The Farmhouse Inn French Dip Review, Mount Vernon, WA

 

So I made green beans earlier this day.  Roasted.  Were great.

The result.  Yum!

This is the "pie display" at The Farmhouse Inn.  Seems like the Farmhouse has been there my whole life.  It's a classic.  I wasn't expecting much but had to do my "research".

This is a view 7 miles north from The Farmhouse.

The money shot.  Looks good.  Great beef flavor and the texture of the bread was wonderful.  Like "bao".

Side of creamy horseradish.

Dark jus!  Yum!!!!

Nice looking sandiwch.  Skewers.  Cut partially on bias.

Looks good. You see the richness of the jus.

Meat may look a bit dry but not bad.

One orange, one blue skewer.

Side salad was quite good.

Really enjoyed it.  Fresh and cold.  Good chunky bleu cheese dressing, crunchy croutons.

My seat at the bar.

The Prime Rib Dip.  Nice!

Menu.

Food

• Salad
  • Quickly served #comment
  • Dryness
  • Dressing
    • Bleu Cheese Dressing
      • Bleu chunks
      • Texture
        • Creaminess
    • Small plastic cup
  • Greens
    • Temperature
    • Fancy lettuce
    • Basic lettuce
    • A little red cabbage
    • A tiny amount of shredded carrot
  • Cucumber
  • Red onion
    • Quantity
    • Flavor
    • Crunchiness
    • Slicing
  • Croutons
    • Crunchiness
    • Saltiness
  • Plate
    • Clear Glass
• Prime Rib Dip
  • 4 Pickle chips
    • Delicious #comment
  • Horseradish sauce
  • Sandwich
    • Skewers
      • Orange and blue
    • Size
      • Good enough
  • Bread
    • Doughiness
      • Like bao #comment
  • Meat
    • Quantity
    • Texture
    • Fat content
  • Jus
    • Saltiness
    • Richness

La Conner Prime Rib & Seafood French Dip Review

It was a slow Sunday and my mom and I went to "town" to spend time.  Brian an his kids were on their way back to the big city so we were able to meet up in La Conner for lunch.

Kate, Brian and Dan enjoying coloring and beverages on the deck.

I was sitting by my mom who insisted I get the French dip.  The pressure is intense on me.  The description doesn't really "sell" it to me but I was hopeful it would be good.  I was NOT, I repeat WAS NOT, allowed to select the "doneness" of my prime rib.  This lose immediate points.  My mom claimed to really like/love this sandwich but she could have just been hungry.  For me, it was good, not great.

Served with good fries.  Nice pickle spear.  Bamboo skewers which might be the most respectable skewer choice.

There's the sandwich.  Looks buttered and also a bit dry.

Looks beefy and meat-filled.  Nice work.  Smallish bun size but I'll take it.

Perhaps arid meat.

Jus semi fancy and with herb infusion.

My mom has developed an obsession with what this shop across the street could be.  Janice has lots of big ideas for it but I think more than anything is missing her mother who was a retail store and gift shop person.

Setting the Stage

Mom and I were driving to La Conner when I got a call from Brian.  Brian thought we could meet up for lunch which ended out working quite well.  We met on the deck of La Conner Seafood & Prime Rib.  The service was okay.  Their deck is nice.  It was a lovely, sunny, summer day and we got to watch many boats pass as we dined and chatted.  Dan had a near tip-over on his chair but Brian saved the day with cat-dad-like reflexes.  Kate was fun and chatty and colored.

Review

• French Dip
• Bread. 3.  Kinda plain and meh.
• Meat. 4.  Decent prime rib but cannot select the doneness which makes me realize it's meh.
• Non-Meat Toppings. 3.  Wasn't much going on here. Probably buttered, toasted bread, which was nice.
• Overall. 3.5.  It wasn't bad but also not great.
• Service. 3.  Was okay.  Our gal was friendly.  I remember looking out at the 10 tables at one point and realizing that zero had food which was both spooky and unnerving.
• Deck. 5.  Nice location.  Scenery and people watching.

Conclusions

Thanks to Brian for getting us together.  He had a "Bacon Jam" burger that he said was meh.  Mom claims that their cioppino is both good and variable there.  She prefers it without the salmon, I believe.

Buckley's Seattle - Prime Rib Dip

 

Side salad with blue cheese was sloppy and I didn't eat it.  Would get a 2 of 5.

