Restaurants in Edmonds

The Mukilteo Lodge Sports Grille combines the atmosphere of a majestic deep-woods lodge with that of a sports bar, with a flat-screen TV mounted on a tall stone fireplace and old-growth fir beams stretching throughout the spacious interior. Bartenders pull from 35 beer taps from a 65-foot bar top mounted on another beam that sits beneath shelves of rustic raw wood. As another example of the timber theme, they open hand-built solid wood doors to snag bottles from a beer cooler, or they slide glasses slide down a bar made from Ponderosa pine, which also hosts loaded potato chips and sliders. Booths host heartier meals that may include barbecue baby-back ribs, thick beef or buffalo burgers, and steaks aged for 28 days before prep—10 times the duration of William Henry Harrison’s presidency. NFL games and other sports air over 11 HD plasma TVs mounted throughout the lodge. In a more modern section of the bar, punctuated by oak barrels and neon signs, chairs surround a pool table where friendly banter and the clack of billiard balls circulate.

The aroma of smoked pork belly draws guests into Butcher Shop Café, a butcher shop that sells fresh cuts of meat as well as café food such as sandwiches, burgers, and barbecue ribs. A case containing foie gras, duck confit, and Nueske's bacon rests next to a café, which serves a menu of burgers made with fresh-ground American Kobe Beef, hot dogs, and Carolina-style pulled pork shoulder. With advance notice, butchers can fulfill customer requests by smoking suggested meats and carving beef slices into birthday messages.

After attending culinary school, Lebanon-born Moussa Elmoussa decided to open a restaurant using Mediterranean recipes borrowed from the mother of his half-Grecian wife. More than 17 years later, he continues to prepare a menu made with nutritious, healthy ingredients such as lemon juice, chopped cucumbers, and low-fat yogurt from dieting cows. Chefs at both locations carve kosher and halal lamb, chicken, and beef for gyros, stuff grape leaves with rice, and ladle out housemade tzatziki sauce.

Head Chef Wasif Qadri of Shalimar Restaurant cut his teeth in the culinary world during the 1980s, cooking French and Pacific Northwestern cuisine tableside at Maxi's Bar and Grill in Portland. After preparing meals for celebrities such as Madonna, the Beach Boys, former president George H. W. Bush, and the ghost of William Howard Taft, Qadri opened Shalimar Restaurant in Seattle, adding an inventive twist to classic Indian-Pakistani cuisine. At Shalimar, the bill of fare spans the Indian subcontinent, from the clove-kissed korma curries of Lahore to the cayenne-infused spice blends and veggie-stew sambals of Madras. Chef Qadri and his kitchen staff fashion tandoori tikka naan sandwiches, pasta dishes smothered in liberal doses of curry sauce, and vegetarian specialties.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, pastry chef Anita Ross moved to Seattle and began selling crepes out of farmers’ markets. The year was 2004. Over the next four years she built up a following with her sweet and savory crepes stuffed with roasted duck, apple confit, wild mushrooms, and a variety of other seasonal items. In that time, Anita also forged strong bonds with local fishermen and farmers that have served her well since opening Anita’s Crepes in 2008. She’s able to use the finest organic ingredients in her crepes, many of which are made with the traditional Britanny blend of buckwheat and bread flours. And several of her meats and cheeses are imported from countries that have fertile soil for growing beef plants and mozzarella ball trees. Anita channels France specifically when catering to special events, preparing her crepes on the spot much like the street vendors of Paris.

On the sign that denotes the entrance to Rain Modern Japanese Cuisine, twisting neon lights outline a blue fish with a cartoonish grin and an orange umbrella. This colorful introduction extends inside to the dining room, where Rainbow rolls, golden tamago nigiri, and ruby-red salmon roe add pigment to each stark white plate. Sushi dominates the menu, which boasts nigiri by the piece as well as maki wrapped in soy-paper or bundled with tempura and glazed with sauces such as avocado salsa and housemade teriyaki. Chef Takashi Ogasawara and his staff's other handcrafted creations include the namesake Rain roll—shrimp tempura capped with creamy scallops—and the Sasquatch, a meaty morsel of shrimp, tobiko, and tuna nestled in seared salmon. In addition to sushi, diners can sample beef-short-rib appetizers or play cat's cradle with hungry spirit animals via udon and yakisoba noodle dishes.