The food will make you smile

MUKILTEO – Finishing my taxes by the April 15 deadline left me in the perfect mood for dinner at the Grouchy Chef.

On my Saturday visit, it was difficult to tell who was grumpier – Chef Takayuki Masumoto or me. Before entering this small eatery on the Mukilteo Speedway that seats about 15, guests are greeted with a hand-lettered sign that states, “No Outside Food! No Outside Beverages!” Inside, I was welcomed by the menu stating, “No substitutions. What you see is what you get.”

I hoped that the Grouchy Chef would be just another cutesy marketing gimmick, but this place was sounding more like the IRS: no, no, not and don’t. The sign next to the cash register, which is where orders are placed, states, “I am temperamental, a SERIOUS Japanese and PROUD COOK but not a CLOWN.” Even the restaurant’s logo is grouchy tall chef hat, very big frown. Maybe this wasn’t going to be OK.

First, guests select the main dish with pre-determined veggies; then add a “starch.” You’ll find grilled New York steak in a cabernet sauvignon sauce with veggies and a baked potato for $8.99 or seared salmon in a honey-lemon sauce with veggies and your choice of starch for $8.99. At these prices, I had my doubts about the quality, but the worries melted away as if Snow White had smiled on them. As one person from the table of five next to me said, “This would cost a lot more at other places.”

Where else am I going to find a nightly special like this? It included seared mahi mahi with a mango-jalapeno sauce, grilled risotto cake and steamed green beans over marinated tomatoes with a salad of mixed greens dressed with a horseradish vinaigrette for $9.25, soft drink and tax included.

Everything left this customer happy. The fish was perfect. The green beans weren’t soggy. The horseradish dressing added zip to the mixed greens. And what can I say about the grilled risotto cake that will make you understand how delicious it was? Or the double chocolate mousse torte ($3.25)? Did I tell you that everything’s made in-house? No warehouse, mass-produced anything?

All right, the chef may be grouchy, but he looks like the Iron Chef or any other professional while working behind the counter in his open kitchen. It’s comforting to feel like you’re in the hand of a professional. Trust him. He’s going to make you a great meal. Just like he did for me and others the night I visited. Grouchy or not.

Herald restaurant reviewers accept no invitations to review, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Reviewers arrive unannounced, and The Herald pays their tabs.

Anna Poole: features@heraldnet.com.