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Health & Fitness

Local Restaurant Update: Part 2

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue: A four part series about what's happening in the Gig Harbor restaurant scene.

Part 2 – Something New

In .  In this installment, we welcome a newcomer onto the scene.

Reflections at the Airport opened a few weeks ago at the located at 1202 26th Ave. NW.  This building has been the home of several other restaurants but stood empty far too long so we were pleased when Doug and Sue Henry took over the space to open Reflections.  They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week, and offer a full bar.  Windows along the dining room and bar offer views of the airport.  There is a deck area for outdoor dining when weather permits.

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They were slow that Sunday night we visited so we had a chance to talk with the servers and manager, Jacques Henry.  Everything seemed chaotic, but it was explained that the menu is in flux as they experiment with different items.  The “soft” opening night, the previous evening, was extremely busy and adjustments from that trial run were in progress.  Perfectly understandable.

Our server was inexperienced; it was obvious even before she admitted it to us.  But everyone is new there and that’s to be expected with a restaurant that just opened their doors. 

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We started out with their Salmon Cake appetizer, and I found them to be moist and flavorful with generous amounts of flaked salmon.  The savory red pepper aioli on the side was an excellent accompaniment.

For the main course, I had the Chicken Gorgonzola served over rice.  It was drizzled with a tart balsamic glaze that was sublime with the mild Gorgonzola sauce on the chicken.  It was well-balanced with flavors and textures that combined to make a complex and satisfying dish.  Rick had the Rib Steak, cooked medium-rare as ordered, with sautéed mushrooms and garlic mashed potatoes.  Another success and, like my entree, it looked as good as it tasted.

A week later, we brought the whole family over for lunch and found the experience much the same:  good food but the service was still in need of considerable improvement.  There were quite a few miscellaneous details to be worked out, like how our soft drinks were served in the small water glasses so refills were needed far more often than our server could reasonably keep up with.  It was busy that day and larger glasses would help the servers immensely.

The stand-outs from the diverse lunch menu were the burgers and the red pepper bisque, the soup of the day.  My daughter, our in-house clam chowder critic, pronounced their chowder “wonderful!”

So what makes a great restaurant?  Great food and great service.  Reasonable prices help, too.  Reflections gets positive marks from me for the food and the prices.  The service aspect definitely needs some improvement but it’s still early.  They just opened and as long as we see progress, we will be back often.

For information or reservations, you can call them at 253-432-4691.

Coming Up: Part 3-Something Borrowed

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