Patsy Clark’S Food Needs An Extra Dose Of Glory

Despite what people think, it gives me no pleasure to write a critical review. Especially about a beloved institution.

Yet, a year after a new owner moved in, vowing to return Patsy Clark’s to its former glory, that just has not happened.

Never before have I rooted for such a turnaround. This is a place where people go to make memories, Spokane’s ultimate special-occasion restaurant.

And, to their credit, the new owners — Monty Danner, who also operates The Clark House at Hayden Lake and Dempsey’s, and his son, Mark, who is the restaurant’s manager — have made some real progress, sprucing up the old girl. Last spring, diners were greeted at the entry by tattered indoor-outdoor carpet. That’s been replaced, and the interior shows that TLC has been lavished on it.

The service staff is also among the most polished and professional around.

Unfortunately, what’s missing from this comeback formula is the food. (With the notable exception being the excellent Sunday brunch, but more on that later.)

The menu — developed by chef Yeppi Pulsts, who ran critically acclaimed restaurants on the East Coast — leans toward classic cuisine, but every single thing I tried was drowning in oversalted sauce.

On a visit last spring, I was hoping to test the waters with some appetizers and a bottle of wine in the lovely lounge area. Surprise. That area is now reserved for banquets. If you want drinks and hors d’oeuvres, or maybe just a glass of port and some dessert, you can take a seat on the landing leading to the restrooms upstairs, near a fireplace.

That didn’t make sense during the warm weather, so we took the table we were offered in the garden room. There, surrounded by kids in their prom finery, I tried a few first courses.

The Dungeness crab cakes contained very little crabmeat, and the delicate flavor of that was overpowered by red pepper sauce that pooled on the plate.

A salmon wrapped in phyllo dough tasted fishy and a saute of wild mushrooms was oversalted and swimming in butter.

But the evening wasn’t a complete wash. It was fun watching the prom-bound kids trying to act grown up, and there was that stellar bottle of Drouhin chablis. (The selection from the cellar has slimmed down considerably, but there are still many good choices.)

Still, I came away disheartened. This experience just reinforced the long-held notion that you didn’t go to Patsy’s for the food, but instead for the atmosphere. Too bad you can’t eat the ambiance.

I wasn’t ready to write the old girl off, though. I waited a few months before going back.

And last week, dinner started on such a promising note.

My friend and I were seated in the pretty-in-pink French Room, near the fire. We were the only ones in the room the entire evening, but the place still felt so inviting and cozy.

The waiter was gracious, especially when my seafood chowder was so salty that I couldn’t eat it. (And I like salt.) He brought me a house salad instead, which was fine.

However, that delay meant my friend’s steak — which she ordered rare — arrived medium well.

Again, our server was solicitous. “No, that’s definitely not rare,” he agreed, when she showed him the overcooked meat. (It’s the chef’s night off, he later explained. Not that that should make a difference when you’re spending $70 on dinner for two.)

So, while I ate my ahi tuna, the kitchen fired another steak. My fish was cooked medium rare, but its flavor was obscured by a creamy mushroom sauce. Because tuna has such a rich, almost beefy quality, it almost demands a lighter, contrasting sauce.

The rice and veggies on the side were nicely prepared. The mix of carrots, zucchini and corn was still firm and flavorful.

The steak came — medallions of beef tenderloin with a blue cheese bordelaise — and it was indeed rare. It was also melt-in-your-mouth tender and had a fine flavor.

But once again, it was drenched in a sauce that didn’t really contribute anything except salt. When you have a great cut of meat, why not just let it stand on its own?

After taking another look at the menu, I saw that there wasn’t a single dish served without a sauce.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think sauces are wonderful, if they’re done right. But every single sauce I sampled had no finesse, and was salty in the extreme.

Yet, this is easy enough to remedy, and after a lovely brunch, it seems that the kitchen is capable of doing good food.

Last weekend, the dining rooms were brimming with families celebrating. And with sun streaming into the windows, the mansion did look ever-so-stately. A talented pianist played in the foyer. The whole scene felt festive.

The $25 buffet includes a glass of bubbly, sparkling cider or coffee. A pleasant server filled us in on the drill: Help yourself. There’s an omelet bar, a crepe station and a carvery where they cut slices of ham and roast beef.

Desserts sit near the doorway that leads to the buffet, reminding you to leave room.

Everything I put on my plate was very good, from the juicy ham and pink slab of beef with potent horseradish to the poached salmon and corned beef hash. The eggs Benedict was great, as were the delicate, cooked-to-order crepes.

There were salads and trays heaped with fruit. There was a platter of peel-and-eat shrimp (too much trouble) and cocktail shrimp.

On the sweet side, a light chocolate mousse piped into a cookie cup was first-rate, and just right. I had to pass up cheesecake, pecan pie and others because the food was so good I had to go back for seconds.

Certainly, I’m not suggesting Patsy’s switch to an all-you-can-eat format. But it does seem that a kitchen that can pull off such a spectacular spread should be able to do decent dinners.

Patsy’s will probably always be a considered a special-occasion venue, and maybe people expect and want a meal with ultra-rich sauces when they go there.

But if this much-loved landmark is going to successfully move into the 21st century, I would love to see more attention paid to doing fewer things and doing them really well.

I have faith that Patsy’s can indeed return to its glory days, and when it does, I’ll be the first to cheer its success.

What the ratings mean: **** Excellent, *** Great, **Good, * Fair

Dining Out Patsy Clark’s **

Serving

Lunch weekdays, dinner daily and Sunday brunch. Reservations are recommended for brunch. The restaurant is wheelchair accessible, but the restrooms are not. It’s smoke-free.

The tab, etc.

Lunches start at $8 for a cup of soup and a half salad and top out at $14 for seafood crepes. Dinners, which come with a choice of soup or salad, range in price from $18 for vegetable lasagna to $35 for beef tenderloin. Brunch is $25. They take all major credit cards and personal checks.