MOUNT VERNON — Decades ago, Stanwood-Camano Island folks gathered here for a night on the town: dinner and drinks at the Knotty Pine, maybe a movie at the Lido Theater.
Today, Stanwood’s got restaurants and a movie theater of its own, but Mount Vernon remains a destination for music and theater at McIntyre Hall or an art-house film at the Lincoln.
Mount Vernon’s got several inviting places to eat, too. One of them is the Trumpeter Public House.
Tucked on a side street in downtown Mount Vernon steps away from the revetment, a structure that keeps the Skagit River at bay and provides ample parking, the Trumpeter is a comfortable place for drinks and pub-style food.
It also offers more ambitious nightly specials, several of which were spotty during a recent weeknight visit.
The restaurant boasts an attractive bar area and a dandy selection of Scotch and bourbon whiskeys, microbrews and wine from around the world.
Apparently, our visit took place during happy hour — how else to explain $6 for a martini made with Dry Fly gin, which will cost you $32 a bottle at the liquor store? We were told Dry Fly is the house gin, which certainly beats Monarch.
Our server was friendly and eager to help, but a bit unsure of current availability on the wine and beer list. Scanning the 18 microbrews on the list, I leaped at the chance to savor a pint of Stone Levitation Ale, but the server returned in a few minutes with the bad news — no Stone for me. A big, bold Argentine malbec to accompany my ribeye steak entree was served in a glass meant for white wine. Ouch.
There were a couple of additional small service glitches — water wasn’t immediately proffered, and we had to ask for small plates to share our appetizer.
We started with one of several $9 tapas plates on the nightly special list, shrimp in a jalapeno-mint sauce. The shrimp were properly cooked — which is to say they were not overcooked — and the sauce was fine, especially when sopped up with an order of garlic bread ($4).
The tapas plates were the meat courses of several entrees on the standing menu, including ancho-crusted scallops ($15 for the entree).
For our main course, we chose pan-seared tuna in an orange-wasabi sauce, with apricot-jasmine rice ($23) and a ribeye steak in a roasted shallot glaze ($28).
Portions for both were ample — you won’t leave this place hungry. But the execution was a bit lacking for entrees costing north of $20. The tuna was overcooked — perhaps in a nod to people squeamish about “raw” fish? And there was almost no hint of wasabi fire in the accompanying sauce — another compromise for cautious palates?
The ribeye was perfectly medium-rare and flavorful, but the shallot glaze didn’t add much. And some bits of gristle struck us as unseemly for a $28 steak.
We added a couple of half-orders of the house salad ($4.50 apiece), and noted with appreciation that the dressing was served on the side — as should always be the case.
When we return to the Trumpeter, we’ll focus on simple preparations more within the kitchen’s reach, accompanied by a little something from the place’s comfortable, well-stocked bar.
Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs.
Contact reviewers at features@heraldnet.com.
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