Aug
22, 2002 — Another
scrumptious buffet?
I know I say it each time I review one, but I don't usually
like them. Really. But there must be something special about
Whatcom County's offerings, because this is the third buffet
I've written about in the past several months, and it's another
winner.
The Red River Café at the Silver Reef Casino outside of
Ferndale is, in a word, swank. Enormous arching doors welcome
you into the space, complete with beautiful woodwork, and
accompanied by an immense, impressive light fixture. Ceilings
soar high above tables laid out with fine place settings.
I haven't visited many casinos — it's just not my thing. So
I can't say much about that aspect of the Silver Reef Casino
except that it was bright and colorful, smoky and had the
ever-constant low buzz of scads of people enjoying flashing
lights on digital screens.
After walking through the casino and stepping into the Red
River Café, it was easy to forget you weren't in a
free-standing restaurant.
The front dining room smelled a bit like cigarette smoke, but
the equally luxurious back dining room didn't at all.
My friend Heather and I stopped in on a recent Sunday, during
the casino's jazz brunch, advertised as New Orleans style. What
a treat. A jazz trio played Thelonious Monk as we walked through
the first dining room and chose a large comfy booth in the next
room.
|
Red River Café |
|
Location:
4876 Haxton Way,
Ferndale
Phone: 383-0777
Hours: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., daily Brunch buffet
11 a.m. - 3 p.m., Sunday Dinner buffet 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.,
Sunday
Serving: Upscale brunch entrees accompanied by
a buffet of salad, soup, fruit, baked goods, meats and
cheeses.
Menu items sampled:
Jazz brunch buffet $11.95 |
From that vantage point, the volume of the music was just
right and relaxing. I suspect it might have been a little loud
for easy conversation if we had stayed in the room where they
were performing.
This isn't your average buffet. And although it's not quite
on par with the Harborside Bistro at the Bellwether — which is
really the crème de la crème of area brunch buffets — the
Red River Café isn't far behind.
The jazz buffet entailed a lot more than just a sizeable
selection of baked goods, salads, soup, fruits, meats and
cheeses. First, we each chose a full-on brunch entree from a
menu that included blackened salmon, a French Quarter omelet,
French toast and two different types of eggs benedict.
We chose our entrees and then made a beeline for the buffet.
Decorative bottles of vegetable- and herb-packed olive oils
line the back of the mid-sized buffet, which was divided into
several areas: salads, fruit, meat and cheese tray, soup and
baked goods.
The salad portion of the buffet was the least impressive. The
usual salad suspects joined two small bowls of iceberg lettuce:
cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, beats,
imitation crab meat and carrots.
There were only three options for dressings, none of which
was labeled. I took my chances and ended up with a very strong
but pleasant Italian blend.
Three prepared salads were also available: a pea and cashew
mixture, a whipped cream and fruit salad that included
delectable maraschino cherries, and a pleasant pasta salad
containing spirals, slices of carrot and a tangy oily dressing.
A watermelon carved into a decorative bowl held bite-size
bits of fresh fruit, including melon, pineapple and grapes next
to a tray of cheese and rolled slices of turkey, roast beef and
ham. Oddly, there were no rolls or other bread item to accompany
the meats, but considering the portion size of the entrees to
come, they weren't really missed.
A beef and vegetable soup was offered, as well as cream-based
tomato and tortellini — both piping hot and fresh.
The most impressive area of the buffet was the attractively
displayed platters of pastries, muffins, croissants, powdered
sugar-sprinkled scones. The croissants were a bit stale, but all
other items were scrumptious, especially the scones, sandwiching
flavorful, fruity jam.
We returned to our table to find two flutes filled with
champagne, which added a nice touch.
Soon after sitting down, our entrees were served.
I ordered a three-egg omelet with diced ham and sharp cheddar
cheese. Options also included bacon, peppers, mushrooms, green
onions, tomato, spinach and shrimp. It was an impressive omelet,
to be certain: fluffy, enormous and full of flavor. Each bite of
ham was tinged with the slightest maple flavor.
Heather ordered the French toast, two slices of extra-thick
egg bread dredged in a rich cinnamon-Kahlua custard and served
with a generous dusting of powdered sugar. Two large sausages,
which we both declared fabulous, shared the plate along with
home-style potatoes.
Both entrees were accompanied by the home-style potatoes,
large wedges of seasoned potato mingled with strips of roasted
red peppers and onions.
The texture of the potatoes suggested they had been re-heated
and had lost most of their crunch, but even in their softer
state, they were flavorful and pleasing.
The only glitch in our service was that Heather's French
toast was served without syrup. We failed to notice it right
away and, although there was only one other person in the dining
room with us, had trouble finding our server once we did note
the omission.
I finally got up and went in search of her, and she quickly
brought out a very small, overfull container of the sweet stuff.
On our way out, I noticed the talented jazz trio had put
their instruments away and were happily enjoying a meal
themselves - with a brunch this bountiful, I have to think
that's one of the best perks of the gig.
