Oregon Pit Stop
If you get the chance to drive from BC to California more than once you will likely find yourself on the I-5 freeway. Everyone should drive the coast once but for speed the I-5 is the way to go. We have made the trip 4 times now and have discovered the Seven Feathers Casino Resort  a perfect 10 hours from downtown Vancouver. The hotel is about 5 years old and for $69 you get a large and clean room with a King-Size bed, fridge, microwave and work desk. The resort has a pool and 2 hot tubs (98 and 104 degrees) and 5 food options – buffet, family style x 2 (one open 24 hours), sports bar and the Camas Room which is fine pacific northwest dining. 

Camas Room
The start to our dinner was impressive with a local wine flight that was served in the most unique way we have ever seen. The wines included one from Washington and two from Oregon. We ended up ordering just one flight to share which we got for free with the purchase of a bottle of red wine for dinner – a great winter special! So we were able to try four local wines, two white and two red (see previous blog for details and photos).

With the wine flight we ordered the Dungeness Crab and Artichoke Dip ($16). It was served with crostini and a bread basket. There was a good portion of lump crab meat and the dish was very flavourful. Our server was knowledgable and attentive at this point.  

For dinner Jeff ordered the Braised Beef Short Ribs ($22) with cheesy mashed potatoes. The ribs were tender and the potatoes creamy but it was the blueberry BBQ sauce that stole the show. 

 I ordered the Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut ($29) with risotto. The fish was cooked well, not over done and the risotto was creamy. The tomato and cranberry sauce was good but there good have been more.

As typical with a restaurant that is not very busy our service deteriorated as the server started chatting with friends at another table and other servers. It took quite a while for our plates to be cleared and to get our bill. It was actually the buser that finally took notice. All in all a good experience that could have been better if followed through to the end. The price was very reasonable coming in at $115 for the wine flight, bottle of wine ($40), one appetizer, two mains, tax and tip.

We are on the road for a month so watch for upcoming posts from Ventura, Ojai, Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Diego and Las Vegas.

 

Jeff & Tara Ciecko of CK Golf Solutions write two blogs on their website, one is their 19th Hole Blog where they share personal experiences and the Biz Blog where they share business best practices and golf industry related opinions. They have owned CK Golf Solutions for 5 years and provide marketing, social media and business services to the golf and other industries.