Bistro at Williams Lake well worth the drive
In our never-ending quest to fill our stomachs, and this space, we are sometimes forced to exit our comfort zone.
The comfort zone would be that quick, known location where we can get a good meal at a fair price – and on those big occasions we have our wives with us, they are happy during the ride home.
Because we get a stipend, we can be big and bold, which was our plan on a recent Friday night, a date night that saw us head west from the comfort of our Spokane Valley homes to … who knows where.
Those years as a sportswriter covering Eagle Nation made getting to Cheney routine, but those next 15 miles made this trip, well, interesting.
The restaurateur, on whose recommendation we were acting, said the drive by Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge provided an unusual rugged beauty normally not associated with a night out. He promised a great reward.
Then we arrived at Klink’s Resort on Williams Lake.
Greeted by a bunch of RVs and people in questionable attire, we were supposed to believe there is a gem hidden there.
Welcome to the Bistro at Williams Lake.
Yes, the decor is like a lake cabin and the young family at the next table had just come off the beach. But the table is set like a big-time restaurant with cloth napkins, high-quality place settings, and a wait staff attired in all black.
The wine list and menu were equally impressive – in options and cost. All that remained was to see if the meal could match the buildup.
The chardonnay was fine, the coconut prawn appetizer ($11.90) was good and so were the Caesar salads ($6.90) we shared with our spouses.
And then the good bottle of cab and our meals arrived.
We shared tastes of the Parmesan Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce ($18.90), Eddy’s Chicken Fried Chicken ($17.90) and Pork Tenderloin Medallions ($19.90). Each received high marks around the table. The surprise was the Bacon Chicken Mac and Cheese ($17.90).
“Mac and cheese isn’t just for kids anymore,” one wife raved. “Adding chicken and bacon makes it a grown-up dish. Delish.”
Our wives chose to save enough for the next day’s lunch and dinged us for a dessert of burnt cream, which disappeared quickly.
They also gave a thumbs-up to the music – quality and volume – that started near the end of our meal.
The prices were a tad higher than the setting might lead you to expect, but it was worth every penny. In the end it factored out to about $35 per person, and no one complained.
We finished our wine on the patio, enjoying the scent in the air after the short, intense rain shower that kept us from eating outside. And a walk on the dock was a nice ending.
The ride home seemed much quicker as we dissected our experience.
In addition to no complaints at all with the menu, we were all very impressed with the service provided by Libby, an Eastern Washington University student, who had the personality, deft hand and perfect presence to make us feel like we were in any high-end restaurant in the area.
The bistro’s slogan is “The only thing we overlook is the lake.”
We couldn’t agree more. It was well worth departing our comfort zone and definitely added another entree on the list of places we would love to visit again.