Good places to eat in Hood R. or T. Dalles?

[Nevan]

After a long hot drive from the Yakima Valley wineries yesterday (113 degrees in Prosser on Saturday) my wife and I were heading home along Hwy 84 and wanted to have a good dinner in either The Dalles or Hood River before we undertook the remaining 4 hour drive the rest of the way home. Not knowing anything about The Dalles, we went through to Hood River, where I had some minor knowledge of the town.

A promising brew pub wasn't serving outside, had limited and very sweaty seating inside, and after standing in line for an unusually long time just to order a beer to stave off the 30-minute dinner wait . . . we left. We went into something called Pasquales but couldn't get by the chemical/smoke smell that hung in the dining room. We drove around and found . . . nothing appealing. We ended up at The Mesquitery and had an excptionally mediocre dinner. HELP!! There must be good places to eat in these two towns, I just don't know where they are, and since I'll be making this drive a lot more in the future, I need guidance . . . thanks for any recommendations!!

[marie-louise]

I had a pretty nice meal at a place I think was called Stonehenge a few years back. (I was there on vacation, it was suggested by the hotel.) It used to be a B&B, now it's just a restaurant. It's on an unmarked dirt driveway somewhere outside Hood River-we were sure we were driving up to someone's house and not a restaurant. It was a beautiful, romantic, rustic dining room w/ good service. We'd driven all the way from Whidbey Island that day; it really hit the spot to be in such a warm and comfortable place. The food was not too memorable, but it didn't matter at the time.

[Jim Dixon]

There's a nice place in Mosier (between The Dalles and Hood River on the Oregon side) called the Wildflower Cafe (I think that's the name, but it's the only place to eat in Mosier). Serves good fresh food, uses Painted Hills beef, local fish, etc.

In Hood River I think the best eating is up the hill from downtown at one of several taquerias. The old downtown has tarted up to service the upscale windsurfing crowd, but up the bluff it's more like the fruit-packing, salmon-canning town it used to be.

Jim

[tighe]

At the risk of betraying my geographical ignorance of the Oregon/Washington border area...

Is the Skamania Lodge near Hood River/Dalles? Some time ago I heard the restaurant there was quite good, don't know if its still true or if it would be too much out of the way.

[Jim Dixon]

Skamania is in Stevenson, a little downriver and on the Washington side. I haven't heard much about the food for awhile, but assume it's another version of upscale corporate since the place mostly caters to golfers.

Many years ago we would jump the trains in Vancouver (WA) and ride out the Gorge to Wishram, a few miles east of The Dalles. It was a switching area, and the freights would stop before turning south down the Deschutes River canyon. We'd hop off and walk to the railroad-run beanery for a 69-cent blue plate special...things like meatloaf or a bowl of chili. Then we'd walk across the Columbia on the RR bridge and hitchhike into The Dalles for a weekend of beer-drinking with friends who worked at the cherry packing plant.

Jim

[Nevan]

Boy, the old days of train hopping in that geographically dramatic area sound great! And I'll bet the blue plate special was loads better than anything you can get at the golf resort (ask me about the food & wine service at Bandon Dunes . . .). Well, I thank everyone for the suggestions, even if none of them quite seemed like a "recommendation"! I guess I'll have to pack my own goodies with me. After having been in Prosser for the weekend (where there was but a single espresso stand--whose product was cooler than the temperature outside--fronted by a little "pray-before-you-pay" chapel that we tried our best to ignore) we were really longing for something good to eat. Looks like I'll have to lower my expectations as i go through the Gorge!

[tighe]

(ask me about the food & wine service at Bandon Dunes . . .)

Please do tell. I've been fantasizing for some time about going there, for the golf courses that is....

[Nevan]

OK, about Bandon Dunes (should this be a different thread??) . . .

