Seasons Fresh blends comfy and inventive
The first thing that greeted me at Seasons Fresh Grill and Bar in Coeur d’Alene was the striking sculpture above the fireplace by award-winning local artist Richard Warrington.
The second was the hostess, who offered a tour of the spacious restaurant, previous home to the Coeur d’Alene Brewing Company. It’s really three or four spaces in one, so you can choose the ambience to suit your mood.
The full menu is available in the high-energy bar, with its chic blue neon and red drop-down lights and roll-up doors, as well as in the adjacent piano lounge with overstuffed leather chairs. There’s an outdoor patio and the Gallery Room for private events.
The dining room is in the center of the restaurant, flanked by wine racks and soothing artwork, and offers booths and table seating in a warm, tranquil environment.
The bulk of the menu items are comfortable classics, such as the “extraordinary” grilled cheese ($8), halibut fish and chips ($17) and pasta alfredo ($17). The lunch and dinner menus share many items in common, with a few heartier dishes available in the evening.
The Kobe pub burger ($12) starts with fresh (not frozen) beef that is ground in-house daily and hand-formed just before cooking. “It will melt in your mouth,” the server promised.
She was right. Served on a parmesan black-pepper bun with tender butter lettuce, the juicy burger transcended the ordinary.
The accompanying yam fries drizzled with crème fraîche and a balsamic reduction had a unique sweet-and-sour twist, and seemed to beckon me to eat just one more as they spilled generously across the plate.
It probably wasn’t fair to order the falafel burger ($9) alongside but the garbanzo bean burger with roasted peppers and spicy Sriracha aioli sauce held its own on flavor.
The minestrone soup was less successful – heavy on pasta and short on flavor.
Seasons describes its menu as “seasonally inspired spirited cuisine.”
“The inspiration is really driven by the name of the restaurant,” says executive chef Scott Miller, who was previously the executive sous chef at Northern Quest Casino. “When things are fresh, regional and seasonal, they are delicious and cheap.”
Many ingredients are made from scratch, like spice blends, dressings and stocks. This makes it possible to offer many gluten-free and vegan options, notes Miller.
The tomato mozzarella salad ($9) featured the last of the season’s heirloom red and golden tomatoes with creamy mozzarella and a splash of balsamic and extra-virgin olive oil. The dish was simple but elegantly presented, underscoring the restaurant’s commitment to showcasing the flavors of fresh, seasonal ingredients.
When asked about the “spirited” nature of the cuisine, Miller laughs and says “That’s because I’m a little bit sassy. It’s sort of the playfulness of the menu.”
The nightly “fresh and exciting” menu is chef Miller’s creative outlet.
“It’s my chance to use fun combinations of food in unexpected ways,” he says – like a meaty filet of white sturgeon served with smoky, grilled bok choy and sweet cherries, or wild boar spareribs with pomegranate barbecue sauce.
The exotic mushroom risotto with scallops ($20) was everything a good risotto should be: creamy al dente rice with a deep mushroom-infused flavor and tender, sweet scallops perfectly prepared. Garnished with a parmesan crisp, the dish looked as appealing as it tasted.
Few restaurants give enough attention to dessert, the dish that leaves the lasting and final impression. I’m still thinking about Seasons’ mocha chocolate mousse cake topped with chocolate and vanilla bean syrups and whipped cream. For $6, it would be worth the drive to Coeur d’Alene just to have that cake again.
Seasons offers happy hour specials from 4 to 6 p.m. every day. Wednesday night is ladies night, with live piano music in the lounge with drink and appetizer specials from 5 to 7 p.m. for ladies. Thursday night all wines by the bottle are half off, offering a great opportunity to try a new wine at a steep discount.
The high quality of locally sourced and house-made ingredients prepared with care makes Seasons an outstanding choice whether you are meeting friends for a drink in the bar or out to celebrate a special occasion with an elegantly prepared meal.
Little touches, like offering water with a choice of lemon or cucumber and serving a shared dish split on two plates without being asked, show that the art of service is still alive.