The Stone House

Seattle area has been hit a record-breaking heat wave the last couple of days. So last night, instead of making the kitchen even hotter, we decided to go out and try a new place (with air conditioning, of course! =). We settled on the Stone House in Redmond because of all the raving reviews on yelp. This time yelp didn't disappoint.

We arrived at the restaurant right on time. It's a cute little historical stone house in the middle of downtown Redmond. They have a little outdoor patio area with picket fences. As it was over 100 degrees out, we opted to dine in the restaurant this time. I think the outdoor seating would be perfect for a casual yet romantic dinner with the lights and all, on a cooler night. =) The decor is simple, clean, with a touch of elegance. I love the frosted cylinder vases as water glasses. The space is limited, probably seats less than 30. The service was slow as there were only 2 people running the front of the house, however, Carrie, the waitress was very attentive. She changed out the glasses for plastic cups for the kiddies, brought crayons, made the adjustments to our order due to our 2-year-old's allergies, and even gave him a free apple juice.

I had the pork tenderloin, with wilted arugula and caramelized onion salad in bacon-grain mustard vinaigrette. The pork slices were perfectly cooked. The skin is nicely glazed which I loved. I also loved the sweet mustard sauce on the pork. I just wish there were more. I'm a big sauce person. Half way through my meal, I had to pace myself so I didn't run out of the sauce too early. The warm salad was delicious. There was bacon! What more do I need to say? =) The peach wedges were nice and warm, but not too special. It also came with a goat cheese risotto cake which I didn't really care for. It was a bit dry and crusty. I think the menu also said something about apples. But I don't remember any, maybe it was in the sauce. When I first got the plate, I thought the portion was a little small. However, as we sat waiting for the desserts, I felt really full. So I guess the portion was right on.

Hubby had wild Alaskan halibut simmered in red coconut curry broth with asparagus, bell peppers and jasmine rice. It was a good-sized piece of halibut perfectly cooked. Hubby devoured every drop of it. Unfortunately the kiddies didn't like it since it was a bit spicy.

My older son got the pasta with pomodoro sauce, with a cup of diced fresh peaches, mangoes, and strawberries. This was a hit with the kids. They even fought for the last bite of pasta.

For desserts, hubby got the banana split everyone raved about on yelp, and I had the warm chocolate cake. We requested to have the banana on the side so that the 2-year-old could partake in the dessert experience. He didn't really care for lumpy mushy hot banana. I tried a bite with the rest of the sundae, ice cream, brownie chunk, caramel, and coconut crisp and all, it was good, but not too-die-for-good. Maybe it would have been better if we didn't take the banana out of the assembly in the first place. When Carrie described the warm chocolate cake, she had me at "our version of souffle". I love moisten chocolate cakes and love love capital "L" love souffles. This cake hit the mark. I ate every bit by myself, and really wanted to lick the ramekin.

Overall, it was a wonderful dinner. With 2 entrees, 1 kid's meal, and 2 desserts + 10% tax and 20.5% tip, the total came out to $77. We would definitely go back again. I'm also dying to try out the happy hour.

If you are ever in the area, be sure to check this place out.

Stonehouse
16244 Cleveland St, Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 558-5625

Hello, world!

I can't say that I'm a food expert, but I'm definitely a food lover. When I plan vacations, I plan around food. I will read all the reviews and ratings and menus. I will make all the reservations, then plan our itineraries around those. In this day and age, this has become so easy. Most of the time, I didn't even have to talk to anybody. (Hmm that might not be a good thing. =)

In September 2008, my son, D, tested positive for milk (dairy), egg, peanuts, and green peas allergies. This has made eating out very challenging. But that will not dampen my desire to "enjoy" food. Even if I can't taste it, I would still like to see it, and read about it. It's like food for my eyes, and brain, so to speak. So feel free to post your experiences, recipes, pictures, or any random thoughts on any food related subjects. And hopefully through this blog, I will learn more about food, and become a better cook.

I was a software engineer (yes, just another programmer working for that big company here in the Northwest). I quit my job at the end of 2007 to take care of D. It turned out to be a wise move due to his allergies. However, now that he's in daycare, I don't know if I could get a job in this soft market, or whether I have the time to commit to a full time position. So in the mean while, I like to read and talk as much about food as possible. My goal last year was to read all the posts in all the blogs mentioned in Times Online. Now, this would probably be easy for you fast readers out there. But I'm slow, so this is very ambitious for me. We'll see, it's like a Mid-Year resolution. =) I will be eating, sleeping, and breathing in food blogs. Hmm, that doesn't sound like a bad life.