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If you watch food TV, your impression of restaurants may be of intensity, stridency and some insanity. Nell’s is a study of the opposite. Chef/Owner Philip Mihalski is a man who has found his calling, loves it and works hard to share it with his guests every day.

Photo: Chef/Owner Philip Mihalski

As he explains, "Ingredients are the primary driver in menu development and recipes. We use fresh Northwest seasonal ingredients from local farms, as many organics as possible and foraged wild products." Spring brings nettles, fiddlehead fern and wood sorrel. Wild mushrooms populate dishes for 9-12 months. Wild fish is used exclusively. Ripened-on-the-vine berries and fruits come from Yakima. Nell’s menu gives a true sense of seasonality.

Loyal guests have carried Nell’s to their tenth anniversary (November 2009-October 2010). Along with the a la carte menu, Nell’s offers a five-course tasting menu which changes nightly. With seasonal changes, there are plenty of reasons to return frequently. This is also their fifth year of Chef Tribute dinners. Each year they choose five deceased culinary figures and pay tribute to them by creating a dinner from that person's recipes. "It’s been an interesting historical look at how European cooking has evolved over a couple of centuries and gives a sense of how American cuisine has gotten to where it is now: a melting pot of European, Asian and Latin American influences. We honor a variety of people each year, generally on a quarterly basis. We’ve done Julia Child, Auguste Escoffier, Gilbert Le Coze and Sheila Lukins from the Silver Palate cookbook. This year we’ll do Fannie Farmer—that cookbook was significant for a couple of generations."

Philip grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and attended Cornell University, graduating with a degree in Political Philosophy at 22. For 10 years, he sold real estate in New York City. Cooking is his second career. "I didn’t want to stay in real estate. Food and wine had always been an interest and I was a good amateur cook. I got a bottom-rung job at the Park Avenue Bistro in New York a month or two after it opened. It was a very talented kitchen, mostly French chefs. I shouldn’t have been hired; I had no experience. It was a hard job and super busy, but within a few months the restaurant received 3 stars from The New York Times." He attended a city college hotel/restaurant program, taking classes in the morning. After two years, he moved to the River Café in Brooklyn.

Through the college, he had the opportunity to work in France for six months at three top restaurants. "Demand is so high to work, unpaid, at these restaurants, that the kitchens are very international and full of talented, motivated people." He worked at Les Pres d’Eugenie for Chef Michel Guerard in southwest France, Royal Gray under Chef Jacque Chibois in Cannes and at L’Esperance for Chef Marc Meneau in Vezelay. At Les Pres d’Eugenie, there were 25-30 cooks. "You could spend an infinite amount of time on things. One afternoon, several of us wove baskets out of strips of vegetables," says Philip. "It was food as art. We painted vegetables with aspic. That is the pinnacle of detail and wonderful to experience, but you have to adjust to the economy of what you can do now." Along with cooking skills, he learned about work ethic and dedication to the trade.

Philip moved to Seattle after returning from France in 1992. "My first job was at Dahlia Lounge when Tom Douglas still worked the line; it was great to work in the kitchen with him." Philip worked every station from 1992-94. It was here that he made his acting debut in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle." They closed the restaurant to film and had servers as extras. When the director wanted food, Philip whipped something up. They rewarded him with a walk-on part taking Tom Hanks’ drink order. His line was only one word, but he still has a SAG card and receives royalties.

For the next 2-3 years, he worked at Marco’s Supper Club, becoming head chef. After leaving, Philip began catering and working at The Ruins where he met Ethan Stowell. They began catering together. In early 1999, he became sous chef at Saleh al Lago at Green Lake. Saleh had opened in 1982 and was beginning to think about selling. Philip was beginning to think about owning his own place. In September, Saleh closed and in the beginning of November the space was born again as Nell’s with Philip as chef/owner and Ethan as opening sous chef. Saleh has done Philip’s accounting for the past ten years and occasionally acts as host.

Nell’s has a great view of Green Lake, all the activities and summer sunsets. The patio seats 20-25 without being cramped and is a great spot to people watch. The dining room, even when full, allows guests to easily hear the conversation at their own table.

"After ten years, I’m still learning things. The beauty and curse of this business is that you have to be multi-faceted. You have to be creative and business-minded. You’re working with a perishable product and can’t make ordering errors. You work with the public, manufacturers, wholesalers. Good staffing is critical, but you can’t afford to pay huge amounts of money." Philip has never lost his interest in food and wine and the combination is what makes Nell’s special. Their extensive wine list has 350-400 different wines, including high end California Cabernets, French Burgundies and top Washington wines. "There are larger lists, but I think ours is one of the best in the city," says Philip.

"Continuing to do what we do as well as we can" is what the future holds for Nell’s. A new restaurant is on Philip’s mind: most likely another neighborhood spot, something more casual than Nell’s that fits with Seattle and how people look to dine. There’s nothing definite and no timeline, just something "sooner or later." We can wait, as long as we have Nell’s to enjoy.

Connie Adams/June 2010

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