Diamond Knot Lincoln Ave. caters to families well

Published 6:04 pm Thursday, June 18, 2009

We discovered Diamond Knot Lincoln Avenue by being at the right place at the right time, and we’re glad we did.

It was the Saturday of the Artists Garage Sale at Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo. The family and I were looking for parking when we noticed the Diamond Knot sign.

My husband is a fan of the flagship Diamond Knot Brewery &Alehouse down the hill on Front Street, so when we realized this was a family-style version we returned that night to try it.

Turns out, Diamond Knot Lincoln Avenue has been open since September. Owner Andy Eason said going family friendly was their motivation for opening this new restaurant in Old Towne Mukilteo because patrons couldn’t bring their kids into the alehouse.

Judging from the crowd of families that Saturday night, Eason has hit on something.

Though the restaurant was hopping, our waitress kept her attentive and professional manner throughout our meal. She greeted us warmly, brought menus and a drawing mat and collection of crayons for our son, and took our drink orders.

Kids at Diamond Knot can turn into chefs for the meal and ask for sauce, toppings and dough to build their own pizza ($4.99 to $5.99). My son unfortunately — unbelievably — doesn’t eat pizza. He had the butter parmesan noodles ($3.99), hold the parmesan, which he deemed “quite yummy.”

I selected from the 21 kinds of pizza — plus an adult version of create your own — that range in price from $9.99 for a 12-inch to $21.99 for an 18-inch pie. I was curious about the Spicy Thai Chicken ($13.50, $21.99) and how pizza dough might combine with Asian peanut sauce. And I was intrigued with the “Work of Art”-ichoke pizza with artichoke spread, mushrooms and blue cheese crumbles ($13.50, $21.99).

But I decided to go purist and ordered the classic margherita, which is made with a delicate touch of olive oil, beautiful Roma tomatoes, sprigs of fresh basil and just the right amount of mozzarella so as not to overwhelm the crust.

Ah, the crust. Perfecto. Light and crisp. Chewy and flavorful. Eason told me in an e-mail that at the Lincoln Avenue site, fresh beer grain is incorporated into the dough before the crust is cooked.

Like most Italians, well most anyone really, I’m a fresh basil lover and would have gladly accepted more on my pizza. This was the only change I’d make to this delicious pie.

My husband ordered the Lincoln Avenue supreme ($9.99) from the list of 21 calzones. Inside the same delicate, delicious crust was just the right combination of brown ale sausage, pepperoni, onion, mushrooms, black olives and roasted red bell peppers with marinara sauce.

The calzones are served with a choice of traditional, Greek or Caribbean ginger coleslaw. My husband selected the ginger coleslaw, which was tasty, different and had all the makings of something really exotic. But it had only the slightest tweak of ginger and I would have doubled the dose. Diamond Knot might be catering to family-friendly taste buds a bit too much.

To drink, my husband ordered a Blonde, which had more flavor than he expected — which he said was a good thing.

Eason said the Lincoln Avenue location has some of the same beers found at the alehouse and is currently offering an IPA, Industrial IPA, the Blonde, Golden, Porter and Brown. Beer selections do change from time to time.

A friend dining with us ordered a salad. Eight varieties of entree-size salads are offered and she chose the Bangkok spinach salad ($8.99.) Her hearty selection came with spinach, ample pieces of boneless chicken, juicy fresh pineapple, mushrooms, red bell peppers, fresh basil, Thai peanut dressing and crunchy noodles. The noodles, however, looked to be crunched-up Top Ramen noodles. A change to fried Chinese noodles would class that salad up quite easily.

While we ate, we looked outside to the deck, which was expansive, lush and green. It would be like eating in a tree house on a warm summer night.

Or you can just take your meal to go. Diamond Knot Lincoln Avenue offers family feast meals, which are take out only and can feed up to eight ($33.99 to $49.99). There is no delivery service but families can order online, which Eason said is getting a great response from patrons.

Diamond Knot Lincoln Avenue does offer dessert but bear in mind the turnovers are made with the same dough as the calzones and our cherry cheesecake ($7.50) turnover was filled with ordinary pie filling. Fresh fruit and ice cream might have perked this up. But really, who wants a calzone on top of a calzone?

If you skip dinner and visit just for dessert, it might make more sense to order apple pie ($7.25), pumpkin cheesecake ($6.99) or a brownie overdose turnover ($7.50). There’s no coffee service, although that might be reintroduced when the weather cools.

Overall, Eason summed it up best when he said Diamond Knot Lincoln Avenue offers a family place “where the kids can make their own pizza and the adults can still get a great pint of beer.”

Diamond Knot Lincoln Avenue

403 Lincoln Ave., Mukilteo; 425-512-8080

Pickup hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and Sunday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

Speciality: Family-style dining

Price range: Moderate

Vegetarian options: Yes

Online orders: www. diamondknotlincoln. gimmegrub.com