Hommage (Formerly Book Bindery) Opens

Hommage, the restaurant formerly known as Book Bindery, reemerges today with a new chef to match its new name. Eater checked in with 30-year-old, French born chef Nico Borzee as he was transitioning from his post at Capitol Hill's Artusi to Hommage: Borzee began his cooking career at age 15 and has spent the second half of his life working at Michelin-starred restaurants in his home country (L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, La Table du Lancaster, Le Louis XV) and as a sous chef at the double-Michelin-starred Coi in San Francisco.

Some of the most popular dishes sampled so far at Hommage's friends and family preview nights include Carrots, Cows, and Goats: large, organic orange carrots braised in hay on a planch with shaved Bethmale cheese and rabbit jus. Also, monkfish glazed in veal and monkfish-bone jus and cold-smoked salmon with a deep fried, shredded phyllo dough nest with a poached egg set inside.

Book Bindery launched in fall of 2010 under chef Shaun McCrain. When McCrain departed last summer with partner Jill Kinney to begin work on a new concept, owners Mike and Sumi Almquist temporarily shuttered, refreshed the already gorgeous space, and brought on Borzee. Hommage's first official dinner service begins Wednesday.

Hommage, 198 Nickerson St., Queen Anne, Facebook, (206) 283-2665