Nish N.'s Profile

Living in the neighborhood, I'm always excited to see progress and change. About a week ago, what was once Le Metro morphed into Metro Kathmandu; after my iNishal visit, I have a good feeling this will become a fixture of the North of the Panhandle scene pretty soon, for a variety of times and occasions.

The owners welcomed us in as regulars, this being an early Sunday evening. The menu, still a work in progress, focuses on delicious variations of Nepalese cuisine. It's all small plates, so order a bunch of dishes to share.

Both the chicken and crab dumplings are wonderful to start with, as our the potato samosas. We also tried a shrimp pakoda, perfectly fried and ready for dipping. I'd also recommend the lamb kebab, a very succulent dish, and my only complaint was that the portion was a little too small (that's the problem with serving really tasty food, I guess). Round out the meal with rice, some roti, and you're have a modern Nepalese feast in front of you.

The wine list is carefully selected as well, to compliment to the spiciness of the ingredients. We went with an rather excellent Gewurztraminer, for instance.

If you remember the old Le Metro, the interior has been redone, with strong touches of oranges and reds, as well as a sleek bar. I gotta say it works, it's sophisticated and subtle. What's also great to know, is that MK will be serving their full menu every night until 1am! How cool is that?  

For fans of the old Le Metro, don't fret, they still offer their casually excellent brunch service, complete with the old menu (more or less), and out-back patio seating.

MK is definitely a great "new" addition to the area, if see me there I'll probably be so happy that I'll buy you a glass of wine.

Having been somewhat of a fan of Winterland, the restaurant that used to be in this location, I was very curious to check out Cassis, and finally did so this past Friday.

While I loved the food at Winterland, I think the owners were a little ambitious in what they were trying to accomplish. Most notably, the pricing of entrees in the $20-30 really made it difficult for the regular diner, let alone locals in the neighborhood.

That's changed somewhat with Cassis, which mixes French and Italian styles to come up with a menu that is delicious but also accessible. The interior atmosphere - with its separate bar area and adjacent dining room - still is a gorgeous and inviting space. I'd recommend starting with a drink at the bar, then moving to your table.

Once seated, the friendly waitstaff will tell you some of the specials but on my first experience we all went with regular items off the menu.  While there are interesting appetizers, our party of three decided to split one of  brick oven pizzas. Cassis does it Neopolitan-style, and choice ingredients compliment the thin crust. We found out later that you can order their pizzas for take-out, and I can see that being a brisk business in itself, once word gets out.

For main courses, we shared the Veal Scallopini, the Filet Mignon and the "house specialty" Lasagna; all were prepared deliciously and had us all wanting to come back again to try out other dishes.

On the issue of price, the filet at $24 is the most expensive item on the menu, while pizzas - easily shared for 2-3 - are about $12-14. I'm hoping that this relatively affordable menu will allow more people to try out Cassis on a regular basis, since the neighborhood could really use a place like this. Living just out of walking distance, I'm still going to try and be one of those people.