Originally published April 18, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified April 21, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Restaurant review
Dulces Latin Bistro in Madrona: How sweet it is, but pricey
Sixteen years ago this month, Julie Guerrero and Carlos Kainz opened a small bakery-cafe in West Seattle called Dulces, Spanish for "sweets...
Special to The Seattle Times
Sample menu
| Roasted red pepper ravioli | $12 |
| Dungeness crab custard | $13 |
| Duck with lavender pork sausage | $27 |
| Paella | $27 |
| Rack of lamb | $29 |
Dulces Latin Bistro
1430 34th Ave., Seattle
206-322-5453; www.dulceslatinbistro.com
Reservations: Accepted.
Hours: Dinner, 5-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 5-10 p.m. Wednesdays- Saturdays.
Prices: $$$$
(appetizers $6-$13, entrees $22-$29).
Drinks: Full bar; formidable wine list spans Europe and the Americas.
Parking: On street.
Sound: Good for conversation.
Who should go: The wine-obsessed and well-heeled neighbors.
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard.
Access: No obstacles to access.
Sixteen years ago this month, Julie Guerrero and Carlos Kainz opened a small bakery-cafe in West Seattle called Dulces, Spanish for "sweets." The name was especially apropos because it was Guerrero's gift for desserts that first put the couple on the food-lover's map.
After a move to Madrona in 1995, the cafe evolved into a full-fledged bistro. While Kainz concentrated on building an impressive wine list, Guerrero wowed the dinner crowd with her seafood-packed paella, chorizo-plumped ravioli and Dungeness crab custard — still highlights of Dulces' menu.
In the mid-'90s, Latin cuisine was just gaining a foothold in Seattle; Dulces predates Bandoleone, Andaluca, Harvest Vine and Tango. Then sophisticated Dulces was a novelty in the neighborhood. Now Madrona harbors many such stylish bistros — Cremant, Coupage and St. Clouds among them.
Is Dulces keeping up with the pack?
Yes ... and no.
Certainly Dulces is a congenial, well-run establishment. From the moment you walk in the door, it is clear that everyone's chief concern is your contentment. Guests are greeted warmly, usually by one of the owners. Service is faultless without being stuffy. The chef herself might refill your water glass or deliver your soup.
In the relaxed, romantic dining room, ripe tomato walls meet ruby velvet drapes that not only inject drama but also create seclusion for the kitchen and bar. Conversation thrives at well-spaced, white-clothed tables, even on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, when a pianist plays standards on the baby grand. The lighting is so subdued, one customer was given a flashlight to peruse the small print on the hefty wine list.
That international wine collection is another of Dulces' charms. The list has breadth, but also depth, with many affordably priced bottles. (Every Wednesday, all bottles are discounted 25 percent.) It's a little slim on by-the-glass choices, but half bottles are available — though you have to get all the way to the end of the 31-page tome to find them.
The pleasures of dining at Dulces extend to some of the bistro fare that borrows from Spain, Mexico, France and Italy. The food satisfies in an everyday sort of way; it's the prices that are hard to swallow. No doubt the $28 foie-gras-stuffed burger at Coupage has raised the bar for menu prices in Madrona, but there's nothing quite so audaciously delicious on the menu at Dulces, where $28 is the average entree cost.
Paella is noteworthy for its complexity and subtle smoky heat. The firm, ruddy rice reveals chicken, chorizo and seafood. Mussels and clams; lots of tiny, rather elastic squid; bay shrimp; and bits of soft white fish turn up. Use the lemon wedge provided to add some sparkle.
Zarzuela also benefited from a squeeze of lemon. This seafood soup lacks the paella's punch, though the flavors are similar. The peppery tomato broth suggests saffron and Spanish paprika, but bay scallops far outnumbered their mates — shrimp, clams, mussels and firm white fish, all tiny or bite-sized, as if scaled to match the petite scallops.
Sea scallops tempted from the fresh sheet one night. They were sautéed with halibut cheeks and meaty oyster mushrooms — but the dish would have been better off without them. The mushrooms gave the buttery, thyme-flecked white-wine sauce an appealing, gravylike quality; the cheeks were meltingly tender, but the scallops were rubbery and undercooked.
