July 2016 | Cape Cod Life

Quality foods, creative dishes, & an intimate dining experience

Cape Cod Life  /  July 2016 / , ,

Writer: Stefanie Celata / Photographer: Dan Cutrona 

Quality foods, creative dishes, & an intimate dining experience

July 2016 | Cape Cod Life

Cape Cod Life  /  July 2016 / , ,

Writer: Stefanie Celata / Photographer: Dan Cutrona 

Introducing Clean Slate Eatery of West Dennis

Clean Slate Eatery

Photograph by Dan Cutrona

During a recent visit to Clean Slate Eatery, Chef Jason Montigel gave Cape Cod LIFE freelance writer Stefanie Celata and photographer Dan Cutrona the opportunity to get a taste for the restaurant as he catered to his guests.

One might describe Clean Slate Eatery in West Dennis as more of a dinner party than a restaurant—and it’s one to which all Cape Cod gastronomes would like to receive an invite.

Helmed by Chef Jason Montigel, this 16-seat, reservation-only restaurant has made quite an impact on the area food scene since opening in late April. Each night, the restaurant offers two tasting menus from which to choose: traditional, which includes meat and seafood; and vegetarian, which can also be adapted to accommodate vegan diners.

Montigel is no stranger to the Cape and Islands palate, as he worked for years as chef de cuisine at Nantucket’s Company of the Cauldron, and then as sous chef at the beautiful Ocean Terrace restaurant at Brewster’s Ocean Edge resort. Most recently Montigel, an Atlanta native who lives in Dennis, has been staging “pop-up” restaurants in private homes, which was the inspiration for Clean Slate Eatery.

The West Dennis restaurant is full of surprises. Previously home to Norabella, Clean Slate Eatery is located in a small blue-shingled building that’s reminiscent of an old Cape Cod cottage. It’s tucked away off of Route 28 behind an unassuming black and white illuminated sign. Upon entering, one is immediately taken aback by the crisp, modern interior and sharp attention to detail.

Offering seating for nine, “The Chef’s Counter” cozies right up to the lamp-lit, stainless steel finishing table—the restaurant’s center stage. The perimeter is dotted with three high-top tables allowing diners in every seat to have a perfect view of the show. With these options, the restaurant is great for dining alone, or with an intimate group of friends.

“Every single night is different,” Montigel says. “It’s like a vibe in the building; everyone gets to know each other by the end of the night, whether they came together or not.”

Once seated, the chef begins pouring the wine for the first course. Diners can select from a variety of wine, beer, or other beverages, or chose the wine pairing option, a selection of vintages curated to pair with the evening’s menu.

Each course is finished on the center table and served by the chef himself. The first dish is a West Dennis oyster served on a large seaweed-covered stone and topped with “cocktail cubes,” an homage to the sauce in every Cape Cod refrigerator. For the vegans in the group, a baby radish, hand-selected from Cape Abilities Farm in Dennis, arrives in a tiny terracotta pot, bedded in black quinoa “dirt.” An attractive presentation is clearly part of Clean Slate’s recipe.

Throughout the meal, every ingredient has a story. Montigel chats with each of his guests, discussing the background behind the ingredients and their origins. After all, “food,” Montigel says, “is about community.” Although sourcing locally is extremely important to the chef, he says when he does source outside the region it’s imperative the ingredients be traceable from farms that honor exemplary farming practices. Montigel says he must know everything about each farm, including how the ingredients are grown or fed, or where they came from.

Although Montigel posts the Clean Slate menu a few days before it goes live, there are many treats that are introduced along the dining journey. A warm Kings Hawaiian roll arrives fresh out of the oven with a spread that can hardly be called butter. To create this magical, palate-stimulating spread, the chef infuses maple and citric acid into butter. This is just one of the off-menu surprises.

The meal’s first official course is a chicken-fried lobster, lightly battered with a light gravy made from Benton’s Smoked Country Ham, a clear Cape Cod nod to the chef’s Southern roots. The dish offers a menagerie of flavors including black pepper and fresh herbs. As the guests begin to indulge, diners call out accolades to the chef. One Centerville resident, Michael Murphy, summed up the sentiment: “This is crazy good!”