Foghorn is swankier than it sounds

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Foghorn is swankier than it sounds

Saturday, February 5, 2000

By GREGORY ROBERTS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER RESTAURANT CRITIC

Considering the name, the sailfish and ship's wheel accenting the decor and a history that goes back years before Kirkland got hip, it would be natural to think that the Foghorn is a paper-place-mat, fried-seafood kind of place, with maybe a Captain's Platter topping the menu at $13.95.

But the restaurant is considerably swankier. A couple of steaks cross the $20 barrier, and the oven-roasted Australian lobster tail is priced at a breathtaking $62.50.

For most diners, no doubt, the view will be stirring enough. Perched on the edge of Lake Washington, the Foghorn offers a vista across the water to the lights of Seattle gleaming on the far shore.

The Foghorn does run true to form with its emphasis on seafood. A thick chowder ($3.95/$5.95) heads the appetizer lineup, followed by such takes on old standbys as fried calamari with roasted garlic aioli ($5.95) and Dungeness crab cakes with creamy lobster sauce ($10.95).

RESTAURANT REVIEW
Foghorn. 6023 Lake Washington Blvd., Kirkland; 425-827-0654. Hours: lunch 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday; dinner 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4:30-8:30 p.m. Sunday. Full-service bar. All major credit cards accepted. Smoking in bar only. Restroom access by stairs. Free parking in front lot and second lot nearby.

A sesame crust edges buttery slices of seared ahi tuna draped on pan-fried soba noodles with a sesame-sake dipping sauce ($12.50; entree version $22.95). A puffy coconut batter jackets fried chunks of prawn, moistened by a mild sesame-sake glaze and a zingy green curry sauce ($7.95).

Leading off the entrees is fresh wild salmon, either charbroiled and complemented by lemon, sour cream and butter, or sweetened with a sugar-spice rub, pan-seared and served with an apple cider beurre blanc ($20.95, or market price). Oysters take a roll in crunchy panko breading for pan-frying, with a lemon-dill butter sauce adding luster ($16.95).

The kitchen's fondness for the lush and sweet gets free rein with desserts, as with the rich, gooey mud pie layering chocolate and butter pecan ice cream on a chocolate crust with chocolate sauce ($5.95).

The Foghorn, which opened in 1973, was bought in 1977 by Paul Lewis, a co-founder of the Skippers fast-food seafood chain. Lewis lured his son Dean from a job as a radio disc jockey to work in the restaurant; when the senior Lewis died less than a year after the purchase, Dean recruited his brother, Tony, fresh from law school in California, to help out.

"When Tony and I first took it over, we were working night and day for days on end," Dean Lewis said. "We learned our clientele, we learned the area, we learned our business a little bit better. It got easier.

"I think what we're doing now is the best we've ever done. Much of the credit goes to Chris Callan, chef for the past six years," Lewis said.

Dean is the wine-loving brother, building a Northwest-centric list that also ranges to California, Europe and Australia. The 60-odd wines on the regular list are supplemented by a reserve list of premium selections.

The Foghorn's dining room spills down two levels toward a wall of glass along the lake. Sailfish and ship's wheel notwithstanding, the seafood-restaurant cliches are kept to a minimum, and the feel is more cozy than kitschy, with walls sheathed in stained cedar, deeply upholstered booths and candles flickering on white linen.

While the Lewises have undertaken two major remodelings of the restaurant, Dean Lewis said it's time for a third: "You have to give it the correct look of the decade."

Gregory Roberts can be reached at 206-448-8356 or gregoryroberts@seattle-pi.com