Lunch at Cave B’s Tendrils (http://www.cavebinn.com/tendrils-restaurant.php)
in Quincy, Washington at the Gorge, was the perfect spot for lunch (and a great
opportunity for my first restaurant critique blog entry).
 |
| Tendrils Menu |
We left Crystal Mountain Resort at 8:15 this morning and
made both the Sunset and Paradise drives before we started the six-hour drive
home from Mt. Rainer. Tendrils was the
perfect stop and proved to be the much needed break from a day of driving. We got there just a little before 3:00 and had
the place to ourselves. I was given my
choice of tables on the patio overlooking the Gorge and the Columbia
River.
I had ordered the American Kobe Beef Burger minus the bun
and bacon. Jacque ordered the Street
Tacos, and we shared a cup of the soup of the day. We both ordered a glass of Syrah to enjoy
with our lunches.
The Syrah was awesome!
A nose of dark cherries, and a light cherry finish without any heavy
tannins. Nice legs, and a great wine for
sipping on the patio, it complimented my burger well. Note: I was a little disappointed that a
restaurant at a winery did not offer wine flights.
The soup of the day was a hominy green chili soup. It was in what tasted like a chicken broth,
with hominy, green chili, and cilantro.
It was very tasty, but I might make it a little different. I would consider pureeing the broth, hominy,
and green chili together. I would then
add maybe some fire roasted diced green chili on top as a finish. Sitting on a patio in ninety-degree weather,
I am curious how my version would be if it were served chilled – will try it,
and let you know in the future.
My burger -- it was ‘good’, could I tell that it was Kobe
beef? Probably not. The house chips were
awesome, and I am thankful that the plate was not filled with them – some
restaurants think you need the equivalent of three bags of chips. Jacque seemed to really enjoy her Street
Tacos. Lots of pork, with cilantro
topping them off; at first she tried to compare them to the tacos we get from
the local taco wagons, but later had to admit that they were much better.
 |
| Street Pork Tacos |
 |
| Kobe Beef Burger - minus bun and bacon |
 |
| Hominy Green Chili Soup |
Since this was both lunch and dinner for us, we decided to
finish our meal off with the Lavender Crème Brulee. If you start to follow my blog, you will find
that Jacque will often opt for Crème Brulee, when available. In this case it was served with ample fresh
fruit, and real whipped cream over the top.
It was nice and light, had great texture, the brulee was done well, but I
am not certain where they get the lavender part from, because the taste was lacking
it. Don’t take me wrong; it was a great
dessert and finish to a really good meal.
 |
| Lavender Creme Brûlée |
So long as the food is not rotten, I believe that dining is
maybe only thirty or forty percent about taste, the rest being ambiance,
presentation, service, plus, plus, plus.
For the $100.00 this meal cost after tip, the view and ambiance was
great, the presentation was lacking, but? With that said, we would
probably go back and try their dinner menu.
 |
| Jacque enjoying the view |