The fresh sheet also yielded rabbit-stuffed sage ravioli, unaccountably dull even swaddled in garlic cream sauce. A much better choice is chorizo-filled red-pepper ravioli, served with a lively, pale-green cilantro and tomatillo cream sauce that complements the bold flavor of both pasta and filling.
Those zesty housemade ravioli deserve their perennial spot on the menu, as does the Dungeness crab custard. A frilly phyllo cup cradles succulent lumps of sautéed claw and leg meat planted in garlicky custard. Every luxurious bite is a joy. Same for the vibrant roasted-red-pepper soup, and a beet and romaine salad scattered with toasted Marcona almonds and topped with a pungent slice of Spanish blue cheese.
I couldn't muster as much excitement as my dining companions for chewy, pine-nut-crusted veal scallopini in a tame Romesco sauce, but I adored the elegantly simple duck, a tender, impeccably cooked breast escorted by a terrific, lavender-flecked, grilled pork sausage. A simple sauce of sweetened pan juices echoed the lavender and set off the duck's appealingly gamy character.
When entrees approach $30, it's fair to expect some creativity on the plate. But the starch and vegetables accompanying most entrees lacked imagination, and sometimes even finesse. A "risotto cake" served with the duck was not risotto at all; it was fluffy long-grained rice blended with cheese and pressed into a dull patty needing salt. Rice with tomato sauce, or just plain rice, came with other entrees; most also sported some combination of steamed squash, carrots and green beans; colorful, crisp-tender ... but ho-hum.
The silver dessert tray, on the other hand, never gets monotonous. Indulgences such as German Chocolate Cake or lemon mousse cake — divine layers of vanilla sponge interspersed with fluffy lemon mousse — prove Guerrero still has a talent for sweets.
Recently Kainz offered dessert on the house. "To celebrate our 16th anniversary," he explained to the surprised customers. It was a gracious gesture from a couple of consummate hosts.
Providence Cicero: providencecicero@aol.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
We're awash in great fish-and-chips spots
Dining Deals: GreenGo Food: "fast food with a conscience" in Ballard
Happy hour | Union offers fine dining at happy-hour prices
Guest bartender Mike Meinke at Vessel

2009 fireworks time lapse
With strict parking rules enforced at this year's July 4th celebration on Wallingford Ave North, less cars and more spectators filled the streets.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
Tax tips for new independent professionals
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sports car/coupe? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Former NFL MVP McNair killed
- Russell Branyan, Mariners fight off the Red Sox
- Palin takes to Web for hints of political future
- Fourth of July festivals and fireworks in Seattle, the suburbs and beyond
- Landmark Smith Tower mostly vacant
- The Blotter | Man pistol-whipped after argument at nightclub
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Desert-lobster dispute turns pair into sagebrush heroes
- Larry Stone | Mariners deserve big All-Star contingent
- Palin resigning as Alaska governor
771 - Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox: 07/05 game thread
245 - Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' and blasts media in Facebook posting
104 - Former NFL MVP McNair killed
102 - Hatred for the NBA runs deep, but don't take it out on the players
93 - Tukwila residents rally against light-rail noise
83 - Property taxes: Appeals shoot up is King, Snohomish Counties
74 - Tent City on campus: UW stalls decision
59 - Mariners score unlikely win over Red Sox in battle of bullpens
58 - Anti-tax rally in Olympia attracts about 1,500
41
- Plasma and LCD beware; OLED screens ready to go mainstream
- Merchant Marine veterans fight for recognition
- Property taxes: Appeals shoot up in King, Snohomish Counties
- Hard times for tourist towns means good deals for travelers
- Close-up | Prison guards intercept carrier pigeon with a cellphone
- Pre-grill drill: marinate steaks
- Concert Review | Green Day blasts off 4th weekend with KeyArena show
- Amtrak cleared for 2nd daily train to Vancouver, B.C.
- Lake Washington's sockeye run may hit a record low
- The People's Pharmacy | Estrogen mimicker found in sunscreen










