Semiahmoo...

[tighe]

Her scrat-ness and I have gone to Semiahmoo probably 4 or 5 times over the past decade. For me, it’s just about perfect as a near-by place to get away and relax. Nice accommodations, great beach to explore, quiet, great golf course….except for the food. When we first started going there, the food was OK and we were still relatively naïve in things culinary. By the last time we went, about 3 years ago, the food just sucked….bad….and it wasn’t cheap…

For what will probably be our last significant pre-baby getaway, we decided on 3 nights at Semiahmoo and a couple more in Vancouver. I scouted out Whatcom County’s finest restaurants at Taste of Whatcom, and was prepared to completely boycott the food at the ‘Moo. But we arrived right around dinnertime and decided, just this once, we’d eat at the more casual of their two restaurants. God help me, but it was one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had recently. Seafood pomodoro, with an array of ingredients such as salmon, clams, halibut and squid, all retaining their own flavor and texture and coated in a light, fresh-tasting tomato sauce. The pasta was the kind of good that you stop mid-chew and think, damn, this pasta is not merely a vehicle for what its mixed with, it’s really good!

So we went back for lunch the next day and I chose something that sounded great, but I was sure would be their downfall: gumbo. Again, excellent, all the ingredients retained their distinct character and there was a good background level of heat that was consistent but never overwhelmed the other flavors. Scrat had a perfectly serviceable burger with fries that rose well above humble fry-dom.

By now I’d decided that we didn’t need to leave the resort for decent food (my expectations for Whatcom’s finest were, shall we say, modest). Dinner that night was halibut and chips that stumbled a little; the fish just wasn’t terrific, but there were still those excellent fries. Our crab dip starter on the other hand was generously sized and packed with fresh crabmeat.

For dinner the next night we took the leap and returned to Stars, Semiahmoo’s “fine dining” restaurant, and site of some bitter disappointments in the past. My starter of parmesan consommé with a giant ravioli filled with wild mushroom duxelle was well conceived, but turned out bland. The broth just didn’t have enough flavor (other than a hint of parmesan), nor did the mushrooms. Scrat’s roasted beet salad with goat cheese and wild greens was about par for the course, though a little light on the beets. My entrée however knocked me right f#^%$!#g out. Venison tenderloin, dusted with espresso grounds, and roasted to a perfect medium rare; served with a cranberry port compote and red currant demi-glace. Contrary to my expectations, the compote wasn’t at all sweet, quite tart in fact, but balanced by a nice sweetness in the demi. The coffee flavor was certainly present, but not overwhelming. Good mashed potatoes and a striking presentation as well. Called ‘Coquilles St Jacque’ by the waiter, scrat’s entrée was large sea scallops seared perfectly (and I mean the kind of perfect where a couple more seconds more or less would have degraded it) in a seafood bisque with sautéed mushrooms. Dessert was cheesecake, advertised as lemon, but tasting as regular, with good strawberry compote.

The story is that the same tribal group that runs the Skagit Casino took over management of the resort over a couple years ago, and they have obviously done an outstanding job. Not only is the food barely recognizable compared to the past, the entire place is cleaner and the staff more professional. They’ve completely remodeled their spa, where I had a most excellent massage.

[tighe]

After our visit last week, the sub-title for the thread should be changed to 'the food sucks again, is heinously overpriced, and the service is a joke'. Very dissapointing.

[hummingbirdkiss]

you are absolutely right!!...it does suck doesn't it ???..we had a nursing conference there and what a huge disapointment it was ..the food sucked the service sucked ...we had to change rooms because ours was not cleaned!

it is not good to serve a bunch of nurses crappy food!! it makes us all very grumpy!

I think that is the last time we will have our annual meeting there that is for sure!