Metro Pulse/Restaruant Rover/RESTAURANT

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Bogart
5032 Whittaker; Suite 4
602-3583

by Ally Carte

Transformation is a process, rather than a product. While that may seem painfully obvious in the abstract, in a 3-dimensional reality sort of way, it can be hard to step back far enough to see a linear, transformative process. Forests and trees rear their ugly heads again.

Bogartz, the new eatery fathered by renowned local chef Bruce Bogartz, is a good-looking forest—if we stop and take the picture this instant. It's a new place, a restaurant still in the process of transforming itself into what it is supposed to be. Right now, Bogartz is very, very, very good. Soon, hopefully, it will be great—a destination attraction tucked in the heart of Bearden.

The biggest thing Bogartz has going for it, of course, is its chef. Bruce B. has bounced around some of the finest kitchens in Knoxville and his experience at churning out tantalizing dishes has honed his skills razor-sharp. My predecessor, Miss Appetit, wrote veritable sonnets about the majesty of this chef's cuisine. And he's only improved since then.

The lunchtime Bogartz (the business) is a completely different place in spirit than the evening version. At lunch—which is served Tuesdays through Fridays—this two-story, wood-ceiling, strip-mallish room is done up with homey chintz tablecloths and lit by fluorescents. During the day, it's busy—all about getting food on the table quickly. At night (Bogartz is open evenings Thursday-Saturday), the candles and white linen come out, which formalizes the meal and makes the dinner more about the experience of dining.

The lunchtime menu, which, like the dinner menu, changes weekly, is full of sandwiches and salads with only a few full entrees. But these aren't the kind of selections you'll find at other luncheonettes. Here, a cured duck club with smoked bacon and pepper jelly ($10) nestles alongside a smoked troutcake sandwich stacked full of cabbage slaw and remoulade ($9) and a strawberry/blueberry salad with ricotta salata and mint vinaigrette ($7.50).

That afternoon, I sampled the Grill Salad ($9.50), a New York strip steak sliced and placed on a bed of mixed field greens, covered with grilled chunks of fresh corn, yellow squash, red pepper, mushrooms, onions, and dressed with a boursin ranch. The greens added just enough of a bitter bite to cut through the expertly grilled meat, and the veggies added moisture and crunch. And enough cannot be said about the rich, creamy delight of the boursin ranch, which played off the salad elements like Alison Krauss plays the fiddle.

Also lovely was the Portabello sandwich ($9)—a huge mushroom cap grilled just tender, placed on toasted bread, and topped with pesto, assertive goat cheese, perfectly chewy garlic spinach, and a generous slice of rich, ripe tomato. On the side were salty (almost overly so) homemade potato chips, fresh from the fryer.

Dinner, however, rose to yet another level of creative, well-prepared flavors. A flaky filet of seared wild salmon, topped with a rosemary mustard glaze rested gently on a bed of shaved, pan-fried potatoes and peppers ($21), and this diverse combination of tastes was simply divine. Also amazing was the pastrami-cured duck breast ($19), which was perfectly paired—both in texture and taste—with a dense, chewy rice cake and a rich, sweet, dried fruit compote. For dessert, a generous slice of cinnamon-y apple tart ($4) was topped with a ball of homemade lemon-ginger ice cream that was both light and powerful.

Vegetarians are also well served by Bogartz. The butternut squash, chantrelles, sage and truffle-oil pasta ($16) looked as good as the description sounds. And a plate could be constructed out of Bogartz' generous sides, which include garlic spinach, blue cheese grits and a rosemary-infused white bean concoction. And anyone on the other end of the dietary spectrum would enjoy the bourbon rib-eye with steak gravy ($21).

Like I said—the food itself is incredible at Bogartz, and proof positive that this chef clearly knows his way around the kitchen. And I have no doubts that this will—as the transformation continues—be a restaurant that will pull foodies from all over the Southeast, anxious to get the chance to try the great eats.

But there are some details that will need to be addressed before that happens, some incidentals that complement a great dining experience and that need to be as top-notch as the food. For instance, the service was more lackluster than one would expect when paying $20 for an entree. While I'm not saying that I'd expect the servers to chew my food for me, a general knowledge of what goes into the dishes, the ability to talk about same, and an appreciation of the customer's presence would move Bogartz one step closer to greatness. A smallish nit, perhaps, yet an important one. When coupled with similar lapses in other areas of presentation of Bogartz's inspired creations, the experience is not as rich a forest as it deserves to be.