Tom Douglas

Dahlia Lounge New Lunch Menu/ by Shelley Lance, Blog Editor

I enjoyed the first day of my “staycation” by having lunch at the Dahlia Lounge with Robyn Wolfe, Marketing.  Robyn and I were eager to try out Chef Brock Johnson’s newly reformatted lunch menu, which divides things up neatly between “Starters” and “Main.”  A brand new feature of this menu is the option of choosing any one starter and any one main for $18.  (It depends what you choose of course, but this could mean a savings of up to 8 bucks.)

Choosing among the starters, we ordered the Prosser tomato with watermelon, jicama, lime, and avocado- fresh, bright, and summery (photo top)- as well as the Pence Orchard peaches with country ham and padron peppers- a classic combination and the thin slices of mildly spicy pepper made the whole thing pop.  Another treat was the plate of Hook’s Paradise blue cheese with a drizzle of very fine honey, crackers, marcona almonds, and black mission figs which were halved and delicately “bruleed” with a  crackling sugar crust (photo directly above).  The Washington albacore, seared rare and perched on a fennel and cuke salad with green olives and a pool of Greek yogurt was also delicious.

On to the main courses.  The new chop salad with chicken breast, salami, and jack cheese in a lively white balsamic vinaigrette is a no-brainer lunch time winner.  The true cod with fresh shelling beans, clams, and Brock’s handmade linguica sausage in tomato saffron broth was picture perfect and full of flavor. (photo above)

But my top favorite was the Dungeness crab cake, crabby but light and delicate with a good crust, served alongside a spectacular tiny-dice potato salad with slices of Jackie’s yellow heirloom tomatoes and perfect Prosser bread and butter pickles, garnished with a few crisp potato chips (photo above).  The most enjoyable crab cake ever!  Despite being professional eaters, Robyn and I were too full to sample desserts on this visit- next time!

(Photos courtesy of Robyn Wolfe)

September 18th, 2011