Nokomis Nights

big city class, woodsy setting

Robert Lillegard

From the first glance, the Nokomis dining room is classy. Tables are spaced far apart, stainless steel lamps watch overhead, and massive windows stand before the silent lake. Chef-owner Sean Lewis has opened more than one hotel restaurant, and it shows. With artfully placed pheasant feathers and a fresh, regional menu, he’s created a downtown atmosphere in a far-from-town forest.

This all starts with the food. The menu, which is classic nouvelle American, shifts every two to three weeks. This allows Lewis to concentrate on flavors of the moment. The focus is on the fresh and local.

“It’s all geared towards seasons,” he says, “I may think of something two days before that I want to put on the menu.”

When I went there in spring, several dishes included wild mushrooms. In the summer, Lewis likes to use fresh tomatoes and peaches; in the fall, fresh apples and squash. Even when the ingredients are shipped in from further away, the flavors are seasonal.

“When I get a really good product,” he says, “I don’t want to mess around with it too much. Let it speak for itself.”

Don’t look for minimalism. The sashimi tuna pizza, for example, is a parade of flavors. A chewy cracker crust holds thin slices of raw tuna, fiery heaps of daikon sprouts, and hot bursts of red onion. It’s weighted with sweet-sour hoisin sauce and a heavy layer of wasabi mayonnaise. Other dishes are equally complex, like grilled trout with prosciutto and a thick butter sauce or squash ravioli with pumpkin seeds and melted cheese.

This is straightforward food, artfully presented. The chocolate semi-freddo, a mellow brown disc with a deeper brown glob of pastry cream on top, is a good example. With a pool of chocolate paint, a daring line of cayenne pepper, and brilliant accents of orange confit and mint, it looked as fresh as it tasted. The mozzarella arugula salad was even more elegant. A deep green bunch of arugula was the centerpiece, wrapped in a rosy layer of prosciutto. Three dabs of reduced balsamic vinegar, orange slices with green mint sprinkles, and a ball of clean white mozzarella rounded out the dish.

“It’s not messy,” Lewis says. “I don’t like messy, you can tell.”

That could apply to the whole restaurant. Nokomis is clean, polished, and comfortable; a North shore alternative to big city dining. It’s a relaxed place to enjoy seasonal flavors.

What to Know When You Go

Nokomis Restaurant and Bar
5593 North Shore Drive