First of all, I am not a golfer, so probably don't have the proper appreciation of the total Bandon/Pacific Dunes package. But, my wife is from Bandon and we have watched its development closely, especially in the realm of food & wine, since it is without a doubt the Southern Oregon coast's premier destination.

A year ago we went to eat there and found the restaurant to have no atmosphere of any kind, the menu was meatloaf-and-steak-focused, and the wine list was minimal (not a single Oregon or even Northwest wine). I talked with a marketing person I know who has the owner of Bandon Dunes as a client. She said that you have to understand "it is all about the golf; anything else, including food and wine, is unimportant unless it brings in more golfers."

Well, since there are no good places to dine (not just eat) within 150 miles of the Dunes (and I am saying this as a statement of fact, not hyperbole) it seemed to me they might want to use the restaurant as a lure to keep the golfers's dollars onsite. And now it seems they are trying to do that. Emphasis on "trying."

In December we partook of the 2003 New Year Dunes package that included discount rooms, a party, and their "gourmet" dinner on New Year's Eve. The food was dramatically improved (though the wine list was abysmal), and the whole experience was much more positive. So, with some hope, we went to dinner there about three weeks ago.

The restaurant still didn't have much atmosphere (very boxy with hotel-room-art on the walls and uncomfotably upright chairs . . . though the view is nice, even if you can't see the ocean . . . and you have to wonder why they didn't design it for the view that the site is capable of) but they now had linen table cloths and a more respectable place setting style (that included switching--without my having to ask--the clumsy initial wine glasses with appropriately shaped crystal when we ordered a good wine). The menu had been completely re-done with a much broader selection of entrées (a couple of local fresh seafood combos, more elaborate meat meals--though the signature meatloaf remains--and the requisite pasta and chicken selections thankfully NOT fried or cheese-sauce engulfed), reasonable appetizers, and a dessert selection.

We shared a prawn cocktail that was crisp and nicely styled (as much as such a basic appetizer can be), with mixed salad greens that luckily didn't include shaved iceberg lettuce--though the cocktail sauce was nothing more than ketchup and horseradish. I can't remember our salad. I had the grilled salmon on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes with carrot and zucchini on the side (rather uncreative). It was good, not great, with the fish a bit overcooked and the potatoes a bit stiff--I had a hard time believing it was local fresh-caught. My wife opted for the rack of lamb with a port-pepper reduction. The meat was well cooked (seared on edges and appropriately rare inside) and flavorful. The garnishes and sides on both our dishes had the appearance of having sat under the heat lamp: over dry and limp. We didn't have dessert.

The chef is a young guy from Coos Bay, not exactly known as a culinary center, and he seems to be trying hard and generally doing well (certainly for this region). His menu descriptions were a significant cut above any other local fare, and reflected some ambition. I think they are hobbled by a difficult kitchen location (everything is brought up stairs to the restaurant), perhaps some problems getting really goo ingredients, and an emphasis on efficiency over stovetop-to-tabletop quality. The servers were friendly and reasonably capable, though only knowledgeable beyond the point of what they've memorized (again, unsurprising for the area, where it is simply not possible to get any servers experienced at good quality restaurants)

The wine list was also revolutionized. There were four flavors of the list. One was a listing of how many of the Wine Spectator's "Top 100" wines were in stock and orderable. The other was the "normal" list, and the third the "reserve" list. Our waitress also gave us a typed list of which wines were down to "the last few bottles." My, such choices! I took far longer deciding the wine then I did the dinner.

The wine emphasis is explicitly focused on "big scores, big names." The Food & Wine manager, Phil Sobel, told me that this is what the golfers want: recognizable names at big prices. And Bandon Dunes has what has to be admitted is an excellent selection of those kinds of wines. They've added a number of Oregon pinots, but have opted for the names (Beaux Frères, Ken Wright, DDO) rather than wines of more interest (Broadley, Chehalem, Brick House). From Washington they were big on APEX, Andrew Will, Quilceda Creek. The California wines are equally "names": Silver Oak, various Opi vintages, Kistler, Rochiolli, etc.

