Summit House Restaurant
Crystal
Mountain Resort
33914
Crystal Mountain Blvd.Crystal Mountain, WA 98022
The
restaurant is named “The Summit House” and is a casual eating establishment,
frequented by off season patrons as well as the avid ski buffs during
winter. A rustic knotty pine clad room
with tall windows on both sides of the room and the tables and chairs are
rustic pine wood. It should be noted that there were flies inside, some the
size of horse flies but; oddly enough they stayed on the glass windows and did
not fly around us or the food.
The
menu offers a good variety of appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, a kids
menu and a choice of four desserts. They offer signature cocktails, beer and
wine by the glass or bottle. Assorted soft drinks, coffee, tea, hot cocoa and
homemade ginger ale and homemade lemonade are also available. An automatic 20% gratuity is added to tables
of six or more and there is a two check per table maximum.
Our
choices included the Catch of the Day ($25.00) which was Mahi Mahi with a spicy
sauce paired with rice pilaf and grilled asparagus spears. The fish was
grilled nicely but the sauce lacked in depth or spice. The pilaf was overcooked but the taste was
adequate, the asparagus spears had a nice al dente snap to them. Next was the
grilled Halibut tacos served of flour tortillas and accompanied by refried
beans and Spanish rice. 
Next
we ordered the Grilled Halibut Tacos ($26.00), three tacos served on flour
tortillas and paired with refried beans and Spanish rice. The fish was moist and juicy and topped with
a chipotle sauce and a pineapple slaw.
The beans were a bit on the dry side and the Spanish rice was ordinary
but still tasty. You also got a small size
container of fresh Salsa which helped to brighten the otherwise mundane flavors
of the rice and beans.
The
third choice was the New York Strip Steak ($29.00) paired with truffle fries
and seasonal grilled vegetables. The steak is topped with herb butter and
crispy Shitake mushrooms. The steak was
ordered medium rare and was medium when served but the taste was excellent, it
retained its juiciness. The Truffle
fries were the hit of the table, taste, texture and aroma were divine. This entrée was also served with grilled
asparagus.
Our
final choice was the Zucchini and Corn Tacos ($16.00), three corn tortilla
tacos laden with grilled zucchini, corn, onions, tomatillos and black
beans. The taste was excellent but
eating them was difficult because excess moisture wicking into the tortillas
caused them to fall apart. None the less
they were delicious. This entrée was
served with the refried beans and Spanish rice also.
We
paired our entrees with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Seven Falls Winery
in Washington State. It is a deep
coffee, cocoa flavored wine with hints of plum and cherry and a slight under
taste of mint. It paired well with all
of our entrée choices. The bottle price
was $39.00 a bit cheaper than the per glass cost for four patrons.
Our
server was nice and provided our food and wine promptly, however when she asked
how our food was, she added no response when told about the over cooking of the
meat. She then asked why we had ventured to the top of the mountain and was
informed we were celebrating a birthday; she offered no complimentary dessert even
in the light of the cooking of the steak.
Our
tram ride and meal came to over $220.00 not including tax and tip, would I go
again? For sure but not for dinner, I
would enjoy a bottle of wine out on the patio while savoring a pile of Truffle
Fries.
You
can check out their summer menu at: https://crystalmountain.scdn3.secure.raxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Summit_Summer-4.pdf
