BOW In a former house across Highway 11 from the post office, the Rhododendron Cafe, which has been around since 1984, serves homegrown, hand-made and uncommon fare.
The cafe uses shellfish, berries, exotic meats, apples, cheese and fresh veggies from the Skagit Valley area. Herbs and more veggies are grown by the restaurant’s owners.
This small eatery also has an ambitious lineup of dishes. The regular menu offers a Pacific Northwest twist with its Dungeness crab benedict or Samish Bay pan-fried oysters. Then, there’s the monthly menu featuring ethnic cuisine. April is Spain and Portugal month, and the choices include Portuguese steak with asparagus, lamb stew or Spanish paella and tapas, which change daily.
My friend and I arrived for an early dinner and the dining rooms were filled. While we waited for a table, we examined the Portuguese and Spanish specials on the chalkboard. (They’re also posted on the restaurant’s Web site, www.rhodycafe.com.)
For me, the appetizing selections included the Portuguese-style chicken breast stuffed with ham and cheese, but I ordered the tapas after my friend ordered the chicken parmesan ($15) from the regular menu.
The Saturday we visited, the three tapas were white beans with red onions salad and chorizo sausage, seared sea scallops atop fresh salad greens with a sherry-honey drizzle, and one-half of a grilled tomato-cheese sandwich on artisan bread. Each one was a bite of scrumptious. The chorizo sausage was so unusual, I shared it with my friend. Tapas are small servings, much like noshes, and they were just right for my hunger that day, but they may not be enough for everyone. If you have a hearty appetite, consider ordering the chicken parmesan.
My friend’s order was served in an extra-large bowl that held a generous serving of pasta and a large deep-fried chicken breast in marinara sauce topped with roasted asparagus spears and a side of chopped beets. The pasta and chicken breast were excellent, but the fresh asparagus and chopped beets stole the show.
Our dinners came with a basket of fresh, house-made bread that was served warm with room-temperature butter for easy spreading. It was so good we had to have a refill.
For dessert, we decided the marionberry cobbler with house-made ice cream ($5.50) needed to be sampled. It was as good as it sounds, and my dinner partner pointed out that the berries weren’t blackberries being passed off as marionberries. Everything on the menu’s like that genuine and farm-fresh.
Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs.
Contact Anna Poole at features@heraldnet.com.
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