An Ode to Restaurant Eloise

Sebastopol's beloved restaurant closes its door

Of all the restaurant closings of the past year, it was the news that Restaurant Eloise turned off its stoves that hit me the hardest. I had my first meal there just ten days after the restaurant opened in July 2008, and though the white tablecloths struck me as too formal for the easygoing feel of the place, I had an immediate and unmistakable sense that this was a restaurant I would love.

That night I ate deviled eggs, and roasted marrowbones with parsley salad—dishes I find impossible not to order when I see them on a menu. Dinner included an octopus and anchovy salad, course-textured housemade pates, and a simple braised halibut. It wasn't a perfect meal, but the cooking was as heartfelt and personal as any I've had, and I've always been one to value passion over precision.

Last spring I got to know co-owners and chefs, Eric Korsh and Ginevra Iverson, when they were chosen as San Francisco's Rising Star Chefs. I spent an afternoon in their kitchen, where Inverson fed me more pate and knobs of handmade gnocchi. Korsh showed me the cold smoker where he prepared lox for the weekend brunch menu, and we walked through the garden where every staff member was required to work a shift each month, "They gain a better appreciation for the food that way," said Korsh

For the year and a half that it was open, Restaurant Eloise received a fair share of press, including mentions in the New York Times, Food and Wine, and Conde Nast Traveler. But in the end, the crowds never followed, and the thought of another long winter in a struggling economy was more than Korsh and Iverson could stomach. They served their last meal on November 29th.

"We were in it to the very end," Korsh says. "We left with our heads held high. Our food was a soulful expression of who we are and if we succeeded at nothing else, we succeeded at that.' For now, and Iverson are taking a break, but soon enough they'll be back at it. "We're looking forward to having another restaurant someday. Though we love living in Sebastopol, maybe its time to move to the city."