Q & A with Chef Matt Dillon

Q. Please tell us about your restaurants and bar.

A. The Corson Building

It's more of a destination restaurant, since we only serve dinner three nights a week. We bake our own bread, we do all our canning, pickling, preserves, jams and sauces, and curing fish and meat. On Friday, it’s a small, hand-written menu inspired by the writings and philosophies of Angelo Pellegrini. On Saturdays, we just do one seating and it’s these huge, rich sort of feasts. Huge multi-rounds of food, all family-style, big feast that lasts a few hours. Then on Sundays, we get a pared down version, like a family dinner. The other night, we just served beef stew and then trout and chicken cooked on the wood oven outside and almond cakes for dessert.

Sitka & Spruce

It’s an everyday kind of restaurant and pretty simple food. We buy responsibly raised products from wherever we can find them.  Most of the influence is Middle Eastern cuisine, North Africa, and Southern Spain. I like the philosophical part of that food, which is just a more interesting way to eat, lots of small little things, the mezze. One of the things that's really great about Sitka is that we source really interesting and unique ingredients. We only buy whole animals, so if I get one pig in and a few chickens and a little bit of fish, that's plenty, since we really are moving to a more vegetarian heavy menu. Our taco nights on Mondays are some of the best Mexican food I've ever had.

Bar Ferd’nand

It’s cocktails, aperitivi and digestivi, glasses and bottles from family-owned, small production bodegas from all over the wine-producing world. The food is like Spanish sardines out of a can, local cheeses, or oysters.

Chef’s Recs

Chefs | Amaryl Schwertner @ Boulette’s Larder

She’s a mentor and we have very similar philosophies about food. I haven't met a greater mind in the food world than her.

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Chef’s Recs

Find | Ingredients

Alvear Sherry Vinegar

It's really a great dry and a sweet sherry vinegar. We rest meat in it and we use it in dressings. I use it kind of like you would squeeze lemon over something.

Rapio Black Rice

It's a really beautiful Italian floral rice. We recently made ice cream with it. We get it from a guy named Howard Case who is in the Bay Area.

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Chef’s Recs | Seattle, WA

Find | Markets & Food Stores

La Lupita in Belfair

We buy taco shells from them. They are just good and small.

Lam’s Seafood Market
They just have really neat products, a lot of the interesting things that you don't see very often.

Melrose Market

It's like a micro version of the Ferry Terminal Building. We have a butcher [Rain Shadow Meats], a wine shop [Still Liquor], there's a really great flower shop [Marigold and Mint] that also sells produce from their farm, and then we have a really great sweet shop in here. It's probably the best foodie central place in the city for sure.

Wong Tung Seafood

Nobody knows of this place. It’s where we get a lot of our crab, spot prawns and other shellfish. They buy direct from fishermen that are out on the coast. They're really inexpensive and nice people and they're just not known.

World Spice

We buy a lot of spices from them for the restaurant and it's kind of the spice trail if you will.

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Eat | Restaurants

Where I’d Take A Visiting Chef

Maneki

It’s the oldest restaurant in Seattle, a Japanese restaurant. It happens to be my favorite place to eat. I really like the Black Cod Collar cooked in miso.

Paseo

It’s a Cuban sandwich shop with little pork sandwiches that are really amazing.

Off The Beaten Track | Little Uncle

It’s a little walk-up window and they do really great Thai street food.

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Recipes

- Whole Beets with Pickled Rose Petals, Sumac, Caramelized Butter, Yogurt, and Dill

Recommendations

Details of Matt Dillon’s recommendations for where to eat and shop in Seattle, WA.

City Guides

- Seattle, WA: Download

- Portland, OR: Download