Get your three squares a day at Huckleberry Square

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Get your three squares a day at Huckleberry Square

Saturday, January 8, 2000

By GREGORY ROBERTS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER FOOD WRITER

When Don Spadoni envisions the future of dining in America, he doesn't see much room in it for places like his own Huckleberry Square.

"It's tough to be an independent little neighborhood restaurant," he said. "It's becoming increasingly difficult.

"I'm bucking a trend," Spadoni said. "This is like hanging on to what was, but it doesn't bother me. In fact, it's fun; it's a challenge."

Spadoni actually has done pretty well with Huckleberry Square, which has nearly tripled in size since he opened it in 1979 as a 50-seat restaurant. And while the menu has expanded, too, it hasn't wandered far from its humble origins.

"We haven't gotten anything really sophisticated," Spadoni said. "Our basics are American staples that people like. Basic American food."

That means dinners such as meatloaf ($7.29), a dense yet delicious blend incorporating cheddar cheese and steak sauce, served with thick brown gravy and potatoes. Or the 8-ounce rib-eye steak ($8.99), brushed with a little olive oil and grilled. Or maybe a nightly special of Yankee pot roast ($8.49), slow-cooked to a juicy, tender turn.

RESTAURANT REVIEW
Huckleberry Square. 14423 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Burien 206-246-7006. Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Beer and wine. All major credit cards. No obstacles to accessibility. Free parking in lot. Separate smoking section.

Dinners, which generally come with homemade soup or salad, potato and vegetables, also cover seafood, such as a saute of salmon in wine and vegetable oil (8.99), or fish 'n' chips ($7.99), as well as chicken choices, from tenders to teriyaki breast ($7.99). They venture into familiar Italian territory with offerings such as spaghetti and meatballs ($7.59) and fettucine Alfredo ($7.99); spaghetti Italiano ($7.29) features meat sauce made to a recipe handed down from Spadoni's grandmother. The menu nods to vegetarians with a stir fry of lentils, onion and red pepper over rice ($7.79).

"It's not what you'd expect at a downtown restaurant," Spadoni said, "but I'm not a downtown restaurant, and I don't want to be."

The signature Frenchie ($5.29) anchors the lunch menu, layering a -pound burger on hot French bread with cheese and bacon. The meatloaf reappears among the hot sandwiches ($5.99), and there are plenty of other sandwich options.

The all-day breakfasts, which top out with steak and eggs with hashbrowns ($7.99), are where the namesake huckleberries come into their own, topping pancakes or Belgian waffles. They show up at dessert, too, in a homemade cobbler ($2.95).

"We needed a theme," Spadoni said. "I've always been a fan of wild berries and I wanted something that represented Seattle. The huckleberry appealed to my imagination -- Mark Twain and all the rest of it.

"I had eaten them as a kid; I grew up near Camp Long in West Seattle. My wife bought me a huckleberry bush for the house we were living in - -that was when I was opening the restaurant."

Huckleberry Square's building had housed an outlet of Whizburger, a chain Spadoni and his relatives had invested in. They sold out in the mid-70s and, after working for some other restaurateurs, Spadoni took over the failing Burien Whizburger outlet and reinvented it as Huckleberry Square. It now sprawls through three dining rooms, brightly lit and casual with lots of cedar, glass and greenery.

"I wanted to have an affordable family restaurant for people to come and enjoy in the neighborhood," Spadoni said. "Not a chain. Something different."