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Good Food
3 SquaresTaking Mom to Dinner in Broadview
By Unknown Writer #5
May 29, 2001 -- It was the day after Mother's Day, and I was celebrating with my mom and dad. They came all the way from Bellingham to the Big City, and Dad suggested I find an appropriate place for dinner. Sounds simple enough, but since Dad thought it would be fun to participate in a restaurant review, I had to come up with someplace fresh ... and that created the dilemma of finding the right unknown place to take--egads--my parents!My mission: Find a place not too far from my house, and in the $20-$30 range per person, including tax and tip, with a menu diverse enough to satisfy our wildly differing tastes and dietary needs. Hmm. Not until my folks arrived did I remember that I'd been hearing lots of upbeat local chatter about Bick's Broadview Grill.
Bick's is in a big old converted house a block north of the mega-intersection of Holman Road, Greenwood Avenue and North 105th Street. I've heard Bick's described having a kind of ski lodge feel, though the food ideas seem to come from somewhere near the Gulf of Mexico. Indeed, everywhere you look there are hundreds of different bottles of hot sauces. The inside of Bick's is wood...lots of wood. Hard wood. Hardwood floors, tables, chairs, bar. Wood ceiling and wood beams, with a wood deck for warm days. I worried that the hardness and noise would be a problem for my folks--and it was not.
Once we chose the best table for Mom, Bick's charm began to take hold. Our server was friendly without being overbearing, and answered every one of my questions (though I asked even more than usual!). He addressed our concerns about spiciness (we can't all eat spicy food, after all), directing us to the most appropriate appetizers to meet our needs, and satisfied our desire for their smoked duck by suggesting the House-Smoked Duck Spring Rolls with Chipotle mayo. Yum!
When I ordered a salad too, my folks looked at me as if a was a glutton, but I explained I was "doing research." The simple-sounding Garden Greens Side Salad was was simply perfect: candied walnuts, crispy fried shallots and gorgonzola sprinkled about beautiful young greens and dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. By now we had melted into the place, and worries about hardness and loudness were forgotten. Surrounded by other happy diners, we were experiencing an intimacy created by ambience, service and food. Mom was happy. So was I.
Dad got the Grilled King Salmon--wild, of course--which came over a bed of sweet mashed potatoes and vegetables in a spicy broth. The veggies were too spicy for dad, but Mom and I gobbled them up. Meanwhile, Dad devoured the salmon and potatoes just fine on his own. Mom went for the Sesame Crusted Halibut with orange glaze, coconut rice cake (a particularly unusual treat) and asparagus. Mom didn't leave a speck of leftovers her plate--in fact, I thought I would lose a finger when I went in for a sample. I had the Flattop Flattened Chicken, a deboned half-chicken seasoned wonderfully and pressed flat on the grill to cook fast. Topped with a lovely pesto-type sauce, served atop a bed of mashed sweet potato and garlic-lemon spinach and finished with herbed goat cheese, this is one of Bick's signature dishes, and deservedly so. It was fabulous.
For dessert (again, "research") we had a chocolate cake that was deceptively light, sans berry sauce (I'm a purist), as well as Bick's nutty, drunken cheesecake. Both were terrific. Any place that can seduce my parents while knocking my socks off is a place I can happily to recommend to anyone. Like Mom said, "We'll have to come back here again!"
Bick's Broadview Grill, 10555 Greenwood Avenue N, 367-8481. Open daily 4-10 p.m.
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