Print Works’ Cuisine Never Boring
(4 Star Review)
By John Batchelor | Go Triad
Published: July 12, 2012
GREENSBORO — Print Works Bistro is the restaurant of Proximity Hotel, a Quaintance-Weaver property. Both the hotel and restaurant have been recognized as the “greenest” such establishments in America, certified LEED Platinum.
Lush landscaping with streamside outdoor seating and airy interior decor create casual sophistication. The look is bright and billowy, a function of tall windows plus cream-colored floor to ceiling drapes hung throughout, sectioning off various dining areas. Noise level can be fairly high. Live music in the bar on Wednesday nights permeates dining areas all the way to the back wall, where yelling in the kitchen is also evident. The impact is not harsh; draperies soften the edge somewhat.
Cuisine loosely follows a French bistro concept, combined with contemporary American comfort food — variations on the familiar, but never boring. Ingredients from nearby farms and producers are central to the concept. Execution is precise and consistent.
The crust in flatbread is firm and flavorful in its own right. In the Duck Confit version, tender duck benefits from sweet, soft shredded shallots, soaked in sugar and white balsamic vinegar, plus mellow cheese — a cross between feta and mozzarella — from Chapel Hill Creamery. A hot iron bowl hosts Onion Soup, the flavorful veal broth enriched with abundant soft-cooked onions and aged Ementhaler cheese.
A cheeseburger is about a half-inch thick, generating very good, natural beef flavor. The meat is local, from Bobby Brad’s Family Farm. The egg-based challah bun is imported from Tribeca Bakery in New York. It comes with fries. This would have been included in my recent “best burgers” list had it not duplicated the entry from Green Valley Grill, Print Works’ corporate sibling.
A mixed green salad of leaf lettuces hosts green beans, sliced carrots and radishes, chopped celery and clipped green onions, accented by a very light, creamy herb dressing.
In Steak Frites, Certified Angus Beef hanger steak is seasoned with herbed butter. The meat is surprisingly tender, a function of how it is sliced — diagonally across the grain. Crisp fries are cut in-house, skin on, about ¼-inch thick, yielding very good potato flavor. A few uncooked spinach leaves provide a weak excuse for a green vegetable.
Other entrees came with mashed potatoes blended with crème fraiche, joined by French-style green beans — with the protein, adding up to a complete meal.
Te
nder Trout filet delivers delightfully mild flavor, well-served by a light coating of herbed bread crumbs drizzled with lemon caper beurre blanc sauce.
Black Pepper Grilled Salmon exudes unusually good salmon flavor, enhanced with honey lime butter sauce. The fish is sustainably raised by Marine Harvest in Canada.
An off-menu special of Corvina, a white-fleshed fish of the drum family, had been baked en papillotte with clams, sealing in moisture while infusing the fish with clam flavor.
Certified Angus Beef Short Ribs are falling-off-the-bone tender, the deep flavor of the meat enhanced by caramelized spring onions, creating a luscious extension.
Desserts are a particular treat. Profiteroles — puff pastry balls — are filled with homemade vanilla ice cream. Servers ladle hot chocolate sauce tableside to wonderful effect.
In Champagne and Berry Gelee, the gel holds berries, their flavor augmented by crème anglaise and homemade macaroons.
These experiences validate the overall impression that Print Works continues to rank as one of the Triad’s best restaurants. Although I did not encounter any problems during these review visits, I am aware from numerous prior experiences that Quaintance-Weaver establishments are among the best for resolving a complaint.
John Batchelor has been reviewing restaurants for 30 years. His reviews run on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. Contact him at john.e.batchelor@gmail.com.