Elmer is a one room restaurant with an open kitchen that has been in business 2 years. One side of the room has large windows to the street; bench seating lines another wall that faces small tables set fairly close together. Above the bench is a shelf of decorative objects that add nice color and personality to the room. There are a couple larger tables in the center of the room that appeared to be offered for community and/or single seating. Another side is filled with the bar and service area with the final wall being a large opening into the kitchen. Hanging fixtures light the tables, no music is in the background, no clothes are on the table but a nice cloth napkin is placed for each guest. Panels of sound absorbing material hang from the ceiling which works well to keep the noise level very acceptable. At lunch they offer a 3 course, fixed price menu (with a choice on the main course and a cheese option for dessert) but also offer a la carte but the 3 course is a much better deal.
Mussels were out of the shell and in a broth of stinging nettles. Small croutons added crunch and a South American vegetable, “yacón” added a flavor like peas. It is a crisp, sweet and tubular root with violet undertones. It was an interesting combination of flavors that was very pleasant. Not earth shattering but fresh, different and tasty
Brown bread was very dense with a crispy crust. It had lots of chew and was quite moist.
Pork belly was a meaty piece and very moist. It was presented with thin sliced purple carrots, mushrooms, onion and other colors of carrots and then placed on a carrot purée. The mushrooms burst with flavor. It was a heavy course.
The cheese course was an option to the dessert. Two pieces of cheese included a nicely strong blue cheese and another mild one and came with a side salad. The salad was lightly dressed and accented with hazelnuts.
The pear dessert was chunks of pear with an almond biscuit and dulce de leche on vanilla cream. The biscuit/cake was nicely moist and quite good. The pear had some cinnamon on it but was not overly ripe and sweet. Overall it was good but not a huge sweet fix.
