Thursday, June 10, 2021 • The BuLLeTIn
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 13
FOOD
TRUCKS
& CARTS
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The new incarnation is airy and open.
Two stories of windows bring in light in
the entry from the parking lot. The bar and
restaurant are one large area. Sleek metal
and wood tables and chairs give a sophisti-
cated but casual air. Cowhide armchairs cre-
ate a conversation area near a fireplace. On
the front of the building, a wall opens up to
several tables of outdoor dining.
While I’m not reviewing the beer, Gen-
eral Manager Katie Chase told me that be-
cause of the pandemic, they were lucky to be
able to hire Ryan Schmiege. Schmiege had
been working as assistant brewmaster at De-
schutes Brewery. He’s brought deep knowl-
edge and creative ideas to the new brews.
Cascade Lakes beer pairings are listed with
each menu item.
Ted Swigert of Drake and Washington
Kitchen and Cocktails helped transform the
restaurant from a simple brewpub to a culi-
nary taproom. Swigert and Drake executive
chef John Gurnee set the direction for the
menu, and Cascade Lakes’ executive chef
Jeff Kelly took it from there. Both influences
can be seen in the recipes. Charred carrot
hummus, long served at Drake, is used in
the veggie wrap. Kelly brings Shrimp and
Grits and a Smoke Shrimp “Po Boy” from
his Southern roots.
My friend and I sat on the patio to en-
joy the warm weather one recent evening
for dinner. She wanted something light and
opted for the Beets and Sweets Salad. Ev-
erything in the salad was fresh and crisp —
from the cashew bits to the lettuce. Small
cubes of roasted sweet potatoes, pickled on-
ions, thinly sliced table radishes and thick-
sliced watermelon radishes accompanied
the tender-roasted blush candy stripe beets.
The whipped chevre encircled below the
bowl’s lip, and it was lightly tossed with a
spiced citrus dressing. The salad was well
balanced with sweet, nutty, sour and the
wonderful crisp freshness of the lettuce. I
found it perfect for a warm summer supper,
but my friend felt the beets were salty.
I’m a big fan of Shrimp and Grits, but this
dish was a disappointment. It’s a simple dish
of shrimp, pork belly and fried tomato atop
smoked grits. Small pork belly chunks were
hard and over-cooked, offering little flavor.
Big chunks of mushy tomatoes dominated
the sauce. The creamy grits had almost no
taste. After my visit, I spoke with Chef Kelly,
who explained that wasn’t how the dish
should have been prepared.
A few days later, I returned to try the
Shrimp and Grits the way it was intended.
As I suspected, it was much more nuanced
Walls have been torn down and windows added for a lighter interior.
than the first preparation. The pork belly
was crispy but retained its richness. The to-
matoes enhanced the sauce. The grits were
spiced, smoky, textured corn that played
against the other flavors. Kelly told me
that the heirloom grits are brought in from
Charleston, South Carolina.
In our conversation, I discovered that the
Veggie Wrap I ordered for lunch on my next
visit was also not prepared correctly. The
first wrap had a thin layer of charred car-
rot hummus and a pile of dry lettuce. While
it was fresh, it wasn’t appealing. The menu
describes the wrap as having cucumber,
carrot, basil, mixed lettuce, quinoa and tza-
tziki. When I returned, I tried it again. The
wrap was utterly different. A thick layer of
charred carrot hummus surrounded a mix-
ture of lettuce, quinoa, and other ingredients
dressed in tzatziki. It was a fresh, satisfying
wrap. Having been a fan of the charred car-
rot hummus at Drake, I was disappointed
that it didn’t have that same sweet taste in ei-
ther of these wraps.
As a hamburger is a staple at most brew-
eries, I gave the Cascade Lakes Burger a try.
It was a thick, juicy patty with special sauce
(a ketchup and aioli base with housemade
relish) beer cheese, shredded lettuce and
housemade bread and butter pickles on a
Big Ed’s Kaiser bun that stands up to the
sauce and beer cheese. It was a good mix
of flavors that was made better with a bit of
sweet and salty bacon jam. The fries that
come with the sandwiches and wraps are cut
for each order and fried with potato skins.
They are perfectly crunchy — fried on the
outside and creamy in. I found myself eating
all the fries with each meal.
For a bit of greens to go with my burger,
I chose the Harvest Bowl as the description
sounded healthy. Wheatberry’s nutty fla-
vor can add texture and dimension in place
of rice or quinoa. This salad adds toasted
wheatberry to warmed kale with crispy,
creamy potato wedges and spiced peanuts.
A generous serving of oyster and maitake
mushrooms with a hint of sweet and sour
was mixed into the salad. A cured egg yolk
adds creaminess to the herb vinaigrette
dressing. The kale was tender with no hint
of bitterness. It was a very earthy, woodsy
salad, but it could have used some acid or
more sour tones to lighten it overall.
I also grabbed a French Dip sandwich to
go. The meat was very tender and rich. A
little bit of sharp provolone and caramelized
onion gave it some interest on the potato
hoagie bun. It came with au jus that was the
perfect accompaniment (and was not salty
as is often the case with au jus). It was sim-
ple but a good choice after a day of hiking or
paddling around the Cascade Lakes.
As restaurants are still struggling to hire
qualified employees, the new Cascade Lakes
kitchen is hoping they can find consistency
in executing the recipes. If you go to the
restaurant and don’t receive the meal as it is
intended, Kelly encourages you to ask that it
be made right.
I’m confident that they will work it out as
the kitchen and staff I encountered are dedi-
cated to providing the culinary taproom ex-
perience they promise.
e
Reporter: barb@barbgonzalezphotography.com