Sadighi's serves a solid, satisfying meal

Stacee Sledge

Mar 20, 2003 — Have you ever eaten at Sadighi's?"

I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked this question.

"No," I've always answered. "Have you?"

Every single time, the people would answer that they, also, had never eaten there — and didn't know anyone who had.

It's certainly a place surrounded by mystery.

Established in 1984, Sadighi's charming building stands out at its location on busy Lakeway Drive near Fred Meyer. It looks inviting, yet the parking lot seems sparsely populated every time I drive by.

So I was surprised, during a recent visit with my husband and our friend Susan, to watch nearly all the tables around us fill up over the course of our meal.

It didn't take long for us to discover the niche Sadighi's has successfully snagged.

As you enter the dining room, a table holds AAA guidebooks and other tourist-related materials. Nearby plaques proclaim the restaurant AAA-approved. It seems that a large amount of Sadighi's business derives from tourists and travelers staying at nearby hotels.

At one point during our meal, an older couple seated next to us, poring over a map, asked us for directions to Western Washington University. At another table, I watched a middle-aged couple use their silverware in the distinctive Continental style, cutting with a knife in the right hand and spearing the cut food from the left with fork tines facing down.

Sadighi's

Location:  921 Lakeway Drive Phone: 647-1109 Hours: opens 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday Serving: Traditional dishes from filet mignon to fish and chips served in a formal yet comfy setting. Menu items sampled:  Jalapeno poppers $4.95  Caesar salad $4.25  New York steak $16.95  Chicken crème fraiche $13.95  Linguini marinara $7.95  Cheesecake $4.25

The dining area of the restaurant is narrow with soaring second-story ceilings and lovely wood accents at the windows. The entire space is lined with windows enveloped with attractive trellises and greenery, making the somewhat small space seem roomy and cozy at the same time.

Our server returned to our table a few minutes after seating us, carefully lighting the lamp on our table. He deftly served the tables surrounding us as they filled up. Charming in an understated way, he stopped often to ask if we needed our water glasses refilled and warned us that our dishes were quite hot. Both Susan and I took a shine to him.

We started with one of my husband's favorites, jalapeno poppers. Garnished attractively with strands of thinly sliced carrot, Sadighi's were fantastic — lightly breaded, plump with sour cream filling and served with a creamy dipping sauce.

I had a simple Caesar salad that wasn't built with the usual romaine lettuce, rather green leaf lettuce. Heavily dressed with a tangy dressing that wasn't incredibly Caesar-like, it was still enjoyable. I'm learning that there is a wide interpretation of Caesar from restaurant to restaurant in Whatcom County.

Susan had a starter salad made of the same leafy greens as my Caesar, topped with slivers of carrot, red cabbage, tomato wedges and a dusting of grated Parmesan. An oil and vinegar salad dressing was served on the side.

My husband and I ordered entrees that came with soup, an indistinct broth with slivers of white onion and mushroom slices.

A basket of uniformly cut, thin slices of soft bread arrived with our soup and was wrapped in a deep red linen cloth that matched the tablecloth. Shortly after the bread arrived, our entrees arrived.

My husband ordered the New York steak, which arrived cooked to his exact specification, lightly seasoned and open broiled, finished with attractive hatched grill marks. The steak didn't rate a rave, but my husband reported it was more than passable. A side of steamed carrots and broccoli finished out the plate, alongside rice pilaf.

Although my husband found his steak somewhat average, I was more than satisfied with my entree of chicken crème fraiche, a boneless, skinless chicken breast pan-seared and then baked in a flavorful sour cream-mushroom sauce. I also had carrots and broccoli, teamed with wonderful red potatoes that had been halved, baked and seasoned.

Susan, a vegetarian, ordered the linguini marinara, a simple pasta dish topped with cheese and baked and served with standard garlic bread. She likes her pasta prepared al dente — toothsome and chewy. It's rare that she finds pasta dishes cooked the way she likes it, but Sadighi's was right on the mark. The accompanying sauce was quite sweet, another of Susan's preferences.

We each tried a slice of Sadighi's cheesecake, with raspberry sauce for my husband and chocolate for Susan and me. We all agreed wholeheartedly it was fabulous. I've certainly had worse at trendy, more popular area restaurants.

Other dessert offerings include cheesecake or ice cream topped with raspberry syrup, chocolate syrup, Kahlua, Baileys Irish Cream or crème de menthe liqueur and mini cream puffs with a splash of chocolate sauce.

Admittedly, we entered Sadighi's with low expectations. Much to my surprise, we left having enjoyed a meal that was neither disappointing nor spectacular — simply solid.

Considering our pessimistic attitudes before we arrived, I think Susan put is best when she mused, "It was curiously impressive, actually."