It's elk season. There are antlers, and not much else, on the wall; some flickering candles in an empty fireplace. The curiously warm starkness of Santacafé's dining room gives both diners and the flavors in their dishes the space to express themselves. And tonight, more than anything else, the elk speaks. Medium rare, in sensuously moist slices arranged around a new-potato leek gratin, softly accented with kernels of sweet corn, the elk tenderloin is an autumn gift, grainy but subtle. A small basket of elegant jalapeño sourdough precedes the meal, accompanied by some perfectly whipped butter (clearly someone has meditated on the precise texture of the smallest detail-the butter-and it shows). With the famed patio desolate on a crisp early fall evening, softly chatting groups
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and whispering couples huddle indoors. But though the restaurant is full, there seems to be a hush. Surely someone is savoring the crisp but still meltingly soft diver-scallop tempura and has lost their tongue, or is contemplating the pan-seared Alaskan halibut, trying to put words around the perfect symmetry the fish creates with the fingerling potatoes, mushroom brood and chanterelle mushroom duxelles. There is always a quiet conversation happening at Santacafé; though it may be between the customer and the sophisticated waitstaff, or between the diners themselves, it is most likely between diner and dinner. Really, what else is there to talk about?
231 Washington Ave., 984-1788. Dinner nightly. $$$.
SFR Pick:
Grilled elk tenderloin with new potato-leek gratin, sweet corn, chanterelle mushrooms and dijon.
