About 95% of the ingredients used at Matt's in the Market comes from its neighbors at Pike Place
I've never been to Seattle, but I've heard plenty of good things about Dan Bugge and Chester Gerl, the duo behind Matt’s in the Market. They were in New York last week to show off their skills at the James Beard house, where Chef Gerl served up shirasu ceviche and aji with pickled fennel slaw—dishes you’d likely see on the Matt's menu. Bugge, who owns the place, had loosened his tie a trifle by the time I met him—the kitchen staff needed help cleaning the last of the sea bream, and who better to roll up his sleeves and pitch in than a former fishmonger? Matt's is much more than seafood, though, despite its proximity to the famous fish-flingers: Gerl has taken to breaking down pigs nose to tail, making his own chorizo from them (which, I might add, balanced out his octopus course beautifully).
The next day, I met the fishmonger and the chef for lunch at my new favorite cozy spot, Joseph Leonard. I learned that Matt’s is known for its Bloody Mary with a snit and that Gerl is kind of a garden freak. As if they were his children, he proudly showed me iPhone pictures of purple, yellow, and green- and red-dappled heirloom tomatoes, along with some oddities he found at the Union Square Greenmarket (I’d never heard of ground cherries before). We also got to talking about his favorite hometown restaurants (Green Leaf for Vietnamese, Txori for pintxos) and travel memories (street food in Thailand, cooking with Rick Bayless in Mexico).
The point? These guys love food. And they know how to serve it. And you should go to Matt’s next time you’re in Seattle. A space that used to house five small tables and a nine-seat counter that looked onto the dish pit, Bugge has expanded Matt’s into a 59-seat powerhouse—and he’s much friendlier to tourists than old Matt was. They've got plenty in the works for the future, starting with their first wine dinner, featuring sherry, this Sunday.
Oh man! So sad we missed this spot. The Market was one of my favorite spots in Seattle -- even with all of the tourists and flying fish. Just another reason to visit Seattle again soon!