À votre santé

Santé restaurant is 5 years old this month, but the building the restaurant calls home has been on Trade Street in downtown Matthews for decades. The building, a treasure listed in the National Historic Registry, has original brick walls, a red brick exterior and wellpreserved tin ceilings. But the food at Santé is anything but dated. Instead it’s an innovative blend of Old World French and new American cuisines featuring organic, locally grown produce and seasonal specialties. The feast of flavor at Santé is a direct result of the talent of chef and owner Adam Reed who, with his wife Veronica, came to North Carolina 10 years ago from New York City. At the time, the couple’s only child, Erin, was a baby and the Reeds didn’t want to raise a family in the city.

“We looked in upstate New York, out west and, to be honest, almost everywhere except the South,” said Reed, explaining his dislike for hot weather. But then, an advertisement in the New York Times for a chef’s position in Matthews caught their attention.

Reed came to interview in 1997 and promptly started work at Hidden Garden.

He worked his way up to the position of executive chef and eventually bought the place. During a family dinner at home, the Reeds were toasting the purchase – “à votre santé” they said to each other, which is French for “to your health.” They decided that the abbreviation for the toast – santé – should be the name for their new venture.

“For us, the name Santé brings it all together,” said Reed. “It’s about the celebration of food, family and friends – a toast to all that is good in life.”

Seasonally special
Santé’s menu is not long or complicated. A short list of flavorful appetizers, soups, salads and entrées are suited to the season. Soon to be gone are the excellent veal osso bucco and the slow-roasted duck breast with wild rice terrine, each giving way to lighter fare for summer. New entrées such as veal cutlets or chops, pork tenderloin, a fresh asparagus salad and desserts with locally grown berries will appear on the menu as the warm weather arrives.

Come visit during the warm weather months to enjoy starters such as the roasted onion tart with blue cheese crumbles, smoked bacon and herb-tomato sauce, a dish inspired by Reed’s French heritage; and the innovative avocado egg roll served with roasted corn relish and cilantro aioli, an eclectic mix of flavors from the Southwest. Don’t miss the French country salad with mixed greens, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, olives, tomatoes, cucumber and a homemade, fresh herb vinaigrette or the arugula salad with shaved prosciutto, Parmesan and toasted pine nuts in a flavorful homemade raspberry vinaigrette.

For entrées look to the pan-seared free-range chicken, the honey-and-mustard-glazed salmon, and the crusted rack of lamb. The three, like other menu entrées and nightly specials, come with sides of a variety of potatoes or rice and a daily selection of roasted vegetables.

For those who don’t eat meat, Santé offers a nightly vegetarian plate of roasted vegetables, starches and greens. Santé also offers a children’s menu suited to please younger palates.

Desserts are made in-house and vary from season to season. The chocolate lava cake is a delicious mainstay and a wonderful way to finish an evening at Sante.

From market to table
In spring and summer, Reed takes advantage of the bountiful harvest offered across the street at the Saturday morning farmers’ market. With more than 40 sellers, the Matthews Community Farmers’ Market is the largest growersonly farmers’ market in the greater Charlotte area, and everything sold there is farmed within 50 miles. The market opens this year on April 14. Reed often joins other Charlotte chefs who conduct free early-morning cooking seminars at the market every Saturday beginning at 8:30. Reed will be there cooking in July at the market’s annual tomato festival. For more information, visit matthewsfarmersmarket. com

Passing on the passion
Reed’s formal education is in business management, but his passion has always been in the kitchen. He learned from his grandmother and follows in the footsteps of his great grandfather, grandfather and uncle who were all talented chefs.

After a stab at a career in accounting, which he admits he hated, Reed decided to give it a go in the kitchen. Through family connections he landed a choice position in the kitchen of Rene Pujol, a romantic little French restaurant in midtown New York.

“When I first came to Matthews, I was working for someone else, so all of the culinary decisions were not mine to make. But since we’ve owned the place, I think I’ve really tried to define my own style,” Reed said. “I knew a classical French restaurant probably wouldn’t fly here, so I used French technique and created my own style of eclectic American cuisine.”

In addition to sharing cooking tips with Saturday morning market shoppers, Reed shares his talents with others in his kitchen, well aware that when chefs leave Santé to work in other dining establishments, the way they cook is a reflection of their experience with him.

One former line chef now living on the North Carolina coast was recently named best new chef in Wilmington. Another is owner of the popular Stone Table Café in Monroe. “It’s a hidden jewel,” noted Reed in admiration.

“I learned from several generous chefs and now it’s my turn to show someone else, to give back,” Reed explained.

Well-known Charlotte restaurant critic, food writer, cooking instructor and connoisseur of food and wine, Heidi Billotto writes "The Charlotte Weekly: Culinary Corner," a restaurant review or food feature that appears weekly. Contact Heidi with questions and restaurant, food or story ideas by email at heidi@thecharlotteweekly.com.

This article first appeared in "The Charlotte Weekly" on March 30, 2007. "The Charlotte Weekly" is a free, locally owned, independent newspaper that's "About the Community, For the Community," available every Thursday in North and South Charlotte and Uptown.

Copyright 2007 by The Charlotte Weekly and WSOCTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.