Text 10723, 87 rader
Skriven 2007-01-18 20:47:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: Sputnik 910
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You hear about this place, and there's an address, and
you sort of know where it is, but when you get there,
well, it's inevitable that you drive right past it.

You used to be able to find it if you know that it was
behind a florist's shop, but now the shop is gone. Now
there's a dim little sign, hardly visible. Pretty odd.
I am amazed the joint stays in business, because it's
never full (at least a couple times we've eaten there
with only a couple of other tables occupied in the
joint; plus it doesn't advertise or have a proper sign
with appropriate flash and neon and a cool logo so as to
encourage people to give it a try. Despite its decent
food and Wine Spectator award of excellence, it seems to
be content to fly underneath the radar.

You go in what looks like a tin shed and are assaulted
by what looks like the Jetsons' dining room, with
formica tables and plastic chairs overseen by a giant
chandelier that looks sort of like a satellite, hence
the name Sputnik Cafe. I could see this in New York
City, but out in the boonies of Crownsville, Maryland?
There's got to be a reason why this place is right
across the way from the state mental hospital.

The menu, on the other hand, is thoughtful and interesting;
a 3-course dinner special is offered, $35 for appetizer,
main, and dessert. Some of the most interesting dishes on
the menu are excluded, but some of the most expensive are
allowed. We ended up doing one special and one non.

Carol started with the oyster coconut milk soup; this was
essentially tom kha oysters with 5 giant shellfish; it
was unbelievably yummy. The Indian-spiced ribeye, which
was not exactly a Carol-type dish, and I'm surprised she
ordered it, was a bit underwhelming though, the spices coarse
ground, not burned enough, and sort of like coriander sawdust,
and the meat quite gristly (I got a wonderful tribute of
a couple ounces of beef and a couple ounces of gristle).

I had fried smelts (a rarity on menus), which were fresh
and fish-oily and crispy and served with a chipotle
mayonnaise, followed by a huge slightly underbraised
lamb shank that despite its resiliency (it was okay
that way) had a wonderful flavor of decent red wine
and carrots. When the cook came by for compliments, I
allowed as it had been a little undercooked, whereupon
Carol chimed in that that wasn't a problem, because I
prefer it that way, which is actually not so. Stewed food
I like very stewed.

The smelts and lamb shank were not on the $35 deal
but were pretty reasonably priced (if I had had a
dessert the total might have come to only around $35).

When dessert time rolled around, it turned out they
were out of everything except, I think, chocolate cake.
So Carol asked for another bowl of oyster soup instead,
which was cheerfully provided.

With the appetizers: for me, O'Hara Irish Red, a nice dark
flavorsome malty thing completely unlike what people in
the USA think of as Irish Red; for Carol, a pleasantly
cloudy semisweet sake whose name I forgot - it tasted
not unlike Momokawa, but it started with an N. With main
courses, the very attractive smooth cherry-berryful
Konstantin Frank Pinot Noir 01 (Finger Lakes) - I have
always considered Dr. Frank's wines the exception when I
say nasty things about New York State wines. Never had
the Pinot before, and it didn't disappoint.

Our waiter, Edan, took a shine to us, and when it came
time for the help to have their post-work drink, he asked
us if we liked Merlot. We said, sure, and he opened a
bottle of Beaumont Shiraz 02 (Windhoek, I think) - very
like an Aussie Shiraz, lots of that berry chocolate stuff
going on and not really like a Merlot at all.

Verdict: yes, if you're into really weird funky atmosphere.
Hope this place stays open for a while. Carol is reluctant
to go because she finds it expensive; but with the 3-course
deal, it runs cheaper than most of the fancy places around,
and the food is a good deal better.

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