DINING OUT: Station break

Food is a journey, a marker in culture and time that tells the stories of those living and eating their way through. At Station, a restaurant in Williamsburg that is modeled after turn-of-the-century European train station cafes, the story is one of home – the snow-covered home in northern Sweden of Project Runway model Karin Agstam, as well as the homes she made for herself while on the road, and the home of Chef Rue Rusike in Zimbabwe.

“My grandfather went to school by sleigh behind a reindeer and in the village I grew up in, there was only one restaurant,” explained Agstam. “And every day I went to lunch with my grandpa at the Station Café – it was important and we’d dress nicely. So of course, with my restaurant, I have to call it Station.”

Station, which had its soft opening in mid-July, features an unpretentious bohemian French design – inspired in particular by a station in San Sebastian, Spain -- and two menus, regular and vegan, that change seasonally and call upon ingredients and spices that have French-with-African influences.

So the menus are filled with the likes of Rabbit, in a spiced stew-like tagine with cucumber yogurt atop a bed of couscous ($15); slices of Duck a L’Orange served atop marble roasted potatoes and topped with navel oranges and charred scallions ($21); Lentils with mushroom glaze, sautéed spinach and sweet potato slices ($15); and an herb-infused Portobello Cap with green beans, roasted potatoes and confit of garlic ($19).

In the hands of Rusike, ingredients find new life. The Spinach Three Ways – peanut butter, cream reduction, and tomato ragout – atop cornmeal cakes ($8) is a tantalizing beginning to any meal, each morsel an education in what can be done with one simple ingredient. The Mushroom Soup ($9), poured out of a white ceramic teapot, comes dotted with scallions and bits of dried portobello and button mushrooms that have been steeped and simmered for hours in a herb-infused broth that is surprisingly hearty.

Of the main dishes, we recommend the Mussels cooked in a creamy African chili sauce with garlic ($15) that comes alongside a homemade loaf made out of freshly baked nutty wheat flour. The mussel meat is spicy, creamy and falls out of the shell.

On the vegan menu, a favorite is the Ratatouille ($13) – sliced-and-roasted yellow squash, zucchini, and eggplant, drizzled with herbed tomato sauce and pea shoots, plus a healthy sprinkle of black pepper throughout (patrons can request less pepper if they prefer) – which warms the stomach and soul with its fresh flavors and colorful plating.

“[The spinach, three ways] is the dish my mother taught me how to make when I was nine,” said Rusike. “It is a Zimbabwe dish and generally, the spinach peanut butter is my favorite. At home, we use pumpkin leaves – when Fall comes, we’ll do that here, as well.”

This willingness to be creative, turning childhood food memories into fully grown adult delicacies is one of the things that makes Station stand apart. Putting in the time is also key. Each dessert and alcoholic or non-alcoholic cocktail – made by another Project Runway model alum, Sveta Gliebova – features homemade fruit compotes and sauces.

Station is a formal sit-down dining experience, offset by the affordable prices and relaxed atmosphere, made warmer by the staff’s attentiveness and friendliness even while working with exacting focus and precision. Sous chef Brooke Nedelcovych and cook Cassiano Nuñes already are in a comfortable rhythm with Rusike, who like Agstam hopes that the restaurant becomes a Williamsburg institution.

STATION

166 North 7^th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

718-599-1596

Tuesdays – Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Sundays from 5:30 p.m. to Midnight

Weekend brunch from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.