Shelley Taylor

Holiday Season is in the air and boy do I look forward to the phantasmagoria of Christmas lights on display at the 7 Cedars Casino (and The Cedars at Dungeness). No one does presentation better! And that goes for landscaping and design detail.

 

They think of everything. In the casino, TV monitors are everywhere — even in some of the bathrooms lest you miss a second of the game!

 

All restaurants at the casino are open daily. And no matter your craving, you won’t leave hungry that’s fer shure. But with so many choices I came down with a case of ADD. Where to begin! Oh, there’s a Nathan’s Hot Dog cart! Then I wandered into the Salish Room Restaurant. A plethora of choices.

 

Salish manager Josh boasted all dishes are made fresh in their kitchens and handed me a sample of their creamy mushroom soup (yummy!). Then the salad bar caught my eye with a mesmerizing variety of ingredients to build a salad worthy of Dagwood including gherkins and those cute little cobs of corn.

Moving on down the line to the hot entrées, Josh served me a taste of the Pork Loin Marsala and I could have stopped right there. But then I spied their penne pasta, and the Chicken Fricassee, and the Beef Bourguignon, and succulent Nantucket and Roasted veggies.  

But alas, I had to tear myself away and head to the Totem Grille where friends awaited.

 

Dining with lots of friends gave me an opportunity to try several dishes.

 

The menu is, in a word, abundant. There are appetizers, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, salads, steaks, seafood, pizza, in addition to daily dinner specials. We visited on a Saturday and one particular dinner special caught my attention: Black Jack Steak Bites ($7) pan-seared with garlic, butter, button mushrooms, scallions and a generous splash of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey served in a hot skillet with grilled garlic bread (and they make gooood garlic bread!).

 

I was in the mood for a (healthy) salad and there were several on the menu. I went with the Italian Chopped Salad tossed with salami and chicken, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and iceberg lettuce in an Italian vinaigrette ($11), and I would order that again.

 

The Aztec Chicken Salad was the choice for friends Marine, Becky and Len — an artfully presented plate of charbroiled fajita chicken strips, Monterey Jack cheese, black beans, corn kernels, cilantro, green onions, tomatoes and crunchy tortilla strips layered on a bed of greens with salsa-ranch dressing on the side ($11.50).

 

I would say the emphasis in these salads was on the veggies, not the meat, but nevertheless satisfying.

In addition to his Aztec salad, Len ordered one of the Gourmet Grille Sliders. There were Crab Cakes (3 for $12), Prime Rib with horseradish and au jus ($9), and BBQ pork (3 for $8). But Len went for the Juicy Hamburger Sliders, served on a panini-type bun with fresh slices of tomato, lemon aioli, lettuce and a pickle and at 3 for $6.50 it was pronounced “the deal of the day.” Earlier I brought Len a taste of the breaded Fire Roasted Oysters from the Salish Room which left Len grinning from ear to ear.

 

Denny ordered the Chicken Piccata with a 6-ounce seared boneless chicken breast covered in a light lemony white wine sauce with sautéed mushrooms. He chose the garlic mashed potatoes for his side but he could have chosen fettuccini Alfredo ($11.50). Marietta ordered classic Scampi Style Prawns swimming in a garlic-infused oil ($14). Since Greg couldn’t join us, I brought him meatloaf with mashed potatoes, which he liked.

 

Of course, I sampled all and all are now possibilities for another visit.

 

Our server, Hope, made our dining experience easy and fun. But I hate her for suggesting dessert!

Sugar junkies will swoon. Just try to choose, I dare ya. Will it be Cheesecake Factory’s Godiva Double Chocolate Cheesecake ($6,) or Blueberry White Chocolate Brulée Cheesecake? We sampled two for our table: their Homemade Totem Peach Cobbler served nice and warm with a side of vanilla ice cream ($5.50). But the Towering Chocolate Torte — four thick layers of rich chocolate cake with silky chocolate filling topped with a dark chocolate glaze ($7) was awesome and huge and dense and enough pour deux — and then some. Gotcha drooling, don’t I!?

 

Now we all know the 7 Cedars is a nation unto itself, so be aware smoking is allowed.

 

They earnestly try to keep nonsmokers happy but the Totem is right off the gambling floor — filled with those focused on walking away with an early retirement — and so smoke does tend to waft in. However, the Salish Room is on the other side of the lobby and, hence, smoke is considerably less. If you’d prefer your meal from the Totem, I’m almost certain they’d let you take it to the Salish Room to savor.

Contact Shelley Taylor at columnists@sequimgazette.com.

 

Reach Shelley Taylor at columnists@sequimgazette.com.