Chicory infuses seafood and other local ingredients with Louisiana style

Northwest meets New Orleans — and takes a quick trip to Kansas City — at Chicory Restaurant in downtown Olympia.

The casual fine-dining restaurant, which opened in late July, is getting rave reviews from local foodies with its mix of fresh local ingredients and Cajun techniques chef Elise Landry learned in Louisiana.

“Best restaurant in Olympia ever,” Reiko Callner of Olympia posted on Facebook with pictures of attractively presented small plates.

“The food was extraordinarily good,” she told The Olympian. “The chef made amazing use of obviously local ingredients. … We had four vegetable dishes, and they were all fabulous — and the cocktails, too.

“I hope they make it,” she added — referring, obviously, to the challenges of operating a restaurant during a pandemic.

Landry and her husband, Adam Wagner, originally planned to serve dinner only at Chicory, but the pandemic has prompted them to adopt a dual focus — and add a handful of sidewalk tables.

On Friday and Saturday evenings, they serve artfully plated creative cuisine, with the current menu including blackened rockfish, housemade boudin sausage and plum-glazed duck breast.

From noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, they’re doing takeout lunches using seasonal and sustainable ingredients to make sandwiches such as fried-oyster bahn mi and spicy chicken with pimento cheese served on a biscuit. They also have salads, housemade potato chips and a gumbo that has people talking.

Splitting the difference is Sunday brunch, available for dine-in or takeout, and a while-it-lasts weekend special of barbecued ribs to go — which is where Kansas City comes in.

“Elise and I met in Kansas City,” Wagner said, “and barbecue is a huge part of Kansas City culture. It’s something we brought with us and something that we like to celebrate.”

The couple also like to celebrate what’s fresh, local and sustainable.

It was the Northwest’s plentiful ingredients that drew the couple to the region — and the Olympia Farmers Market that helped steer them toward Olympia.

“The menu is definitely seasonally driven based on things that are available within a close radius,” said Landry, former executive chef at Chelsea Oyster Bar. “My creative process starts with the ingredients, and then I build something from there, rather than having an idea and then tracking down the ingredients.”

Wagner, formerly of Dillinger’s Cocktails & Kitchen, handles the beverage side of things, which features creative cocktails (including one called “Für Elise”) and an international selection of natural wines.

“It’s really commonplace for people to give a great deal of attention and thought to what they eat,” he said. “It only makes sense that we should think the same way about the beverages that we consume.”

Chicory Restaurant

• What: The casual fine-dining restaurant blends New Orleans inspirations and Northwest ingredients.
• Where: 111 Columbia St. NW, Olympia
• Hours: Takeout from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; dine in (or outdoors) from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; brunch (available for dine-in or to take out) from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday
• More information: 360-878-9356, https://www.chicoryrestaurant.com/

This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 5:45 AM.