I don’t typically take people out with me when I do a review. Oh sure, I’m willing to “scope out” a restaurant before hand with a friend or two but when it comes to the actual review, I prefer going commando (And not in the way you are thinking). It’s nothing against other people I just feel more relaxed when I can sit and scribble notes and not have to worry about whether or not I’m keeping a person entertained. But when the time came to review Harvest Vine, I knew that I had to invite someone along with me. The reason for this change in my M.O. is due to the way that food is served at Harvest Vine. You see, being a tapas restaurant, many of the dishes would arrive as small plates of this or that. Left on my own I most likely would have sampled two or three menu offerings and called it a night; with my friend C in tow, I could easily double that.

We started dinner off somewhat late, for me, by arriving at 6pm. I highly recommend an early dinner when visiting Harvest Vine as most Seattle residents prefer to sup closer to the seven-ish mark. Since we arrived early we only had to contend with one other table (Actually at the bar) downstairs in the main dining area. More closely resembling a basement the dining room was decorated with olive green paint, exposed wood tables and the ends of wine casks poking out from strategic points along the wall. All this gave the space a warm, cozy nook feel. Our waitress poured our waters after presenting us with our paper menus. Taller than wide, they are printed each day as the menu changes with the seasons and the local availability of ingredients. For our Tuesday night dinner we began with a tomato salad.

Ensalada de Tomate ($8.00) to be exact. A square dish arrived packed with trimmed and halved petite tomatoes. I hesitate to call them cherry tomatoes because of the wide variety of sizes. While there were no large “slicer” tomatoes there were plenty of tiny grape tomatoes along with plum and cherry sized fruits. Like a jewel box the tomatoes glistened with a flavorful and fruity olive oil. Scooping a few tomatoes onto my plate I stabbed at them with fork, greedily stuffing them into my mouth. Each size of tomato held its own flavor secret from tangy to mild to sweet. Adding to the flavor profile was a sprinkling of a fresh herb and garlic mixture.

At the same time the tomatoes arrived our second dish of the night also appeared, Plato Jamon Serrano ($11.00). Serrano ham is usually one of my favorites when going to a tapas restaurant, really any restaurant for that matter. I love the concentrated, salty, heady flavor of the air cured ham from Spain. Unfortunately the ham slices we received were akin to paper and not in the good way of its sliced thickness. Overly dry and lacking in flavor, I ate my fair share of the served “plato” but I didn’t relish it as much as I have in the past at other establishments. One saving grace for it was a quick dip in the leftover olive oil from the tomatoes and then stuffing it into a small slice of the provided baguette.

Our next selection was a beautifully presented Espinacas a la Catalina ($6.75). If you have to eat your vegetables I know of no better way than this dish. Consisting of a small column of spinach that had been sautéed with pine nuts and golden raisins there was a faint smoky aroma that drifted up off the plate when it was sat before us. That smokiness continued with the first bite. At first a little hard to place it was after a review of the menu that the mellow, caramelized flavor of sautéed garlic immediately made itself clear. The spinach itself had been cooked to a very tender consistency and its natural sugars complemented by the addition of the golden raisins.

Somewhat late arrivals, course-wise, were our two cheeses: Nevat and Montcayol ($3.75/oz each). The Nevat was a goat cheese that had the typical goat tang and grassiness but also had a bit of graininess that I, personally, found a bit odd. A nice flavor, and perhaps something I’d spread on a cracker, but not a cheese that I would likely seek out on my own. The Montcayol was unique in its own way as well. This cheese was a cow’s milk cheese and had the soft, creamy consistency of butter. The surprise though was found in the first bite of this mild queso - peppercorns. While not overly abundant I did find that every bit of the cheese that I took a bite of held the warm, sparkly heat of freshly cracked pepper. “What a great combination,” I thought to myself.

Moving on our main selection of warm tapas we were presented with Ventreska Vanilla ($12.00). The vanilla came in the way of a unique sauce that dotted the plate that supported a good sized (For tapas) portion of tuna belly. Seared to a deep brown on the outside I initially mistook the lines on the meat for grill indentations. It was upon further inspection on my plate that revealed that the tuna belly is much like the belly muscle from beef, uniquely grouped and all running in a similar direction. The flavor was something similar to beef as well, not fishy in the least but hearty and meaty. This meaty flavor was tempered though but a light, sweet overtone of vanilla. While my companion mopped up extra sauce from the plate I struggled to identify each of the flavors. There was an herbal note similar to pesto along with a hint of citrus but for the life of me I could not place each of the individual flavors. Suffice to say the dish as a whole was well balanced and great tasting.

The tuna belly was not to be our only fish dish (At the end of the evening we realized we’d only ordered pescado and vegetables, for the most part. Healthy but not very adventuresome); we also dined on Perca con Trufas Negras ($18.00). Nearly entree sized this piece of black sea bass arrived wearing a beautiful golden brown dinner jacket. The exterior of the fish was quite crisp and flavorful while the inside remained moist with a hint of ocean freshness. It was interesting to contrast the flavors of the tuna, which were much more like a red meat, to the mild, subtle flavors of the sea bass. Presented on the plate along with the portion of fish were braised fennel and a black truffle, potato puree. I felt the fennel had been cooked a little too long as it had lost much of its crunch and signature liquorice flavor. While it kept some of the sweetness for which it’s known I felt that pulling it from the stove a few minutes sooner would have proved it to be a much better accompaniment to the fish. The potato puree, however, with its buttery richness was a nice contrast to the mild, white fleshed fish.

Last on the list, although it had not been delivered last, was an order of Vainas Salteadas ($7.50). Green beans, topped with a tomato sauce, are what this dish consisted of. Being larger garden beans as opposed to French haricot verts, these beans were substantial and cooked to a happy median between crunchy and overdone and limp. The tomato sauce that topped them was slightly piquant and creamy in texture similar in some ways to a thick tomato soup. While I found this dish acceptable, C was less than impressed with them.

I cannot lie; dinner at Harvest Vine is quite pricey. If you are looking for bar snacks (Which traditionally tapas are) at bar snack prices then one would do well to look elsewhere. The specialization at Harvest Vine is taking fresh ingredients, locally available in Seattle and transforming them with culinary prowess into bites suitable for combining into a sharable dinner. Last night’s visit to this tiny Seattle outpost of Spanish cuisine was only my second but each time, with a menu that changes daily, there has been offerings that impressed and satisfied.

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