They had a reasonable number of people for a weekday. However, just like dinner, they were short-staffed, with only 1 waitress this time, and no bartender at all. Needless to say, the service was a bit slow, even though she was very nice.
As the weather has turned chilly all of a sudden, I got a cup of tea, and my friend, a cup of coffee. They have a simple selection of Tazo teas. I chose Orange. They only serve French press, no drip coffee. I like that, it feels classier.
I couldn't decide between the Prosciutto, goat cheese panini and the chicken, brie panini. So my friend offered to share both with me. I also had a cup of the salmon and corn chowder, he went with a side of house salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
Now, everything looked great. The chowder creamy. The goat cheese all melted swimming between the prosciutto and wild mushroom. The brie, while holding its shape and place between the chicken and pear, was oozing through the bread where it could. The bread was brushed with a healthy dose of butter (I assume), and showed slightly brown grill marks. The house salad was freshly tossed with cherry tomato, cucumber, red onions, and lettuce. I picked up my spoon with great anticipation. (I admit that my expectation was high because what the yelpers said about the paninis). The first spoonful of soup, I was a little puzzled. Maybe I missed something, I tried again. Well, it wasn't me, the soup wasn't bad, but a bit bland. I ended up sprinkling quite a bit of pepper on top. Next up, the prosciutto, goat cheese and wild mushroom panini. Again, it wasn't bad, but this one was a bit too salty. Maybe it was just the prosciutto. But it was so overpowering, I could barely taste the mushroom. The chicken, brie and pear panini was a little better. I enjoyed the sweetness of the pear. I also really like the tangy honey mustard sauce, not the pasty golden stuff you get in a packet at fast food eat-outs, I could actually see the mustard seeds! However, the chicken was rather bland again. I think the waitress mentioned it was pre-cooked. As stuffed as I was, we decided to try the roasted banana split. I had high hope, wanting to believe the reason I didn't share the love for the infamous banana split was our silly request of putting the banana on the side. What was a banana split without the banana?! However, I was let down again. Don't get me wrong, it was good. I really liked the combination of roasted banana, brownie bites, ice cream and toasted coconut shreds. But the caramel was just too sweet, and the brittles were overkill. I think the concept of every dish was good, but just missed the mark a little bit in execution.
Our total came to $34 + tax + tip. Overall, I enjoyed lunch. It was relaxing. The company was good. I would still come back. Maybe for happy hour, next time.
Stonehouse
16244 Cleveland St, Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 558-5625
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