Horseradish cream on side.  Didn't really use it.  Was fine.

Medium to well-done prime rib.  Nothing too special here.  Thinly sliced.

Jus was good but not not enough.  Almost served cold.  I didn't complain to the waiter; just lived with it.

Here's the meal.  Bread was ok.  Should have been cut into two.  Bread was buttered.  Bread fell apart in jus so wasn't that good.  Bread 3.  Meat 3.  Jus 3 really a 2 given how cold it was. Salad a 2.  Sandwich overall 3.  Overall 3.

They could have done a much better job with the execution and finish here.

The Loft, Poulsbo, WA French Dip Review

Quite a bit of meat.  Looked quite good.

Attractive salad.

Quite a big bowl of jus.

Cute little salad with nice cukes, pretty radish slice, carrots, tomato, croutons.

Cute old service dog.

Sarah's tacos were quite good, too!

Raw notes.

Notes

Ambiance

• Waterfront
• Labor Day

Food

• FD
  • Overall
    • Looks v good
    • Comes with a steal knife for cutting
    • Nice size
    • 4 overall, jus and too absorbent bread the missing link
    • Sandwich good, dry
    • Price
      • $15
  • Bread
    • Mentions soft baguette so could be too soft
    • Nicely toasted
    • Looks crispy
  • Meat
    • Shaved prime rib. How is this possible?
    • Juicy actually
    • Looks crispy
    • Good qty
  • Jus
    • They refer to it as 'real', so better be good
    • Big bowl
    • Delicious
    • Hot
    • A little weak
    • Mushroomy? Truffle?
    • Garlicky
  • Toppings
    • Onions, peppers and provolone could be too much and too rich
    • Look good

• Side Salad
  • 5 of 5
  • Bleu Cheese
    • Very liquid
    • Pungent, good
  • Parmesan plentiful
    • Made the salad
    • Nicely shredded, a little thicker
  • Greens
    • Fresh
    • A little kale
    • Good contrast on leaf
    • Dry
    • Good
    • Fancy
  • Plenty, sharp
  • Croutons
    • Nice
    • Cheesy
    • Chewy and crunchy
  • Carrot nicely shaved
  • Tomato good, crunchy

• Steak Tacos
  • Great flavor
  • Fresh
  • Spicy

Summary

Bread 3.  Too absorbent.  Nicely toasted, buttered, okay size.
Meat 4.  Pretty good meat.  No real complaints.  Was juicy, too.  Plentiful.
Non-Meat Toppings 4.  They added something.  (Cheese, onions, peppers).  Peppers made it look good and seem fancy.
Jus 4.  Good smelling.  Was initally hot, came in a large container.  Additional richness and it could have made the whole sandwich a 5.
Overall 4.  Was quite well done and fun to eat but I think the somewhat weak jus made it less then perfect.  The sandwich alone was good but dry and I hoped the jus would save the day; it helped but didn't rescue it fully, in the end.

Nordstrom Grill - Seattle, WA - Two Cheeses Confuse and Delight

Tasting Notes

• Started with a nice Argentinian Malbec that was recommended by the bartender
• Comfy in there
• Calming music was playing overhead 
• Felt a bit fancy like you might expect inside of a Nordstrom
• Feels like a steakhouse but was quiet.  Filled in later (I got there at 11:30 apparently before the lunch rush)
• Very good jus that I gave a 5 at first blush but downgraded to 4 over time.  Could have been hotter.  I think you want the jus to be molten lava hot, Jim Gaffigan
• Hard but good bread
• Sandwich was a 4
• Not huge in size
• Overall 4
• Definitely tasted above average and left a parmesan taste in your mouth upon completion
• Sweet pickle was provided which was quite fancy and a unique, nice touch
• Parmesan nice and pretty rare as a topping on FDs
• Bartender said that the French Dip is "their most popular item" and that people freak out and get really sad when they are sold out of it.
• The salad was a little mushy
• The biggest strike against this sandwich is that it does not give an option to choose the done-ness of the prime rib.  It would also be cool if you can choose cut thickness.  
• I also got a Hendricks gin martini with olives and the olives were great

Summary

Bread 5 

Jus 4

Non-Meat Toppings 4

Meat 4

Overall 4  Very good French dip with Prime rib but still not a 5 like you'd get from a steakhouse