B-Town Kitchen and Raw Bar
B-Town Kitchen and Raw Bar at Four Points by Sheraton is an inspiration of architecture, interior design, and culinary imagination.
Early this year, the hotel closed its previous restaurant, Poppe’s 360, and set about construction of this bright new and more contemporary restaurant. Large, unobstructed, floor-to-ceiling windows open onto a heated patio for outdoor dining and entertaining. This sleek European style restaurant doesn’t feel part of a hotel. For those of us who recall Poppe’s 360 with fondness, mourning should be short-lived. The bar at B-Town continues to make the same signature Shaker Martinis and excellent craft cocktails, along with a 16-tap beer selection, new Northwest-focused wine list and generously portioned delicious food.
If fresh shellfish is your gastronomic highlight, you’re in the right place. The Seafood Tower for Two ($55) offers plenty to sample: 1 whole lobster, mussels, 6 oysters, 6 clams, 4 jumbo shrimp, house cocktail sauce, horseradish aioli, and mango-kiwi relish. Add a salad, a couple of glasses of wine and you’ve got yourself an elegant and romantic dinner for two.
Items from the Small Plates menu make terrific appetizers or adult beverage-worthy snacks. Crispy calamari rings and squiggly tentacles are things of the past. At B-Town, you get a generous portion of thick hand-sliced strips of Calamari Steak ($12), lightly battered, fried and served with soy mustard aioli and sweet chili sauce.
At B-Town, when you order the Jumbo Sea of Cortez Prawns ($22) you won’t be served tiger shrimp. No, sir. Three grade-A supersize prawns are dressed with a spicy and flavorful yet delicate gochujang marinade, served with sriracha sprouts, and garlic yakisoba noodles.
Sometimes nothing will do the job like a dry-aged, in-house chargrilled steak. The Double R Ranch Ribeye Steak (22-ounce $42, 11-ounce $26), is sauced with Oyster Mushroom demi-glace, and served with sides of fresh seasonal vegetables and togarashi red potato mash. One of the many terrific customer focused services B-Town Kitchen and Raw Bar offers is family-style table service. Just ask your server to provide extra plates and voila! a sharable dinner is served.
Only the diligently disciplined can turn away the dessert menu…that is, until they see the incredible desserts emerging from B-Town’s pastry kitchen. Yuzu Curd ($8) is like a deconstructed Key Lime pie with a more significant flavor profile. The lemon/line curd has a generous amount of toasted meringue and is served with crumbled pie crust, fresh raspberries and mint leaves. Don’t be afraid to eat the mint leaves; they really accentuate the delicate flavors of the yuzu.
Another must-try dessert is the Butter Toasted Pound Cake ($8). This really is toasted pound cake dressed in flambé of brandied peaches, roasted pistachios, whipped cream and basil. It’s a wonderful combination of flavors in a unique dessert, and one that is particularly yummy with craft cocktails.
Britt Smith, B-Town’s general manager, previously worked as a fashion designer at Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar in New York City. Smith’s move to the Bellingham restaurant scene was motivated by the region’s beauty and culinary potential. Smith points out that “every restaurant needs to be successful, so Bellingham can become a popular food destination.”
While Whatcom County is already earning a reputation for its diverse blend of wineries, breweries, cheese makers, chocolatiers, and ice creameries, the addition of B-Town Kitchen and Raw Bar as Bellingham’s new hip and happening gathering spot can only enhance the area’s food and beverage options for visitors and locals alike.
