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An Italian gathering around Belltown

Last month in Seattle DINING! we took a look at Ethan Stowell’s restaurant Union and how things have gone over the past three years. Clearly, things have gone well enough that Ethan decided his next move would be to open a modern Italian restaurant in Belltown. Calling it Tavolata ("to gather around the table"), he and co-owner Patric Gabre-Kidan plan to open in early November.

Ethan and Patric met while working at The Painted Table at the Alexis Hotel. They respect each other and have become good friends. They’re also both young and have a lot of energy to put into this new venture. But those aren’t the only reasons Ethan called Patric when he came up with his new concept. "He’s a lot smarter than me and I need to have people around me like that," explains Ethan. "He’s a numbers guy which is good and we have the same outlook on work—help people out along the way, improve the place you work and have fun. Also, I’m not always the easiest person to get along with (laughter in room) and we get along. We’ll always be friends."

Patric’s co-owner role at Tavolata will be in operations. This is somewhat surprising considering his background, but he’s always interested in doing something new. He’s been a pastry chef for the past 12 years, first at the Lakes Club (sister club to the Columbia Tower), then at The Painted Table where he also handled the pastry program for Tulio (both are Kimpton hotels). It was here that he met Tim Kelley, the executive chef, and Ethan. Moving to New York, he worked at Aquavit, then returned to The Painted Table/Tulio where he stayed for four years.

At that point he and a friend formed a somewhat nebulous plan and headed off to France. Although their time in France wasn’t quite what they had envisioned, Patric did work at a small hotel for seven months, then headed back to New York to work with Tim Kelley at Zoë Restaurant. He then moved to BR Guest where he was the pastry chef for all 13 commissaries. This was his most interesting job because it was about logistics. He was 27 and liked the challenge of setting up an infrastructure that allowed the making and delivering of quality desserts. Why did he leave? "One day I woke up and was done with New York," he says. "I thought about coming back to Seattle but the only job I would have come back for was with Tom Douglas. I called Erik Tanaka and found out they had an opening, so I came home." For nearly three years, Patric has been in charge of the Tom Douglas pastry/dessert program for all four restaurants, the retail shop, catering and the two theatres—Paramount and Moore. ‘I need the barrage of distractions," laughs Patric. "If it’s calm, I can’t get anything done."

Opening an Italian restaurant in Seattle is more than a whim. "Italian hasn’t been redone in a long time," explains Patric. "French and Asian foods have been huge. We think this is the next new thing and want to be in on it early." The concept is late night casual. As Ethan says, "We want it to be a place where you don’t think, you just eat. It will be reasonably priced; this type of food is less expensive to make, sharing is encouraged and we’re looking at younger diners who are out later. We also want to educate young diners about getting a better-quality meal."

Tavolata’s chef de cuisine is Randy Whiteford who came from Campagne. He’s been working at Union since July 2006 and has been involved in all the food program planning. "I think he’s one of the four best chefs in Seattle," says Ethan.

At Tavolata, they will be grinding their own wheat for pasta. They’ll also have 13 extruders, the machines that make different-shaped pasta. "Not all pasta can be hand made," explains Ethan. "Pasta like bucatini and rigatoni has to be machine formed. There are good dried pastas, but we just want to take it to a different level. Extruded pastas have more bite."

Besides being pasta-centric, Tavolata will offer items such as grilled sardines, antipasti, buffalo mozzarella salad, charcuterie and a very few entrees that will change frequently. "We’re updating the feel of Italian," says Ethan. "It’s not going to be a den-like atmosphere with heavy, rich foods. We’re lightening it up—it will be fun and hip. Italian food can be light. Patric and I are two young guys who aren’t living off any formula; we’re trying new things."

All Tavolata’s wines will be Italian with clean, crisp, fresh flavors. "There are great Italian whites," says Ethan. "We want to offer those lighter flavors along with the reds." They will also offer a full bar.

Photo: Randy Whiteford, taken by Bruce Dugdale

The focal point of the room will be a communal table that will seat 30. Patric is making it himself. "A lot of people don’t want to sit in the middle of the room at a table for two or four," says Patric. "So we’re going to take that space and make it the focal point of the room. If people can’t get a smaller table without waiting, we hope they’ll be open to sharing the larger table. And we’ll use it for large groups as well."

With their background, talent and energy, Ethan, Patric and Randy will offer Seattle a casual place to go for food that’s creative and well-executed. We can always use more of those.

Connie Adams/Fall 2006

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