ALL'S FARE

An over-the-border hot spot offers
a delectable French-Asian
mixture au Canada.

BY ANNABEL CO I-I EN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT NIO[NTAIN

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indsor knows good food. Its Italian
eateries are some of the finest, and
the profusion of authentic Asian
eateries is reason enough for Metro Detroiters to
cross the border.
When BIN 151 opened last February, there was
fusion in the air. The 34-year-old chef, Marty Atkins,
grew up in the hospitality business. He brought 22
years of professional cooking experience (yes, he
began at age 12) plus a degree in food science and
nutrition from Wayne State University in Detroit to a
former bar-and-grill location and did what he knew
he needed to do — transform it into a place where
he and his wife, Jennie, who runs the front of the
house, would want to eat.
And to do so with a wine list offering more than
151 selections.
"It came down to 'there's no place we wanted
to go ... nothing further on the edge ... a void in
the city,"' said Atkins. "I wanted to stir it up a bit
in Windsor."
Atkins wanted to create a venue, he says, with
"my kind of cuisine, using natural, classic French
techniques with Asian influences."
The menu is limited in number of items, but cer-
tainly not in diversity. Appetizers are called "small
plates," and they are little works of art, with complex
flavors and sauces with tough-to-decode individual
ingredients that are tougher to resist. Three of the 10
menu choices — coconut curry and lemon grass-
seared chicken skewers, sauteed wild mushroom
ragout with heirloom tomatoes and crustini, orange-

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seared ahi tuna with wasabi creme
fraiche — are stunningly served.
"Middle plates" are salads
and soups "of the moment."
The signature BIN 151 salad —
with mixed greens, Asian pear,
micro sprouts and candied gin-
ger and miso dressing — was
fresh, fresh, fresh. Soups are
conjured at Atkins' whim —
crisp autumn colors, for
instance, beg to be used. For
fall, he favors pumpkin-curry
and carrot-ginger soups laced
with pomegranate or fig vinegar.
"Dinner plates" — there are
six on the regular menu — are
"cooked to the minute." By this
part of the meal, you can't wait to see how they'll
present the next course. It might be filet of beef,
pan-seared black striped bass, wok-seared beef tips
or dry herbed chicken. Each is prepared exactly as
described on the menu, yet served with a twist,
perhaps with forbidden purple rice or ho-fun noodles
or wild mushroom Yukon mash.
As Atkins explains, "Anybody can cook a piece of
fish; it's how you present it that makes a difference."
"Final plates" offer French-style desserts with a
bit of flair — a cheesecake with pomegranate reduc-
tion, upside-down apple tarte tatin with chambord
creme fraiche, chocolate fondue with fruits and fun
garnishes (ours included the alien-looking Asian fruit

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"rambutan" and a tart ground
cherry with its papery husk).
Though dishes can be shared,
BIN 151 is not the kind of place
where leviathan portions are
presented. "I have a science
background," said Atkins. "My
flavors are pure — no sauces
with thickening agents — and I
know how to satisfy an appetite.
Some restaurants are more con-
cerned with filling a plate than
filling an appetite."
For an exclusive experience, try Atkins' six-
course tasting menu served in the upper bin — a
balcony table overlooking the kitchen — which
offers a private dinner for the more adventurous
diner ($85 Canadian). "It gives me a chance to
play," said Atkins.
To view the entire menu, make reservations and
gather other information, visit the Web site at
www.bin151.com .

❑

Bin 151: 1515 Ottawa Street
Windsor, Ontario; (519) 977-0112