Cougar print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1976-1977, December 09, 1976, Page 16, Image 16

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    Mt. Hood
dining:
snails, steaks,
and
down home
cooking
It's a cozy, cotton-candy world at Mt.
Hood, when the red sun falls to its knees at
the end of a winter's day.
You'll want to sit on the edge of the
sunset and watch the white-frosted moun­
tain blush pink. But when the spirit of dark­
ness snaps up your shadow, it's time to
snuggle up for dinner.
Forest Inn and Chalet Swiss received the
highest ratings in a survey of Mt. Hood
restaurants where owners or managers of
each establishment were asked where they
would dine out -- other than their own
restaurant.
For more casual dining, the Log Lodge
and Zigzag Inn were rated the most popular.
By Lenna Fitch
Staff Writer
Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and other clas­
sical pianists accompany the European decor
at the Forest Inn at Aldercreek. Most of the
customers who patronize the Inn drive
from
the city to warm by the stone
fireplace and make an evening of the con­
tinental cuisine. The Forest Inn is cradled
in a valley 8 miles east of Sandy on High­
way 26, and proprietors are Hans D'Alessio
and his wife Ulla.
Evergreens in the forest beckon in the
wind as Ulla greets you at the door. With
your cocktails, hor d'oeuvres of tiny Japan­
ese baby lobsters are a suggesting prelude
to a symphony of primed aged meats and
delicacies of the sea that have recently won
D'Alessio a five-star international rating by
Michelin's magazine, a French publication.
Other awards bestowed on them are the
Holiday five-star and the Mobil Travel five-
star. Many celebrities and public figures
make the Forest Inn a must when in Port­
land.
You'll dine beneath a coat of arms, or
shadows of moose horns silently scaling the
Page 16
cedar walls. Soup of dill, curry, spinach or
other potage creations precede a crisp salad.
An entree of stuffed abalone seduces even
the modest appetite. Australian lobster tem­
pts you from a tantalizing orange shell.
Steak dishes transform the most abstemious
into gourmets. The "sauce" is the secret.
While skis and toboggans sketch the
mountain sides, D'Alessio and his assistant
spend the day in the kitchen interweaving
spices and other choice ingrediences har­
moniously into a variety of piquant com­
positions.
With his gourmet training in Zurich
Switzerland at Hotel Merkur, Totdhar and
Jungfrau Joch, D'Alessio adds the sauce
and transcends tender cuts of fillet into
Tournedos Rossini, Medallions of Beef, Cream
Ou Morrelles, and other pleasures that will
bring you back again and again.
Reservations are necessary. Prices start
at $7.40 for complete dinners. The restau­
rant opens at 5:30 p.m. and is closed on
Monday.
The D'Alessios also own the Ivy Bear
next door where the quality food draws
the younger set and those with modest
budgets.
When dining out, Hans and Ulla D'Alessio
eat at the Chalet Swiss.
Anytime you'd like to have dinner at a
remote herdsman's hut in the Alps without
going abroad, dine at the Chalet Swiss on
Highway 26 in Wemme. While winter's bride
rides the night winds, spinning cartwheels
up the highest peaks, take refuge in this
mouth like manna from heaven. Ify|
to cook your own meat to perfectid
table, order Fondue Bourguignonnt
be served a variety of sauces to d]
pieces of beef in.
Dinner is not complete withoj
Toblerone (Hot Toblerone chocolatl
over a scoop of vanilla ice cream andl
It is superb.
Prices start at $7.00. The restauran
at 5 p.m. and closes on Monday an
day. It is also to be closed Dec. 13l
29.
Where would Mezgar dine out?
"At the Forest Inn," he said. Ft
casual dining he would eat at the Log
"You don't have to go to a fane
to get good wholesome food," I
Log Lodge is the most popular
restaurant among owners for the qua
food and congenial atmosphere. And
all restaurant owners agreed that tb
for breakfast was Log Lodge. It's
cabin located on Highway 26 in Rho
dron.
So by the time the mountain bln
come to rest on the first morning suil
it's time to head out for breakfast,
want to enjoy the splendor of the nr
before the fresh snow blossoms will
the roadside. Log Lodge opens at:
Why do the local people go thl
breakfast?
"It could be the old-fashioned pi
potatoes," said owner B.J. Kim. Hesa
he uses no ready made or frozenl
. when the red sun falls to its knees... whi
the spirit of darkness snags up your shadow
it’s time to snuggle up for dinner.’
gleaming little fortress. Reserve a seat. The
restaurant accommodates only fifty.
Among the selections of hors d'oeuvres
to give you strength, as you relax with
cordial spirits served in bell-shaped glasses,
are Buendnerfleishch (paper thin dried beef)
and a Roclette Taster (Swiss Raclette cheese
broiled over a roll).
Kurt Mezger, owner of the Chalet Swiss,
served his apprenticeship in Bern and in
"season hotels" in Switzerland -- his home­
land. In the Mt. Hood area he converted an
old community church into a restaurant
where he ministers to the hungry red-nosed
skier and the weary traveler as well as the
connoisseur of the culinary arts.
Swiss wheat, cauliflower or cucumber
soup warms the heart. Antique bells and
copper pots hang above Swiss farm furni­
ture. Back in the kitchen that glistens as
clean as the fresh fallen snow, Mezger works
alone, with only the aid of a dishwasher.
While you're trying to persuade the wait­
ress to reveal the secret ingrediences in the
green colored salad dressing, Mezger is pre­
paring you one of seventeen entrees.
If you like snails. Steak a L'escargots
(served with herb butter on rice) could be
your choice. You may want to try Zurcher
Geschnetzeltes (a dish of delicate veal scal­
lops blessed with a rich cream sauce and
mushrooms). It is served with Spaetzli --
tiny home made noodles that melt in your
"Ninety five per cent of everyth
made from scratch," he explained.“
I fry potatoes, I start by peeling the
toes."
Kim said that almost all of his custi
are regulars. He opens the restaurant
for breakfast and dinner on Thursdays
days, Saturdays, and Sundays. Amos
selections offered for dinner by ths
side are steak sandwiches, a ham and«
sandwich that is popular, and completal
dinners along with an oriental sped!
Thursday evenings. Kim is from Kl
The Log Lodge is known for its I
made pies of huckleberry, blackberry,!
berry, and pumpkin. Kim's wife Eoo!
does most of the cooking.
"I think my prices are lower than!
body elses'," said Kim. Complete dl
range from $4.50 to $6.95.
Zigzag Inn in Zigzag is another rests I
favored by owners for casual dining.RI
hopscotch merrily along an old log it I
fireplace on the back wall. Fromthfl
dow, customers can watch the snoifl
For dinner they are served everything
soup and sandwiches to chicken andi
lings and steak and lobster. Home
pies follow. They do a tremendous bul
Owners are Merrill and Collette Bal
Chefs are Salvadore Hernandez andl
Redding. They are open 7 days a week!
II a.m. Monday through Thursday!
7 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
Clackamas Community Cl