Two months from Monday, Le Gourmand will permanently close the doors of its curiously charming space on the eastern edge of Ballard. As promised, owner Bruce Naftaly has created a menu of favorite dishes from the restaurant’s 27 years. While the dishes will evolve along with the season, the current menu is online now. Diners can choose three course for $60, or opt for a special seven-course tasting menu. The entrees and plenty of other dishes reflect Naftaly’s formidable background as a saucier, as well as the stubbornly changing season.

In this month’s issue, critic Kathryn Robinson examines the many legacies Naftaly and his wife Sara have bestowed on our dining community. I could end this post by saying that Naftaly is likely pouring even more of his heart and soul into his food now that the menu has become a swan song. But the man has been in the kitchen for every single dinner service, except for a brief hospital stay eight years ago, giving his all night after night for the better part of three decades. And that’s a legacy worth revisiting before June 2.