Skip to main contentPhilippe Boulot's marriage of French-country and bistro cuisine with Northwest ingredients won him a James Beard Award in 2001. Sometimes it's easy to see why: A salad of peppery arugula and sweet Oregon berries, topped with a sachet of soft cheese, is a quiet little wow, as is an appetizer of chilled halibut over avocado-stuffed wontons. Cheese and wine lists are solid, and the exhibition kitchen is nice, bolstering the Heathman's rep as a power-lunch, Dad's-paying kind of place. But then comes a dull entree of black cod and grilled vegetables, and the restaurant's weaknesses come through: an uninspiring dessert list (flourless chocolate cake, crème brûlée, etc.), service ranging from cheerful to perfunctory, and a generic setting that harks back to the bad old days of anonymous hotel dining rooms. The Heathman's handsome "tea court" just outside the restaurant's entrance shows what the room could be. At its best, Boulot's food transcends its surroundings. (KA)
WWeek 2015