Drop-In Dining: Upscale food in Gig Harbor
SUE KIDD AND CRAIG SAILOR; The News Tribune
Uptown Gig Harbor, a two-year-old “lifestyle center,” is home to several restaurants with another, Blazing Onion, scheduled to open later this month. This outdoor mall is more University Village than Lakewood Towne Center. The pedestrian is king here, not the car. Complimentary umbrellas stand at the ready in the event of an unscheduled downpour. Well-designed landscaping complements the human-scaled buildings. We stopped in at four restaurants for this report.
Sip
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-midnight Tuesdays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays
Where: Uptown Gig Harbor, 4701 Point Fosdick Drive, Gig Harbor
Info: 253-853-3020 or
www.siprestaurant.com
From its name to its racks of wine bottles, this comfortable and classy wine bar and restaurant virtually shouts, “Drink me.” But this establishment is as much of a destination for foodies as it is for oenophiles.
A varied menu spans the continents, offering everything from Bento boxes to grilled tenderloin to mushroom pasta. Variety and prices go up substantially at dinner. We stopped in for the more economically priced lunch where the clientele was mostly pairs and trios of women who arrived in shiny Mercedes and Jaguars.
Seared ahi tuna has become a culinary cliché on the dining scene, but Sip’s salad take ($9) is a welcome diversion. Six perfect slices of glowing pink tuna arrived with a salad of mizuna (Japanese mustard greens) drizzled with a miso dressing and topped with thin won ton strips. A stack of green beans nestled on the plate while a bowl held cold soba noodles in a dark, fermenty dressing. The whole dish was a symphony of flavors, colors and textures that looked and ate like a full-course meal.
Sweet roll sliders ($9) were another unique take on a popular dish. Served with piping hot fries, the sliders were dripping with a pinkish Sriracha-infused (Thai hot sauce) mayonnaise on Hawaiian sweet rolls. The beef was high quality and packed with flavor. We skipped ketchup; the mayonnaise held more than enough flavor and juiciness. The trio of little beef sandwiches sent us to burger bliss.
Fish tacos (three for $11) were a colorful presentation. We were impressed with the accompaniments: ramekins of fresh guacamole, fruit salsa and sour cream plus a generous helping of lettuce and tomato. But the hard crayon-colored red taco shells were more suited for a Taco Bell than this otherwise fine restaurant. And the taste? You can find a more satisfying version at your neighborhood taco truck for a fraction of the price.
Sip’s 250 bottle wine list should have something for everyone. It also offers 11 wine flights ($16-$22) of three pours each of various themes, including “Bubbly,” “Pinot Envy” and “Call me a Cab.” More than 40 selections are offered by the glass or half glass – a great way to find your next favorite wine.
We’ll be sipping and dining at this restaurant again and again.
Craig Sailor
Lele Thai Vietnamese Cuisine
Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays
Where: Uptown Gig Harbor, 4701 Point Fosdick Drive, Gig Harbor
I
nfo: 253-514-6382 or
lelerestaurant.com
If Lele’s name sounds familiar, it’s because the restaurant is an outpost of the Tacoma Hilltop Le-Le. But walking into the Uptown Lele is like seeing a boyish, gritty girl don a fancy party dress. But beware: You’ll pay for the prom dress and the limo ride, not to mention the fancy updo. While the menu is the same broad selection of southeast Asian cuisine, you’ll pay a few bucks more for appetizers and an extra $3-$6, on average, for entrées. It appears even the name has been made over – the Hilltop restaurant is billed as Le-Le. In Gig Harbor, it’s Lele.
It’s true what they say about party girls – they are more fun to dance with. The atmosphere is inviting, a place for dates, ladies who lunch and a nice family dinner out. The surroundings are intentional industrial chic – exposed duct work and darkly stained concrete floors – softened by edible-looking hues of mustard, pumpkin and chocolate, with swaths of rich fabric flowing from the tall, tall ceilings. A water wall greets diners who enter through oversized glass doors. Plates and flatware are substantial and attractive, entrées are artfully presented.
With the high-design surroundings and top-shelf real estate, the markup may be justified, but fans of the Hilltop Le-Le might have trouble stomaching the prices. But the food? It’s an easy digest. It’s the same collection of flavor-punched Southeast Asian dishes heavy on fresh ingredients and sizeable portions.
Fresh spring rolls ($5.99 for two), are a gentle entry into a palate-pleasing meal at Lele. Rice wrappers held layers of lettuce, mint, rice noodles, bean sprouts, slices of barbecued pork and prawns – paired with a savory peanut dipping sauce. Pork larb ($12.99) was a refreshing salad of cooked ground pork with a flavorful blast of sour lime and cool mint tempered by nutty tasting roasted rice and spicy red chiles with a lick of heat. Wrap the salad in the accompanying lettuce wraps to cool the spice.
