The Station Bistro

User Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Oh, my. What a wonderful meal. I found a list in The Stranger a few months back and was bound and determined to see what was hiding in my "hood". I had a few favorites and have found that I am less willing to drive to far flung places such as Wedgewood or heaven forbid Magnolia for a tasty meal. I do believe that good food should come to me.

So, finally, on this cold and dark winter night, I grabbed the least adventurous eater I knew and headed there. It was basically empty on a Tuesday night. The place is dark, very dark but also very inviting. I was very pleased to find that they had gone to the Re-Store and used the old Garfield blackboard for table tops. Chalk was provided and when asked, the eraser was delivered to the table.

The menu is short, sweet and to the point. One salad, full of things like arugula, fennel, grapefruit and paper thin slices of well aged Parmesan cheese. What the heck...... I will return again just for the salad. It was perfect. The flavors balanced each other to perfection. Someone has quite the razor slicer. Did I mention, the salad was perfect!

Next came the two entrees. I ordered the Herbed Risotto with winter veggies and my reluctant guest went for the Russian steak dumplings. They arrived quickly and with little fuss. Who knew that many different kinds of brown rice with whole pea pods, big hunks of butternut squash and cauliflower could be so satisfying. They were all cooked to perfection. Now this is not your little Italian restaurant risotto. This is RISOTTO. I think every Nona in Italy would approve.

The dumplings were not my thing. They were very tasty, the sauce, the whole package. I just am not a big dumpling fan. I would probably try the roasted chicken or the braised meat next time or the fish. We were not offered dessert but then if we had wanted it, I am sure we would have been accommodated.


While the menu is limited, it has change built in. A great find on a cold winter night in Ballard. I am going back, not with a teenager(they are a bit weird about fruit and unknown veggies on the same plate) but with friends that are willing try something surprising in a small corner "Station".

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