Let’s Eat: Bainbridge Island food worth a ferry ride

Bainbridge Island is only 30 minutes from Seattle by ferry, and Seattle Times restaurant critic and Let’s Eat Host Providence Cicero says there are a number of island eateries that make the trip worth your time.

Providence recommends walking on the boat at the Seattle ferry terminal. Arriving across the water in Winslow, she says there’s a number of nice shops and eating spots within walking distance.

Here are a few of her favorites:

Restaurant Marche

Providence says this restaurant named for Cuisine du Marche, a style of cooking based on fresh daily local market ingredients, is the first restaurant for owner and chef Greg Atkinson, formerly of Canlis.

Greg and his wife Betsy run the operation, and when you visit, Providence says it feels like you’re stepping into their home.

“Betsy is the hostess,” says Providence. “She’s usually at the door in the evenings and she’s very gracious.”

Providence says the food is a mix of classic French styles with Northwest ingredients.

“His technique is just so perfect,” says Providence. “He’s such a skilled chef.”

Hitchcock

Hitchcock also focuses on locally grown ingredients, and offers a unique way for you to determine just how much you taste.

“The tasting menu at Hitchcock,” says Providence. “It’s a ‘set your price’ tasting menu. He decides what you’re going to eat and you tell him the amount you want to spend.”

Chef Brendan McGill will prepare tasting menus for $30, $50, or more, Providence says.

“If you want to pull out all the stops and say $125, impress me, he will create a series of dishes for that price,” says Providence. “When I ate that way there, it was a different experience.”

The Four Swallows

The Four Swallows is a Mediteranean restaurant in a beautiful landmark building, Providence says.

“It’s like an old farmhouse that has been beautifully restored,” she says. “It’s rustic and elegant and the food is excellent.”

The menu lists the local purveyors from which they source their ingredients.

“All of these places take full advantage of the enormous amount of farmers and growers and foragers that Bainbridge that has to offer,” says Providence.

Mora Iced Creamery
(Recommended by co-host Terry Jaymes)

The local ice cream shop, named on Food and Wine’s list of Best Ice Cream in the U.S., is definitely worth the trip, says Terry.

Providence seconds, saying it’s a great treat to grab for the ferry ride back.

Let’s Eat can be heard on 97.3 KIRO FM on Saturdays at 4 p.m., Sundays at noon and anytime ON DEMAND at MyNorthwest.com.