Bandon Dunes moves about $75,000 of wine a month out of its restaurant, and it must be a major profit center. I wouldn't order any Oregon wines (I won't pay $75 for a DDO that I can get . . . for less) so I opted for a luscious Goldeneye pinot (and paid $120 for it, more than twice the retail). It was by far the best part of the meal.

At the Dunes there are plans for: their own private label wine (sourced from King Estate, so it will be solid but nothing to write home about), their own wine club (featuring local wine selections, some of which are rather dubious), a third (and eventually fourth) golf course, and a new intimate super-high-quality restaurant (with a view of the ocean, but it is years away).

All in all, the dining experience was definitely "expensive/quality institutional," which is a major improvement, but still not a place I'd frequent for its quality--or value for dollar spent. The focus seems to be on prestige, especially with the wine, because that is what their crowd wants: trophies. The night we were there there was a table of five US senators dining, and apparently the General Motors CEO and key staff had been there the night before. I presume they order the Screaming Eagle. Phil is very experienced, and I think knows what could be done, and is working all the time on improvements. But his Las Vegas experience I think is more focused--again--on quality tempered by efficiency, rather than quality for quality's sake.

At least that's the view from my perspective. It's probably a fantastic golf course . . .almost makes me want to take up the game . . .

[tighe]

Nevan,

Thanks for the run-down. None of it surprises me I suppose, although they certainly should offer good food given that everyone who goes there is paying through the nose for both golf and their room. Much of your description reminds me of Semi-ah-moo, trying, but just not there yet.

The trophy wine list is probably consistent with how many of their customers end up there. If both courses weren't ranked in the Top 10 public courses in the country, most Senators probably wouldn't make the trip.

[haresfur]

Thought I would revive this thread since I was just introduced (much to my surprise) to a nice place in the Dalles, called the Baldwin Saloon. (Hood River is probably deserving of it's own discussion). The Baldwin is on Court St. north of the main E-W streets. Its one of those places I'm seeing more of in smaller towns, often in fixed up older buildings, where the food ranges from burgers up to quite expensive (for me) dinners (another thread, perhaps?).

I think it was worth a visit just for the walls covered in oil paintings - mostly Pacific Northwest scenes (and a classic reclining nude over the bar). I had bouillabaisse that was a trifle spicy for my tastes but with very nice seafood, especially the mussels. Service was friendly and good. Apparently there sometimes is piano music from a loft accessed from a wooden ladder.

Anyway, a good place to stop after a day kayaking.

[Jim Dixon]

Our getaway is a yurt on a ridge just south of The Dalles, so we've been spending a lot of time in the historic little town.

The yurt in winter

The Baldwin is one of the few decent places to eat in TD (local shorthand for The Dalles), but it's for sale, so that may change. Petite Provence, an offshoot of Le Province in Lake Oswego, opened early this year and offers the only decent espresso in town as well as French pastries, breakfast, and lunch.

There are a few taquerias worth visiting, including the trailer on Chenowith Loop just west of Home Depot, a truck up on East 10th and Kelly, and the place inside the gas station at the same intersection (great sopes).

If it's open, Erin Glenn Winery (check the website) downtown is definitely worth a visit. The cinder block exterior, a later addition, hides the very cool old mint built back when Wasco County extended to the Rockies. The downstairs is a warren of old vaults built with blocks of local basalt.

Heading back toward Portland, Good River Cafe in Mosier is a nice stop, and be sure to hit Double Mountain in Hood River, a brewpub with great beer and killer pizza.

Jim

[haresfur]

Nice yurt!

I hope the Baldwin continues - there is something extra satisfying about good food in an out of the way location.

It's always good to get pointed to a decent taco - I try to take visitors out for tortas since that is about the most interesting food here. I'll try to check out Double Mountain sometime, and your other suggestions.