Dining Out
Dining Out: A menu of adventure at the Prairie Bar & Grill
Prairie Bar & Grill is a family-owned and -operated establishment with a full bar, pool tables and live bands scheduled for most Friday and Saturday nights, but food has become the largest part of the business since 2000. Regular menu revisions keep favorites around while adding new selections for patrons to try.
New sub shop in Camas delivers the goods
Why: After years of Subway’s domination as the go-to place for a submarine sandwich, it could be that Jimmy John’s is bringing some competition with fresh subs that are, as they claim, “Just like Mama used to make them.” If your Mama made the best, it’s likely that you will agree.
Dining out: Sandwich Box serves up tasty basics
When I first started working in downtown Vancouver, I was excited by all the lunch options within walking distance of the office. It doesn’t take long, however, for the lower-priced restaurants to start seeming stale and for the cost of the others to add up. Sandwich Box is a new addition to the affordable downtown lunch scene.
Dining out: Bamboo Hut a treat even without meat
Asian -inspired menu includes chicken, vegetarian choices
Why: Tucked into a storefront next to the Salmon Creek Fred Meyer, Bamboo Hut offers healthy Asian-inspired food that’s easy for diners to customize. Sauces come on the side, so you can choose whether to drench your chicken in teriyaki sauce or take it light. Though chicken, salmon and prawns play center stage in more than half the entrees, Bamboo Hut also has a robust vegetarian menu that makes abundant use of tofu and soy chicken. It’s one of the few places around where vegetarians can order pho, a hearty Vietnamese stew usually made with beef broth.
Dining Out: Fresh berries find place at Mrs. Joe’s Kitchen
Why: It’s berry season, and it’s hard to get berries much fresher than from the fields. Better yet is getting in-season food at the farm where it’s grown. That’s what happens on Saturdays through December at Mrs. Joe’s Kitchen at Joe’s Place Farms in Vancouver. The kitchen opened about six years ago, said Michelle Shumaker, 48, daughter of Joe Beaudoin, who owns Joe’s Place Farms, an 80-acre farm clustered in suburban Vancouver. The simple menu offerings were inspired by weekend breakfasts with the Beaudoin family.
2nd slice of hot pizza joint worth the wait
Why: There’s always room for another carry-out and delivery pizza restaurant. Blazzin Pizza sets itself apart by offering a more diverse menu than many other rapid-production pizza shops, and now has a second location: in the Hazel Dell-Salmon Creek area. (Its first is in Cascade Park).
Dining Out: Golden City shines as go-to for family
If you are looking for a go-to Chinese restaurant where cleanliness is a priority, flavors are fresh and a few out-of-the-ordinary dishes offer a bit of adventure, the Golden City may fit the bill. Unpretentiously situated in a strip mall shared by a martial arts studio and a Mexican restaurant, the Golden City offers family dining and authentic dishes.
Dining Out: Mio Sushi shows what freshness can be worth
Why: Known for being fresh and affordable, Mio Sushi has recently opened a restaurant in Salmon Creek. Though just a couple of blocks from Sushi Chiyo, another popular sushi dig, Mio Sushi doesn’t serve its selections on a rotating track. Instead, menu options are made fresh to order to ensure full flavor and optimum quality in every bite.
Bella’s Courtyard is lovely place to linger
Coffeehouse stands ready to welcome laid-back literary set
Why: It’s not a school nowadays, but students still come to Bella’s Courtyard, located on the ground floor of The Academy. Instead of attending class, nowadays they hunch over books and laptops as they tackle homework. Tracy Hein, owner of Bella’s Courtyard since June, hopes patrons of the new main Fort Vancouver Regional Library, will join them, along with urban hipsters in search of music and an art scene. The library is scheduled to open in July.
Dining Out: Ying Ying offers old faves in a new place
Why: Formerly known as Fa Fa Gourmet, Ying Ying Chinese Restaurant has downsized just a bit and relocated to the former site of Fat Dave’s. The menu includes a wide range of options, all prepared without MSG.
Artistry encompassed in a cup
At Compass Coffee, attention is lavished on ingredients as well as presentation
Why: Owners Bryan Wray and Mike McGinness are redefining their downtown coffeehouse, Compass Coffee, formerly known as Paradise Cafe, in order to shine the spotlight on their locally roasted beans. The beans are hand-crafted at their combined roaster, tasting lab and education center on St Johns Road in Vancouver.
Gobi grills its fresh food with a deft hand
The most distinctive part of dining at Gobi Mongolian Grill restaurant is that you create your own stir fry by choosing ingredients and quantities, and you make your own sauce by combining basic sauce elements in order to end up with a custom creation tailored to your appetite.
Dining Out: Coffeehouse brews up a variety of beverages
Why: Locally owned Thatcher’s Coffee opened July 5 adjacent to Lapellah in the Fred Meyer-anchored Grand Central complex. An eco-friendly, local, and sustainable approach is woven into the vibe at this new option for Vancouver coffeehouse devotees. Portland-based Ristretto Roasters provides the coffee. The menu board offers coffee, tea, espresso-based drinks and blended drinks. Thatcher’s specialties include a honey and vanilla latte and a caramel latte. A kid’s menu offers blended fruit smoothies.
Cafe offers Hawaiian fare, friendly tips
Owner not shy about suggesting tasty seasonings
Why: It started as a side-of-the-road kind of thing, on a whim. It was 1996 and Kekoa Hunter, 43, figured he’d use the parking lot of his family’s Eugene, Ore., auto parts store as a locale to serve up some of his Hawaiian fare. He cooked. Customers came. So, too, did the authorities, who busted him for skirting permits. “It was supposed to be this casual thing,” Hunter said, a Cheshire grin crossing his face.
Spring for a pizza slice at Andrew’s
Creative combinations help round out the scenic drive to Stevenson
Why: Sheath that umbrella. Stow those rain boots. And say hello to springtime and her flowers in the Columbia River Gorge, where hillside sprays of lupine and lilies, camas and balsamroot will color hillsides and meadows through early summer. If you’re like me, ready to bid the gun-metal gray skies of winter adieu, an afternoon of gorge spring wildflower gazing could do wonders for your spirits. Whether you take in those flowers with a Highway 14 drive, a gorge hike or a gorge winery quest to search out that perfect bottle of wine, at some point hunger pangs will speak. Or even cry out for pizza. If that happens in Stevenson, Andrew’s Pizza, a quaint little shop on the main drag, is worth a stop.
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