Marrow Kitchen & Bar

Last night this place was unbearably hot. It took forever for our food to come!  We ordered a take out dish only to find old shriveled up asparagus given to us.

This place can be a 4 star but not on last nights visit.

The jade cocktail is not a good one.the quinoa veggie burger is out of this world and so was watermelon salad

Turn the AC on people!

The dreadlocked server had smiles the whole time . She was a gem, but otherwise our experience was stressful

We finally got a sitter.

I gotta start with that seemingly irrelevant bit of trivia because Marrow Kitchen and Bar has an "absolutely no one under 21" policy. Don't get me wrong- I'm all in favor of this policy. It's fantastic to enjoy a sophisticated night out without any tears or high chairs. And so when we finally got a sitter we decided to take full advantage of date night.

Upon our arrival I took a moment to scan the bar while they cleared a table for us and was immediately excited to find the Art In the Age of Mechanical Reproduction liqueurs available. I had been seeking out the Root for awhile now. And even though Root was absent from the lengthy original cocktail list they had no problem making me an "Otis" (Root, bourbon, dry vanilla soda) from their winter menu.

My wife opted for her usual Dark and Stormy, but opted for (and enjoyed) the Rogue rum instead of Goslings. Apparently Rogue infused their rum with a walnut flavor that worked really well with the Ginger Beer.

For our entrees she had the Farrotto (risotto made with farro instead of rice) from the vegetarian menu. She was in heaven and commented on it's savory richness. And as a certified carnivore I must say that it looked really good. I, of course, had the wagyu burger with Iberico ham and duck egg. Normally I wouldn't order a burger at a place that has so many other interesting options, but I was swayed by the inclusion of Iberico ham (something I'd been wanting to try for quite a while now). All of the flavors of the burger played really well with each other- the wagyu was meaty, the ham was velvety in texture and smoky (somehow it was even better than bacon), the duck egg added a richness even if the texture was a bit gummy, even the mustard aoli and bitter greens (which wouldn't come anywhere near my "regular" burger) cut through the fatty richness of everything else. It was fantastic! And so filling- I tried my macho best and couldn't finish. The burger was served with fingerling potatoes, which I expected to be roasted but were a bit smashed and (fried?) to crispy perfection.

The service was perfect. Not intrusive, but more than willing to offer advice and guide us through the menu.

I'm not sure I could eat here on a weekly basis, but as they change their menu with the seasons to optimize fresh ingredients we'll definitely be back to see what's new each time. That's the best part of these types of restaurants. You know they can execute a great meal and you know that they're always looking to change things up.

As we were leaving our server informed us that on Wednesday nights they offer a $25 chef's tasting menu where new dishes are tried out and things get pretty experimental.

Honey, can we get that sitter again for next Wednesday?

Steve and I were out late one night. Goofing around. Then time got away from us and it was already nine in the evening. It is so easy to lose track of time in the Northwest during the summer since the daylight is up so late. We did not want to cook and our eating options were running slim since restaurants were closing. We were walking around and came across Marrow.
We walked in and were promptly seated. Cool atmosphere! Our waitress that we had throughout the night was very sweet. She had long, blond dreadlocks. Awesome waitress!
We ordered our food.
I got a dish that was fried cactus for my entree. Steve got a Quinoa dish.
One thing with eating at tapas bars and gastropubs is the size of an entree can vary greatly in size. I was hungry for a meal but my portions were relatively small to count as a full on meal. Steve's Quinoa on the other hand was a big dish and he had to take about half of it home.
The cactus was good, no doubt about it. I have had cactus several times before and it usually has a robust, rustic taste to it. It does not really taste similar to anything else. Perhaps I had a different variety of cactus but the one here at Marrow was much more delicate and light in taste. What made it so good were the two dipping sauces that came with it! I devoured my entree in no time. The Quinoa was good as well. Very fresh!
I would indeed go back but do have lunch earlier in the day just in case your portion is smaller than you may think or ask your server about portion size. They can help you navigate through your hunger well I am sure.