A single dish can put a chef on the culinary map.
For chef Ian Wingate, that dish has varied over his 24-year career, starting with the meatloaf at his first restaurant, Moxie, a word meaning courageousness, perseverance and skill. In 2009, Wingate's signature dish was the chipotle fish tacos at Agave Latin Bistro, the now-defunct Tex-Mex restaurant he developed with Sergio DeLeon of De Leon Foods. And at Outsider, Wingate's newest venture, his signature dish is rotisserie cauliflower ($16) that evolves as you eat it, like petals unfolding.
"It's our No. 1 seller," says Wingate, who opened Outsider after nearly a two-year, pandemic-related delay.
The vegetarian meal starts with a large head of cauliflower made tender in the rotisserie, a technique Wingate perfected at the former Harry O's, his first Spokane fine dining job after relocating from Hawaii in the late '90s. The cauliflower's exterior then goes into Outsider's wood-fire oven, which he also uses to make pizza, like the prosciutto ($20) with San Marzano tomatoes, asiago cheese, basil-dressed arugula and country olives.
Although cauliflower is milder, nuttier and sweeter than its brassica brethren — mustard, cabbage, Brussels sprouts — the char from the oven adds an interesting texture. A slight caramelization balances the dish's bold accompaniments like lime aioli, chili arbol sauce and toum, which resembles mayonnaise and is a Lebanese staple that Wingate makes by emulsifying oil, garlic, salt and lemon.
Cut the cauliflower like a steak, and use a spoon to bathe it in more of the not-too-spicy broth (or slurp it up like soup). The base of toasted bread, rather like Texas toast, softens a bit as it sits in its flavor pool, making for the perfect bite of tender cauliflower, chewy bread and various sauces.
"There's a lot of love that goes into that cauliflower," Wingate says.
Many of Outsider's dishes have the potential to become fan favorites, each containing clues to Wingate's personal and professional journey.
The rib eye poke ($21) with Walla Walla sweet onions and local tomatoes is a nod to Wingate's Hawaiian upbringing, featuring Aloha Shoyu soy sauce and faintly salty sea asparagus, also known as sea beans.
The guanciale pizza ($19) is Wingate's ode to Italy — he traveled there and to France some years back — with Castelvetrano olives, Calabrian peppers, buttery Fontina cheese and guanciale, an unctuous, salty, cured meat similar to bacon but more nuanced.
Hearth-baked feta ($16) was a popular dish at Moxie, and Wingate has updated it with garlic confit, olives and zhoug, a spicy Middle Eastern condiment similar to chimichurri, but using cilantro.
"I just want to cook what I like to cook and what I've grown up learning to cook and what I've cooked for customers over the years that they like," says Wingate, who returned to Spokane from western Washington to open Outsider in January 2020, and to reconnect with customers for whom he'd cooked over the years.
In addition to Moxie (1998-2012) and Agave (2009-2013), for example, Wingate also created the Japanese-inspired Blue Fish (2004-2010). And he did stints with Adam Hegsted at Wandering Table and for Gloria Waterhouse at Sandpoint's Inn at Sand Creek. In 2004, Karen and Walt Worthy tapped Wingate to open Palm Court Grill, then again in 2012 to create the Davenport Grand's Table 13.
Often, Wingate ran several places simultaneously, which impacted his health.
"I was just working too much and stressed out," Wingate says, clarifying that he didn't have a heart attack. "I was just beat down."
Fortunately, his partner at Blue Fish was also his cardiologist, who prescribed time off and a change in lifestyle, which Wingate still dutifully follows.
"I've learned to delegate more," he says, adding that he tries to maintain a good work-life balance. To that end, Outsider has yet to announce a grand opening. And with just four staff members, Wingate has kept the menu and hours modest, with a two-hour break between lunch and dinner service. He hopes to add coffee and morning treats soon, too.
Outsider is a reflection of Wingate's varied experiences, including three years he spent at Table 47, the Gig Harbor restaurant created by former Starbucks' COO Troy Alstead, and whose team recruited Wingate in 2017 while he was still at The Davenport.
"It just kind of fell in my lap," says Wingate, who had an affinity for farm-to-table cooking as far back as Moxie, where he championed local companies like Small Planet Tofu.
Table 47 advocated for full-scale environmental responsiveness, explains Wingate, from non-GMO items and single-strain DNA meats, to composting bathroom waste into a worm farm in the restaurant's basement. It also treated farmers and other purveyors as partners in the culinary process, which resonated with him, Wingate says.
Wingate learned that if the people who work on the farm are happy, "the outcome of the produce is completely different," adding that he's doing that as much as possible at Outsider, like sourcing tomatoes from Jackson Farms' Dan Jackson (formerly of LINC Foods).
Outsider is the first of three proposed eateries to occupy the Papillon building near Riverfront Park (Downriver Grill's Juli Norris plans to open Kasa Restaurant & Taphouse, as well as Lorèn, a jazz bar, later this year).
Formerly an office space with a drop ceiling and cubicles, Outsider is a bright, welcoming spot with large arched windows overlooking the Flour Mill and Spokane Arena. One wall inside is original brick, while two others have been painted; one teal, one auburn. Urban touches include drop lights with a geometric, white-painted design, and mixed wood seating. Sit underneath the windows or along the open kitchen counter and watch as Wingate works his magic with the oven and an assortment of cast iron pans.
When it came to choosing a name for his latest restaurant venture, Wingate returned to a similar sentiment he had when naysayers advised him not to open Moxie in a strip mall.
"I always feel like I went against the grain," Wingate says.
Although "outsider" can mean different things, he says, it's something everyone can relate to.
"I always think outside the box. I try to do stuff differently." ♦
Outsider • 908 N. Howard St. • Open Tue-Wed 4-8 pm, Thu 11:30 am-2 pm and 4-8 pm, Fri-Sat 11:30 am-2 pm and 4-9 pm • outsiderpnw.com • 509-315-5442
