This Longhouse Is Your Longhouse

Tulalip's Dining Options
 

Tradition. It's the word that sums up the dining experience at Tulalip Resort Casino. Off the gaming floor that is.

Entering through the hotel doors you are greeted with a collection of floor to ceiling totem poles positioned center-stage in the lobby. This is not your granny's hotel/casino. Indeed the hotel and the coffee shop with style, Cedars Café, are smoke-free.

Exploring the dining options throughout the site one finds that the food quality edges toward city-style while the service is some of the best in the region.

Tulalip Bay the fine dining spot lead by Chef Dean Shinagawa*, who recently cooked at New York's James Beard House, has some show stopping elements in addition to the well-crafted menu. The open kitchen gives diners a peek at the thrill of the grill. The private dining room, with its spectacular circular table and Chihuly chandelier, has a wine cellar ambience.

Cedars Café is certainly a step above the classic casino coffee shop, plus it is open 24 hours a day. Decorated with natural elements, it proves to be a sensory soothing respite from the gaming action. The menu is wide and varied, aiming to please hamburger lovers and those seeking an entrée salad alike. We sampled appetizers that echoed a Pacific Rim spirit, egg roll wrappers embracing a spicy pork mixture with a delectable dipping sauce.

Eagles Buffet, with soaring eagles "circling" above the restaurant, is another crowd pleaser not only for the volume of food, but for the variety and quality. Stations channel diners to international selections, carved to order meats and seafood offerings. On-premises baked desserts, including several sugar-free choices, round out the lunch and dinner dining. Eagles Buffet is now open for breakfast dishing up classic hot items including waffles, French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and blintzes, alongside cold cereals and granola, chilled fruits and yogurt.

Canoes Carvery offers a quick bite, grab-and-go style for sandwiches, teriyaki, pizza and pastries.

With this strong line up, Tulalip Resort Casino added a hybrid fine dining menu with casual ambiance with its recently opened Blackfish. It is in this venue that the spirit of the Tulalip Tribe is explained to visitors through cuisine, which oozes Northwest regional and seasonal.

Photo courtesty of Tulalip Resort Casino

Entering the restaurant it is as if guests have entered a classic longhouse. The light is dim with a fire's gleam and strategic lighting emphasizes specific elements. One of the elements where the lights flood is the fresh oyster bar. It is here that the bivalves are plucked from their seaweed beds and shucked to order. With a half-dozen varieties offered, guests can build their own sampler or indulge in their favorite variety ranging from Quilcene and Kusshi, to Olympia and Hama Hama. If oysters are not the preferred starter course, there are plenty of other options including a trio of different salmon specie served smoked atop a plank, Alderwood roasted clams, and beef rib sliders embellished with blackberry salsa and smoked cheddar.

As Northwest-centric, fish and seafood are center of this restaurant. Indeed the physical center of the restaurant. An open fire grill enables Blackfish to present not only an inspiring focal point to the restaurant but also serves as a cultural exchange vehicle giving guests a glimpse into Tulalip tribal cooking techniques. Halibut is cooked atop a grill. Salmon is skewered onto Ironwood skewers and traditionally cooked over the open fire. And the salmon certainly serves as the backbone of the menu with the specie and origin of fresh fish displayed on a board positioned adjacent to the fire grill. The night of our visit, Sockeye was from the Aleutian Islands, King from Barkley Sound and Coho from the Columbia River. Black Cod was sourced from Port Orford, Oregon and the Halibut came from Homer, Alaska.

Each fresh fish selection can be sautéed, broiled, ale battered, poached or steamed should diners desire. Sauces and relishes are also offered to accompany the dish. We chose huckleberry salsa and hazelnut-chervil sauce for our salmon meals.

Other chef's creations outside of wild salmon include Alaska Weathervane Scallops and a Pacific Northwest Bounty Bowl chock full of the region's best – Dungeness and Alaskan king crab legs, prawns, mussels, clams and salmon with a slightly piquant saffron infused lobster bisque brandy broth.

Then for the land lovers, Blackfish presents pasta, chicken and a filet mignon that tips a hat to the Tulalip Tribe with a memorable blueberry demi-glace.

All mouthwatering, but the service at Blackfish seals the deal. From the hostess to the servers and the visible kitchen staff, each go to great measure making sure that when you are under their care, this longhouse is welcoming and it is your temporary longhouse.

*Chef Dean has moved on.

Story and photos by Mina Williams/March 2009

Mina Williams is a freelance writer and publishes NorthWest Stir for culinary professionals at www.nwstir.com.