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Summit has steep prices, but cost is justified

By Howard M. Snyder hsnyder@herald-leader.com

Back in the spring, I ran into restaurateur Wayne Masterman at a Derby Eve party. He told me that he had taken the lease on Emmett's Restaurant on Tates Creek Road and that he would rename it Summit. Well, it seemed that we'd meet again real soon. And so we did.

I have been to Summit twice. The first time was not long after it opened in May, when hardly anyone was there, and I sampled some delightful mussels ($10) and some wonderful fried rabbit ($28). But that was a sneak peek, not a review.

I went back last Friday for the review and I came away impressed.

Summit, just beyond Man o' War Boulevard and just off Tates Creek Road, is in an old house that has been transformed into a trendy, chic and expensive place to dine. The restaurant has several areas, including a bar room and patio, in which to dine. We were seated in the bar room, which has a clubby feel with its stone fireplace and French doors.

Summit's menu is wonderful. It offers large and small plates (large appetizer size), salads, pastas, Angus steaks and assorted sandwiches, including burgers.

For this review, we stuck with the small plates, which turned out to be plenty for everyone. We started with the appetizer special, soft-shell crab with chickpea fritters, and salad ($10). There aren't many things better than sautéed soft-shell crab, and this one (only one) was medium-size and delicious. The chickpea fritters were much like fried polenta (corn meal).

The next appetizer was fried calamari ($11). Tiny squid rings were dipped in a light batter and deep-fried. It was very much like tempura, and the squid rings were not overcooked. They were served with what seemed to be a very spicy remoulade, but I was told it was aioli with red chilies.

The soup of the day was dreamy: watermelon gazpacho ($5). Unlike tomato gazpacho, which is a chunky soup, this soup was thin and refreshing with watermelon flavor, and it had a kick.

The salads weren't bad, either. I had the spiced pecan/blue cheese salad ($9). This was a large salad of mainly leaf lettuce, but it was covered (not just sprinkled), from rim to rim with toasted spiced pecans. Inside were crumbles of Danish blue cheese and sun-dried cherries. It was lightly tossed with a mustard vinaigrette. I should have stopped here, but we also sampled the pizzetta ($9). This was a rosemary and Parmesan-rich flatbread topped with a roasted garlic head (they brought a cocktail fork for digging) and a wedge of cambozola cheese. It was much like a Camembert with a touch of blue mold. Very nice.

To wash all that food down, we ordered the Cigarzin zinfandel ($13 a glass), which was rich and almost chewy. It was a bit pricey but a wonderful wine.

Dessert included a pound cake topped with macerated peaches ($7). I'm not exactly sure what the peaches were macerated with other than sugar (maybe peach liquor), but it was a dreamy dessert. The peaches were perfect.

The second dessert, crème brûlée ($7), we took issue with. The flavor was fine, but the texture kind of threw us. It was stiffer than most I've had ... maybe overcooked. Texturally, it was more like a flan made with evaporated milk. Most people wouldn't have noticed, but I showed up. Shucks.

Summit has an excellent wait staff. Our server was very good. For the most part, he was Johnny-on-the-spot.

Dinner for two, including two glasses of wine, was $88. But remember, we had the small plates. If you order the large plates, you'll reach the summit before you know it.