Pad Thai chicken ($10.99) was a dish of thick, chewy rice noodles glazed with a sour-sweet tamarind sauce, laced with snappy bean sprouts and topped with a salty tinge of dried shrimp and roasted peanuts. Thick chunks of succulent chicken got sweet treatment when dunked in the accompanying dish of sweet yellow curry sauce.
Stir Fried Indonesia ($14.99) paired stir-fried tender beef with meaty mushrooms, snappy green broccoli florets and onions in a surprisingly mild gravy that tasted more of soy and ginger than the promised Indonesian chili sauce. Order more spice to kick up the flavor a notch. Eggplant with tofu ($14.99) was a textural treat – fried eggplant came with a crunchy fried exterior yielding to silky, smooth eggplant interior. The accompanying fried tofu carried the same crispy-creamy textural theme. Stir-fried carrots, bell peppers and onions gave a snappy crunch. The dish’s savory-sweet-spicy sauce dressed up the generous serving of accompanying rice. You won’t leave Lele empty handed. Expect to take home at least one take-out container.
Sue Kidd
Panera
Hours: 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays
Where: Uptown Gig Harbor, 4701 Point Fosdick Drive, Gig Harbor
Info: 253-853-4004 or
www.panerabread.com
This national bakery-cafe chain does bread well. And they do it in a pleasant ambience with Starbucks-like efficiency.
With more than 1,000 outlets over most of the United States, Panera has its system engineered down to the last bread crumb. I didn’t need the provided pager – our food came up at the delivery counter before I had time to put away my wallet.
From a menu of sandwiches, salads, soups, breakfast and bagels, we tried the Bacon Turkey Bravo ($6.79) and the Asiago Roast Beef ($6.99) sandwiches. Both came with a bag of potato chips and a crunchy dill pickle slice.
The Bravo was a slightly sweet concoction of smoked turkey, smoked bacon, smoked Gouda cheese (was this sandwich developed by a frustrated ex-smoker?), lettuce, tomatoes and “signature dressing.” The flavorful sandwich was made with delightfully chewy slices of tomato-basil bread.
The roast beef sandwich had generous slices of meat and creamy horseradish sauce, but it was disappointingly bland, perhaps because it was missing its promised red onions. The bread, an Asiago cheese demi, was the highlight of the sandwich.
There are some things in life you shouldn’t take shortcuts on: packing a parachute, fueling a nuclear reactor and making French onion soup. Speed-obsessed Panera doesn’t take the time to broil cheese on its version ($4.59) of the classic soup. Instead it had chunks of bread and shaved cheese floating on top of a hearty, onion-filled but much too salty soup.
Other local Panera locations include Lakewood, Puyallup, Lacey and Federal Way.
Craig Sailor
Pizzeria Fondi
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 11 a.m.- 11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays
Where: Uptown Gig Harbor, 4701 Point Fosdick Drive, Gig Harbor
Info: 253-851-6666 or
www.fondi.com
Pizzeria Fondi proves that when it comes to pizza, it’s all about the oven. Putting even an ordinary pizza in a 750-degree brick oven will do magical, blistery things to the crust. High heat plus good ingredients equals one delicious pie.
The fast-casual restaurant is dressed up enough for a date, but a more likely venue for family dinners out. The cavernous space is attractively decorated. Order at the counter and a server will bring you beverages, food and your check. Enjoy an Italian beer, such as Birra Moretti, with your pie, or go upscale with a glass of Masciarelli Montepulciano.
The white bean and mozzarella plate ($6.95) is a hefty starter, but of the same food group as the pizzas that comprise the bulk of the menu. A large piece of flatbread – which tastes just like the pizza crust on the pies, except for a palate assault of too much salt – came with creamy discs of fresh mozzarella, a scoop of puréed white bean spread with a garlicky bite and a small mound of puréed tomatoes with a taste of sweet. Pizzas arrived with deliciously blistered crusts and a satisfying chew. The gustoso ($11.95) came sparsely topped with porky cubes of pancetta, sweet caramelized onions, artichoke hearts and an olive oil herb sauce. Fresh mozzarella, gorgonzola and a sprinkle of chiffon-chopped basil finished the pie. The Milano ($13.95) turned floppy in the center, a result of too many heavy toppings. Meat lovers will appreciate the hefty portions of pepperoni, Italian sausage and roasted chicken. The pizza was finished with mozzarella and a sprinkle of fresh oregano.
Sue Kidd
