Most things are relative. Sure, there are some things that everyone can agree upon: the sky is blue, water is wet. But many things, like restaurants drives, are always subject to debate. Let’s take for instance my recent trip to Mercer Island. While some may see it as a fairly close drive, I would argue that it depends on why you are driving there. For as long as I’ve lived in Seattle, I’d yet to venture over and it had been on my list as a potential neighborhood to live in when I researched living arrangements, prior to my move here. But as it happens I recently bought a new car and what better excuse to drive it than to visit a new part of town and it just so happens, that right off the interstate, was Mercer Island’s business district and Bennett’s Pure Food Bistro.

I will admit I’ve arrived on the scene late when it comes to reviewing Bennett’s but I’ve heard good things about since its opening and I wondered if it was worth the hype. The restaurant itself is easy enough to find once one has exited off the interstate and made it into “downtown” Mercer Island. Tucked into the first floor retail space of a condo building Bennett’s has plenty of parking and can be seen easily from the street. Upon entering I was struck by a feeling of a cross between a Beecher’s Cheese store and an upscale restaurant. One can pick-up a container of this and that from the cold case in one room and in the other, sit for a glass of wine and a meal. It was the latter that I chose and was given a seat next to one of the large, outward facing windows.

My trip to Bennett’s was later in the day so I arrived towards the latter part of the brunch service. While I’d read some reviews myself about Bennett’s I was not quite sure what to expect of the menu. It was short was the first thing that struck me as I flipped it open. Breakfast type items reside down one side of the menu and sandwich-y and lunch-type entrees down the other. The focus here wasn’t on diversity yet was on usage of local Cascadian ingredients. For myself I opted for the Turkey Meatloaf ($10.50). It arrived in something of a jumble, they only item identifiable by itself being the salad. The meatloaf and the “latke” were nearly indiscernible from one another except for the fact that the meatloaf wore a stripe of tomato chutney. It was this chutney that was the highlight of the mild, conservatively spiced meatloaf. Sweet, slightly spicy and tangy are the best adjectives I can use for the condiment. Had the loaf been made of more flavorful stock, like pork and beef, the chutney may have disappeared into the background but instead it stood out along with the melted cheese and chunky, caramel sweet onions topping the meatloaf slices. As for its partner, the latke, I have the same indictments - not enough seasoning. It’s almost as if the kitchen doesn’t believe in the existence of salt. And instead of a finely shredded potato as the composition of the latke, it had been produced from thick bits of spud that somewhat reminded me of what was left over after peeling a potato. The salad though was good, the greens fresh and crisp and dressed just right. The vinaigrette was tangy and pucker-y, a nice balance to the herbal freshness of the leaves of salad.

While a trip to Mercer Island cannot be compared to a drive to Bellingham or even to Auburn, one has to ask them self, “Is Bennett’s worth the trip?” In my opinion, with all the additive free, organic produce, locally grown ingredient-centric restaurant options that most people in Seattle have, I’d say no. What I think of Bennett’s is that it’s a great option for those residents of Mercer Island. If you live there and want a restaurant that uses quality local ingredients, then Bennett’s Pure Food Bistro is for you. But for the rest of us in metro Seattle, there are places just as good or better.