Quality chow ingredients are worth barking about

Tofu fries? The crisp oil-coated rectangles taste just fine but not addictive; they don't appear much healthier than their potato counterparts; they don't have the same textural appeal or natural affinity for salt -- so why does the Barking Dog Alehouse bother?

RESTAURANT REVIEW

BARKING DOG ALEHOUSE

PHONE: 206-782-2974
ADDRESS: 705 N.W. 70th St.
PRICES: Breakfast $4.95-$12.95; lunch $7.25-$14.95; dinner $7.75-$15.75
HOURS: Food served 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 8:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, and 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday
BAR: Full bar, super list of local and Belgian beers, short wine list, strong emphasis on single-malt scotches
SMOKING: Smoke-free
RESERVATIONS: Never on weekends, and preferably not weekdays, although they'll work with you
PAYMENT: Major credit cards; local personal checks
SOUND: Surprisingly conversation-friendly even when crowded
ACCESS: No obstacles. Ramp to front door; large family bathroom
PARKING: Free street parking, which is a little tight but can usually be found within the block
KID-FRIENDLY: Somewhat. Just one high chair and one booster, but a sure-come-right-in attitude; no kids menu or crayons
BEST BETS: Breakfast sandwich $7.95; tofu scramble $6.95; Southwest chicken salad $8.25; coconut tiger prawns $8.50; waffle fries $3.50
RATINGS:
Food: **
Service: **
Ambience: ** 1/2

Ratings guide (full explanation)
**** extraordinary
*** excellent
** good
* fair

Then this thought occurred: Perhaps they're a nod to customers on Atkins?

That would be just like the attractive, airy Ballard alehouse, whose diverse menu manages to pack something for every taste bud into a few dozen starters, sandwiches, entrees and pizzas. Barking Dog has an interesting breadth for any restaurant, let alone a pub; and the food has high-pedigree ingredients and is reasonably priced. It's frequently better than it has to be, and, when it isn't, it's still possible to have a pleasant evening.

The comfortable surroundings and wowza beer list, more than the food, are what will really attract customers from beyond the immediate neighborhood. Barking Dog, which is owned by the same team as Fred's Rivertown Alehouse in Snohomish, specializes in Belgian and Northwest ales, along with a hefty selection of single-malt scotches.

There might be a familiar local name like Mac & Jack's on the list of rotating draft beers, but chances are it will be a hefeweizen or a Black Cat Porter rather than the African Amber more commonly found. Much of the beer list is obscure to the casual drinker, but the menu's descriptions are helpful, and servers are generally informed and enthusiastic about helping you pick.

Choose fast, though, because in the two months between two of our visits, only four of the fifteen local draft ales on the regularly rotating list were the same.

The 9-month-old restaurant is on a quiet street with more houses than businesses nearby. It's got a warm feeling inside, with dark red paint and toast-colored wall boards, a lot of wood, enough tables and big booths that we've never had to wait, and, natch, brew-related pictures and flags.

Then, the food: To its credit, Barking Dog produces solid versions of a lot of different kinds of food, from Sesame Ahi Salad ($7.95) to a smooth, furiously rich lobster bisque ($6.95 bowl) to a sort of alehouse version of a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich ($7.75). That breadth does come with a cost; the kitchen rarely executes a dish in a way that you can't think of another place in town that does it better. A crab and artichoke appetizer ($9.50) was the over-cheesy, light-on-flavor type; the Thai chicken wrap ($9.75) was a little gloppy and ricey, with a sauce that tasted bottled (our server also thought it was, then checked and said it wasn't).


		DAN DELONG / P-I
	A flaky pastry in the shape of a barking dog floats atop the Buffalo Stew ($11.25) at the Barking Dog Alehouse in Ballard. The diverse menu offers something for everyone.

The exception to that rule were the giant, crunchy-sweet Coconut Tiger Prawns ($8.50), which were better than those touted at far fancier venues. Other dishes I'd order again include the full-flavored, sauerkraut-laden Reuben sandwich on rye ($8.75) and flat, crisp, salty waffle fries ($3.50).

A weekend brunch (sans beer) also held its own, with an unusually pleasant tofu scramble ($6.75) brightened up with fresh basil, and a deliciously greasy breakfast sandwich ($7.95) with black forest ham and a thick layer of scrambled eggs on sourdough. The orange juice came from a box, but it was a box of good stuff, worth the $2 for a pint glass. Raspberry framboise pancakes ($7.25) would have been a delicacy except for the tough, overcooked bottoms.

That failure to either properly cook or evenly warm entrees was the chief, consistent problem over four visits to Barking Dog. It was a seriously deflating debit, and yet it didn't ruin the whole meal the way it would at some restaurants. That may have been partly because of the pleasant surroundings, or partly the basic quality of the ingredients, including the likes of Misty Isle beef and Tall Grass bread. If your shumai appetizer dumplings ($6.75) are going to be cold in the middle, for instance, it softens the blow that they're encased in a spicy wasabi-flavored wrapper. The sausages that came with our alehouse breakfast ($8.95) were unappealingly cool, but we ate them anyway -- who could forgo CasCioppo Brothers andouilles?

An unusual offering of buffalo stew ($11.25) had less to redeem it; it came lukewarm on one visit, without the advertised animal-shaped pastry on top, and without much flavor to boot. It was filling, but not savory.

Service was reliably upbeat and informative, with occasional minor flaws such as being slow to clear plates.

Desserts were mostly average-good. My favorite was, fittingly, an ice cream float made with Thomas Kemper root beer, which was mostly a solid glass of ice cream with a bottle of Kemper on the side.

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