than the varied grocery list of ingredients inside them.
After dodging drops on a soaked Wednesday night, we were greeted with all of the comforts and simplicity of a French café: mirrors, vintage French movie posters and an antique “Café-Restaurant Vin de Pays” wooden sign complete the restaurant’s décor, while the walls of the small bar seating area are adorned with framed timeworn tasting menus from brasseries in the French motherland. Louis Armstrong and Doris Day play from the speakers as we settle into our table next to the front wall of roll-up glass garage doors — a hot ticket for when the weather turns.
But for this season, cassoulet is the king of this chateau, the traditional meat-heavy white bean stew from France’s Languedoc region. Our server, who happens to be from this storybook area of Southern France, promises with a wink Chef Dekle’s rendition is nearly as good as his mother’s. Lucky guy if so the case: tender lamb, unctuous pork belly, house-made sausage and a full hind-quarter of duck confit join the brothy beans in Marée’s cassoulet, where the only thing missing is a couple flakes of salt.
Before diving into the carnivorous stew, we also lathered the savory-sweet house-made chicken liver mousse with a plum gelée onto fresh bread from Columbia City Bakery and forked leaves of frisee with house-cured lardons, garlic croutons and a soft-cooked egg in the salade Lyonnaise. We also enjoyed the lapin, a hard cider-braised rabbit loin, served with just-firm turnips and their greens, topped with a delicate but effective smoked apple salt.
Our Frenchman graciously — but judiciously — recommended gems from the wine list, several of which he imports himself as his day job. The highlight reel consisted of a limestone-happy, crisp and floral Sancerre (a match for the mousse), a charming and bouncy Burgundian Pinot Noir (which brought essential acid to the cassoulet) and a striking 2010 vintage Grand Cru Merlot-Cab Franc blend from a miniature producer in St. Émilion for the rabbit.
As if his recommendations were not enough, the entire near 30-bottle list is for sample – each wine on the menu available by the glass; a bottle of Premier Cru Champagne as the singular exemption. Hand-selected by Hartz, the comprehensive list dances across France, from sub-appellations of Burgundy and Bordeaux to the Rhône and Loire Valleys, with a few international nods at Italy, Spain and the States via California and Washington (DeLille and Quilceda Creek).
Come hungry: this style of food is not for the faint of stomach and should be consumed with leisure, loved ones and plenty of wine.
