Restaurant Review: Satterfield's is a Dining Gem in Cahaba Heights

3161 Cahaba Heights Road (Vestavia)
(205) 969-9690
www.satterfieldsrestaurant.com
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By Deborah Lockridge

Satterfield's Restaurant is in a small retail block in Cahaba Heights behind the Summit. It's easy to drive right by, but it's worth seeking out.

The experience starts with the warm gas lights flanking the entrance. Inside, gray walls are a backdrop for large paintings of wine and fish. It's not a terribly large place, with an open kitchen along one wall with a bar where you can dine and watch the action. There are three rooms, including a nice bar area with a mirrored wall, large TV, and upholstered stools with backs.

A basket of bread featured raisin bread, baguette, a white bread that was perhaps sourdough, and some lovely mini corn muffins, slightly sweet and studded with fresh corn kernels and herbs.

We started off with a seared yellow fin tuna tartare ($16), presented beautifully surrounded by almost paper-thin slices of cucumber, and topped with baby watercress, frisee and herbs. A Meyer Lemon vinaigrette was very subtle and allowed the flavors of the tuna to shine through. The crisp cucumbers were a lively contrast to the melt-in-your mouth tuna.

Our other appetizer was Haller's Gumbo ($10), named for Executive Chef Haller Magee. Featuring andouille, rabbit, diver scallops and blue crab, with basmati rice instead of regular long-grain, and no okra or chunks of tomato to be found, this was a slightly different take on gumbo. There was a nice kick but not enough to overwhelm the flavors of the different meats and seafood – and the broth was so flavorful we surreptitiously sopped up the last bit with some bread.

Other appetizers that tempted us were seared Sonoma County foie gras with port poached pear, raisin walnut French toast and port molasses; and Michael Dean's Mache Salad with soft boiled quail egg, candy stripe beets, salsify and Sicilian extra virgin olive oil.

For entrees, when we saw the Cervena Elk Chops ($40), we knew what one of us was getting. After all, you just don't get elk every day. This was a bit more on the rare side than the medium-rare we ordered, but we would definitely rather have game too rare than too done. There were two chops with bones, served with blue mashed potatoes, white and green asparagus, wild mushrooms and truffled arugula pistou. Again, the presentation was beautiful, and the food sublime.

Our other entrée was pan-seared Maine sea scallops ($30). There were only three, but they were very large, and cooked perfectly – only they were really a bit too salty. Even Evan, who always likes things with more salt then Deborah, agreed. The creamy, buttery polenta with smoked gouda helped provide enough contrast to the saltiness of the scallops, however, that we did eat very bite. The earthiness of tender-crisp baby beets and barely-wilted spinach added more flavor contrasts to the plate.

Some of the other entrees that made it hard to make a decision included Molasses Braised White Pheasant with handcrafted pappardelle, Snow's Bend winter vegetables, black trumpet mushrooms and sage; Fennel Dusted Loin of Coloardo Lam with crushed white beans, cardamom scented baby carrots, swiss chard and Cabernet lamb jus; and Chipotle and Spice Rubbed Duroc Pork Chop with sweet potato chile relleno, black bean coulis, avocado-corn relish and ancho chile oil.

We found the wine list quite impressive, well worthy of its 2007 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. There are wines from all over the world and priced for every budget, from a $25 Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa to a $250 Opus One Cabernet from the Napa Valley. There is a very nice selection by the glass, and though our server seemed knowledgeable about the list and made good recommendations, we did wish she would talk about the varietals or the countries instead of just rattling off the vintners, who we were generally not familiar with.

Satterfield's does a couple of different things with wine that are a great way to try something new. One is a nightly "flight" of three different wines. We did this; on the night we were there it was three different syrah/shiraz wines, one from France's Rhone Valley, one from California's Central Coast, and one from Australia's Barossa Valley. It was fascinating to compare and contrast how the same grape became three very different wines. And on Thursday nights, all selections on the wine list are available by the glass (two-glass minimum).

The service was very good, with wine glasses whisked away unobtrusively as they were emptied. In between courses, we enjoyed watching the chef putting the final touches on dishes before they left the kitchen – an obvious perfectionist.

For dessert, we chose a dense chocolate brioche bread pudding ($7) and the Bananas Foster Crepes ($8) with vanilla bean ice cream. Both were excellent, but now we ran into the only real disappointment of the evening – the coffee. We were happy to see that they offered French Press coffee, as many coffee purists believe that's the only way to do it if you're not having espresso. But it was wimpy, without any real flavor. When we complained to our server, she immediately whisked it away and brought us complimentary espresso and cappuccino in its place. There are some very good local coffee roasters in town – in Satterfield's case, perhaps one of the best, Primavera, is just down the street. We would love to see some great coffee from these local suppliers to truly cap off a great meal.

Satterfield's is owned by Becky Satterfield, who is also the talented pastry chef. A former paralegal, Satterfield went to Culinard and started a catering business with partner Ed Reese (who has since left the business). They were looking at commercial kitchen space and realized they could also have a restaurant for the same price. With the addition of the talents of Executive Chef Haller Magee, the result is a restaurant that commands a place among the best restaurants in Birmingham.

Published February 2008

P.S. – When you go to Satterfield's web site to take a look at the menu, you'll actually find, if not the current day's menu, then one that's only a day or two old. This is a welcome departure from most restaurants in the area that have daily-changing menus, which only post a "sample" menu.