Running Tab: Put a steak in it at Masselow’s and Chinook; igloo dining at Osprey

We live in interesting pandemic times, and the culinary industry is no different. While takeout and outdoor patio dining are the norm during the latest shutdown through Jan. 4 in Washington, Idaho is still fair game for in-person dining, as are the casinos in Washington.

I’ll never say no to steakhouses, one of my all-time favorite dining options, and it’s over and done – actually, medium rare – if prime rib is on the menu. Two recent dining excursions have included first times at Masselow’s Steakhouse at Northern Quest Resort & Casino and Chinook Steak, Pasta & Spirits reimagined by Adam Hegsted at Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley.

Masselow’s Steakhouse at Northern Quest

The holiday season arrived early for yours truly because I’ve finally had my first exceptional steakhouse experience in Spokane in the last two years, and it was at Masselow’s (100 N. Hayford Road, (509) 481-6020; northernquest.com) on Nov. 19.

Actually, Table 13 at the Davenport Grand is up there with Masselow’s, and Churchill’s Steakhouse (the ambience), Spencer’s for Steaks & Chops (the Snake River Farms Zabuton) and Rusty Moose (prime rib) have their positives, but from start to finish, dinner at Masselow’s was perfection.

Six tables are being seated for dinner (reservations are recommended), and chefs Tanya Broesder Di Santis and Kristina Stephenson are offering three- and four-course tasting menus, a smart and resourceful adjustment during the pandemic. Pastry chef Stephenson recently competed on the Food Network’s “Holiday Baking Championship.”

Dan and Troy served our exquisite dinner with beautiful platings: amuse bouche, one of the best Old Fashioneds I’ve ever had (Woodford Reserve, smooth, and look at that gorgeous ice ball), bread service by Troy (I loved the espresso bread and tangerine butter) and tableside Caesar salad prepared by Dan.

Also: duck confit salad, ahi tuna poke, meatballs, prime filet mignon (perfectly grilled at medium rare) with puréed potatoes and grilled butternut squash, lobster and a Washington Apple (Stephenson’s entry in “Holiday Baking Championship”) and chocolate profiterole served in a smoky dome for desserts.

I’ll continue my search for great steakhouses in town, but Masselow’s and Table 13 have set the high standard now.

Chinook Crafted by Chef Adam Hegsted

James Beard-nominated chef Adam Hegsted’s extensive resume includes Coeur d’Alene Casino, and he and his Eat Good Group team, among them Aaron Fish, recently returned to rebrand Chinook Steak, Pasta & Spirits into Chinook Crafted by Chef Adam Hegsted (37914 S. Nukwalqw St., (800) 523-2464; cdacasino.com).

Two days before Masselow’s (it was a, ahem, prime week for steakhouses), I dined at Chinook, and the evening included, along with a long drive from downtown Spokane to Worley in the rain, what would turn out to be a haven for huckleberries.

The delicious and hearty dinner included biscuits with huckleberry butter, pan-seared Dungeness cakes, hearth oven bacon-wrapped jalapeños (stuffed with peanut butter and drizzled with caramelized pepper jelly!), bison and root vegetable stew, Manhattan strip steak, roasted scallops (with brown butter and black garlic) and loaded baked potatoes.

Dessert was a hearth oven-baked blondie with huckleberry ice cream, nitrogen ice cream for two prepared tableside and cocktails, including a Brûléed Old Fashioned, Daiquiri and Northwestern Martini with huckleberry.

“The menu currently features some of the favorites from the old menu at Chinook mixed in with a couple new things. It will be a continual evolution as are all of our restaurants with an ever-changing menu,” Hegsted told me. “Our guests mostly help dictate what’s on our menus, and, as we add new things and take away old, the entire menu changes.

“Leading the evolution of the menu is always seasonality and regional identity. Our hope is that people come in and get a sense of the season, who’s cooking there, and they have an experience that is unique to Chinook.”

What is Hegsted most excited about at Chinook? “I am most excited to just get back into the kitchen at the casino, see some old friends and guests and make some new ones,” he said. “It’s great to be able to basically just jump back in where I left off and keep pushing the team, the food and just see what great things happen.”

And his menu favorites at Chinook? “I love the simple things like the wood fired pork chop with mac and cheese or the peanut butter-stuffed jalapeno poppers,” Hegsted said. “I am always going to go back to comfort foods. Using high-quality ingredients and technique to elevate simple foods into something new is always something I love to do.”

It’s great to have another reimagined option for steaks and seafood in the area.

Patio dining at Osprey

This culinary jaunt ends at one of my new favorites, Jerry Dicker’s Osprey Restaurant & Bar (700 N. Division St., (509) 323-2578; ospreyspokane.com) at the Ruby River Hotel. Kris Kilduff recently wrote about the outdoor and heated patio options in town, so I stopped by Osprey on Saturday afternoon, as it has recently added igloos to its already fabulous patio along the river.

While the igloos aren’t as fancy as the ones at Luna, Davenport Grand and Coeur d’Alene Resort, and they don’t have to be, they are already popular with patrons, according to courteous and attentive server Kramer. “I’m so thankful that they’ve kept us busy,” he said.

Late lunch inside the first-come, first-serve igloos (reservations aren’t accepted) was one pound of sesame ginger deep-fried chicken wings, pho (yes, pho, I was craving it), a ginormous bowl of the now-signature coconut curry carrot bisque, chicken sandwich with Caesar salad, warm peach bread pudding, chocolate brownie, Manhattan, Hefeweizen and coffee. The wings, bisque, bread pudding and Manhattan are highly recommended.

I am proceeding with caution – socially distanced, face mask on over the nose and sanitizing and washing my hands like nobody’s business – as I continue to dine outdoors on occasion. I felt comfortable, safe, satisfied and thankful at Osprey. Who could ask for anything more?