Just beyond the expansive slot floor of the Tulalip Casinostands the alluring foyer of Tulalip Bay, a fine dining

restaurant unlike any other in the area. “It's a unique diningexperience,” said Tom Thompson, Tulalip Bay's Front of theHouse Manager. “It's a hidden gem that can rival any restau-rant in the Puget Sound region.” Approximately forty miles fromdowntown Seattle, Tulalip Bay offers an elegant, romanticatmosphere along with a menu tailored to delight the sophis-ticated palette.

The double doors at the entrance of Tulalip Bay are flankedon each side by cloth-draped sconces that resemble hand-heldtorches. Emitting a soft orange glow, these torches allude tothe theme around which the restaurant was conceptualized: Fire.The windows of the custom double doors are etched withflame-like designs; the exterior façade is speckled with bronze,giving the impression of smoldering embers; and the foyer centerpiece is a double-sided fireplace that warmly adds to theromantic air.

“It's an intimate dining atmosphere,” said Tom Thompson.“It's nice and quiet, has low lighting, and has great classical musicplaying. It's calming for the people that come in.” The inte-rior walls are draped in rich suede, complementing the Andesrosewood and solid walnut used for the booths, accent walls andceiling soffits. The same cloth-draped sconces line the diningroom walls, adding a muted glow.

The lavish wine room is separated from the main diningroom by a curved wall that features a hand-carved, Lucitewindow by Austrian crystal carver Felix Moslein. The windowdepicts the vista of Tulalip Bay, which is carved into the Lucite

with crisp, frost-like detail. The wine room itself is lined wallto wall with rosewood and granite wine racks, which surroundthe black granite, council style table. The showpiece of the wineroom is an exquisite blown-glass chandelier crafted by world-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.

The menu at Tulalip Bay is designed by Chef Dean A. Shinagawa, who was trained by Chef Roy Yamaguchi, famous forRoy's Restaurant in Seattle's Westin Hotel. Chef Shinagawabrings to the restaurant a creative zest, striving for superior quality and flavor. The preparation for his menu takes hours, withchefs beginning at 9 a.m. to ready the sauces for the restaurant's5 p.m. opening. “The sauces have very extensive cooking timeand a lot of attention has to be paid to detail,” said Chef DeanShinagawa. “We have six cooks on the line who prep all of thestations.”

The menu has a Northwest and Pacific Rim theme, minglingJapanese flavor with Northwest flare. “I tried to capture some ofthe flavor that we had at Roy's Restaurant,” said Shinagawa. “Ithas an Asian cuisine flavor, which I grew up with living in Hawaii.”The menu's preparation took months, going through various levels of experimentation and private tastings, resulting in anunparalleled bill of fare. The menu changes three times a year, keep-ing selections fresh with the season. “We have standards that wealways keep on the menu, like steak and lobster. I change the fishout seasonally, as well as the salads, soups and appetizers.”

The food used for meal preparation at Tulalip Bay is of thehighest caliber and quality. The seafood is fresh, with lobsterflown in directly from Maine. The beef is cut from the top 1%prime-grade beef in the U.S. “We serve an Angus prime,” said

28 Indian Gaming February 2006

CULINARY REVIEW

by AJ Naff

Tulalip Bay: Dining Gem of the Northwest

Thompson. “There are restaurants in Seattle that serve the top2%, but we serve the top 1%. It's a very detailed restaurant.”

In keeping with the restaurant's theme of fire, the palettecleanser, which most restaurants typically serve as a cold cit-rus sorbet, is flambéed tableside at Tulalip Bay. “When westarted off, we were using ruby red grapefruits and a sweet creambutter,” said Thompson. “Then we would flambé it at table-side and add a dash of pepper.” As with the menu, Tulalip Baylikes to change things up. The palette cleanser is now servedas golden pineapples fresh out of Hawaii. “Every guest thatcomes in is served a palette cleanser tableside,” added Thomp-son. “Guests really appreciate it.”

The restaurant's wine selection is vast, extending from tra-ditional Northwest favorites to classic old-world varieties.Approximately 300 different wines line the racks in TulalipBay's wine room, some of which include verticals - the same winein numerous vintages. The selections range from merlots craftedat Washington's own Chateau Ste. Michelle, which averagearound $40 a bottle, to shiraz selections such as Australia's Pen-folds “Grange,” which rings in at around $500 a bottle. “We havea beautiful wine selection,” said Thompson. “I recently enteredit into Wine Spectator Magazine for an award. They have threedifferent levels of awards and our list qualifies for two of them.”

Tulalip Bay also sets itself apart through its consistency, bothin the front and back of the house. Guests who frequent the

establishment receive the same high level of food and servicewith every single visit. The training for the front of the house,including the host and wait staff, was extensive, lasting eighthours a day, five days a week for three solid weeks. The excep-tional service is in the details at Tulalip Bay, where the staff issuperbly trained on wine knowledge, menu tours, and even onremoving plates correctly from the tables.

“If you go to a restaurant and ask about a menu item andyour server doesn't know about it, it's kind of odd,” saidThompson. “So we do menu roll outs. We just roll the menuout and sit around for hours talking about it, tasting it. Thechef comes out and discusses it.” At Tulalip Bay the servers havean expert knowledge of the menu, so when guests inquireabout the selections their questions are fully addressed. “It'svery important to us that we know exactly what is in the foodto better serve our guests.”

The uniquely appointed restaurant offers patrons an arrayof tantalizing dishes and appetizers, a highly lauded selectionof fine wines, masterfully artful décor, and a superb, unobtru-sive level of service. The Tulalip Casino's Tulalip Bay is a hid-den gem in the Pacific Northwest, a fine dining restaurant ina class all its own. ¨

For more information on dining at Tulalip Casino visitwww.tulalipcasino.com

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