Best non-chain restaurants in tri-cities? (Kennewick, Richland: appointed, for rent, living in)

[Ron House]

We eat out a lot since moving here from LA...We like the salad bar at Sterlings and the staff and owners are great and easy on the eyes...They have a new location in Kennewick on clearwater opening 9/1...try it
Believe it or not we find that the Tahitian is good if you can stand the lack of atmosphere...JD's in West richland is good and we like Incas and Aztecas...Still looking for a good steak and good prime rib...Also a good breakfast place...Sterlings is good and their pots are fabulous...

[geenababy]

This will sound cheesy (no pun intended), but my favorite breakfast these days is the spinach & mushroom omelette at IHOP!

There are a few other halfway decent places to try for breakfast around here as well -- Cousin's on Road 68 in Pasco seems to have pretty big breakfasts (and choices), although the food didn't doo all that much for me personally. There is also Magills, which is on the other side of the highway from Cousin's (still on Road 68). It's a family-owned restaurant. I also really like the breakfast omelettes and some other choices at O'Callahans in Richland, which is at the Shilo Inn there. Pretty good at the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco, too. Happy eating to you !

[M3 Mitch]

Last weekend went to Katya's, I had blackened salmon, DW had scallops, both were excellent. If you have not tried them, they are on the east side of G-Way, a little north of WinCo.

Another local gem is Emerald of Siam, in the Uptown shopping center (strip mall). Friend of mine is vegetarian, one of the few places he can get a good vegetarian meal in this cow-town.

[tcres]

It's sad how many chain restaurants were mentioned in the "Best NON-CHAIN restaurants in tri-cities?" thread.

Be daring, try somewhere new! The best food you can find in any town is a smaller locally owned place. Usually off the normal path.

[Moon Waffle]

Amen, tcres.

Unfortunately, Tri-Citian's are not the most adventurous bunch when it comes to dining out...

[MovinOutWest]

Originally Posted by tcres

It's sad how many chain restaurants were mentioned in the "Best NON-CHAIN restaurants in tri-cities?" thread.

Be daring, try somewhere new! The best food you can find in any town is a smaller locally owned place. Usually off the normal path.

Speaking of off the normal path, we drove past a local looking place in Pasco the other day. It's on Rd 68, but towards the river, not in the middle of all the development. I can't remember the name of it but it looked crowded so it must be decent. It's on my list of local places to check out.

We tried Cousins recently. They've got one in The Dalles and one here, so I don't know if it's considered "local" or not, but they've got decent home cooking. Kind of like Cracker Barrel, not for the health conscious.

[M3 Mitch]

Yeah, the place on 68 was previously Fran's Heidi House, was pretty good German food for a while, went downhill, closed, I forget what exactly it is now, I think some sort of steak house.

Speaking of steak house, it's not too OT to ask what happend to TS Steak House, is it? They were pretty good, sort of out of the way for us, living in Prosser, but, seemed to do a good business. Closed awhile back, building is still for rent or lease IIRC.

[j_k_k]

It's only a breakfast/lunch place (no dinner), but for a breakfast cafe I like Jake's on 395 (just north of 7th). I would never call it spectacular, but it's usually pretty good, and very convenient to take guests who are about to hit the road--from there they have a straight shot to I-82 or toward the blue bridge. It's pretty much a truck stop and local clientele cafe.

[tcres]

Originally Posted by j_k_k

It's only a breakfast/lunch place (no dinner), but for a breakfast cafe I like Jake's on 395 (just north of 7th). I would never call it spectacular, but it's usually pretty good, and very convenient to take guests who are about to hit the road--from there they have a straight shot to I-82 or toward the blue bridge. It's pretty much a truck stop and local clientele cafe.

I've always wondered what the story was on that place. I will have to try it sometime. It's very close to me. There are a lot of breakfast places I usually go to... Andy's in Pasco, Sageport in Richland, Hills in Kennewick among others.

The place on 68 and Argent is McGills. I have not been there myself but have driven by several times to see a lot of cars in the parking lot. If I had not driven by I would have not even known a restaurant was there again.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by tcres

I've always wondered what the story was on that place. I will have to try it sometime. It's very close to me. There are a lot of breakfast places I usually go to... Andy's in Pasco, Sageport in Richland, Hills in Kennewick among others.

I forget what it is I usually have, I think it's the Taco Omelet. While I think it's a myth that truckers know where the best food is and go there--I tend to think the main criterion is a place to park their rigs--this place gets both that traffic and local traffic. Local traffic is a more reliable sign. One surprise is how dinky it is: maybe eight booths and eight barstools, perhaps not that many of either. Don't seem to need more than one waitstaff.