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Fools and Kings is the second venture by Christian Gomez, a savvy wine aficionado and crafty chef who also operates Wet Stone Wine Bar & Caf\u00e9 in Bankers Hill.<\/p>\n
The d\u00e9cor and cuisine reflect cities that captivated his heart over years of traveling the globe to places like Lima, Barcelona, San Sebastian and Buenos Aires. Although in crafting the menu, he didn\u2019t exclude flavors from the Asian continent.<\/p>\n
My dining companion immediately compared the interior of Fools and Kings to \u201cmany places\u201d he ate at when visiting Barcelona.<\/p>\n A dramatic mural of a handsome man relaxing in a chair and rolling a cigar greets you in the front breezeway, from which tables flow into a dining room adorned with old-world lighting fixtures, earthy wall colors and a tapas bar. Another mural in the back of the dining room shows stacked homes in what could be Greece, Italy, the Middle East or any antiquated place your imagination takes you. Both were painted by local artist Josh Hunter.<\/p>\n The wine list is focused and cosmopolitan, extending to an impressive medium-bodied Slovenian red boasting soft tannins. It paired beautifully to one of our favorite dishes of the evening \u2014 saut\u00e9ed shiitake mushrooms draped over burrata cheese.<\/p>\n The tannins were distinctly pronounced in a Spanish garnacha my friend ordered before he proceeded to a rebujito, a refreshing house specialty combining dry sherry with citrus and ginger. Also, if you\u2019re familiar with Gomez\u2019s sprightly fruit-loaded sangrias he makes at Wet Stone, you\u2019ll find them here as well.<\/p>\n A watercress-jicama salad dressed in lime vinaigrette would have tasted too bitter had it not been for the sweet and juicy grilled peaches incorporated into the scheme. Simple and enjoyable, a dish of roasted carrots interspersed with golden raisins was more interesting in comparison. It\u2019s listed under the \u201cbocaditos\u201d section, which translates to \u201clittle bites.\u201d<\/p>\n The carrots, stacked upon a bed of creamy za\u2019atar-spiked yogurt, were tender while maintaining their central crisp. Even better was the aromatic Moroccan spice at work, known as ras el hanout, which like za\u2019atar, can contain dozens or more spices. I\u2019d guess cloves, cinnamon and allspice were among the residents in this bewitching mix.<\/p>\n Another bocadito, tempura shrimp, suffered only when dipping the sweet, battered crustaceans into the intensely salty soy sauce. If there were other components hiding in the liquid, we didn\u2019t notice. They would have needed a low-sodium soy sauce to shine.<\/p>\n The same soy sauce reappeared as a half-bedding to ahi tuna carpaccio. We stuck mostly to the other side of the plate, where olive oil laid beneath the fresh, almond-speckled fish. Over the entire arrangement were cubes of outstanding duck mousse pate made by a local French chef. We snapped those up with gusto.<\/p>\n With soothing international music playing throughout most of the evening, we staggered our plate orders, which is exactly the relaxed approach to dining that Fools and Kings encourages you to do.<\/p>\n The back end of our meal had us digging into a curried chicken-potato flatbread and a quartet of Angus flat steak skewers. Those are from the \u201cspecial plates\u201d category, which also features Peruvian-inspired ceviche and a French-style charcuterie and cheese board.<\/p>\n The flatbread\u2019s Masaman yellow curry was tastefully complemented by cilantro oil, which further moistened the crust and the hearty poultry and potatoes on top. The construct tasted both familiar and exotic.<\/p>\n The steak skewers were wildly succulent, brushed or marinated with a Korean-style sauce similar to the sweet-salty-garlicky type you\u2019d find on bulgogi beef. It came with potato salad, which we agreed didn\u2019t have much going on. As my companion pointed out, Spanish-style patatas bravas potatoes \u2014 kicked up perhaps with spicy oil or roasted tomatoes \u2014 would have been the perfect player in this dish.<\/p>\n Fools and Kings is off to a fine start. And knowing Gomez\u2019s penchant for hunting down reliable wines and balancing dishes with dynamic spices and ingredients, the international flair he brings to Goldfinch Street is sure to keep cultured diners on their toes.<\/p>\n![\"Multi-national](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/web-Watercress-salad.jpg\")
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I reached for my last couple sips of the Slovenian wine to wash down decadent bread pudding that behaved more like dark-chocolate lava cake. Served piping hot, the cocoa flavor was deep and luxurious, as were the smears of fruity guava paste sitting alongside.<\/p>\n