Fresh Flavors, Fresh Start for Baldwin Saloon; Now open for lunch & cocktails
This appetizer, the Burrata, tastes so fresh with pesto sea salt and a mozarrella ball that oozes flavor.
By Tom Peterson and Cole Goodwin
LIam Macleod, Molli Martin and Griffin Martin are part of the team bringing back The Baldwin Saloon. Lunch started today, April 12.
The Baldwin Saloon reopened today with a lunch service that goes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
“My kids wanted to do it,” said Molli Martin, proprietor of the restaurant at 205 Court St., The Dalles. “Our family decided we wanted to revisit it in the Spring when we could reopen normally without restrictions. And we never got lunch going last time, so we decided as a family that we’d like to give it another opportunity. It’s such a great spot, and it needs to be open.”
The crew at the Baldwin along with Executive Chef Joe Kosarek have been working their tails off for the past several weeks in preparation.
Lunch Menu. Click to expand.
Last week, they provided CCCNews a sneak peak at the menu and a taste of their offerings, gratis.
Full disclosure - The Martins have also been a strong supporter of CCCNews, advertising for multiple months prior to the closure last fall.
We gladly obliged.
We arrived at 11 a.m. on April 5 to find Molli opening the front door into the institution that has served people for over a century.
Each table was adorned with a fresh flower arrangement. Monica Perryman, the landscape and flower artist for Sunshine Mill delivers them to Baldwin every week.
The Vacation Island meets Horsethief in a very special class of mixology at the Baldwin. You can go island vibe with creamed coconut and gin or you can saddle up with ancho liquor and whiskey. Either way, you will feel the breeze in your hair.
And Griffin Martin has been working on his elixirs! The recent Oregon State grad has blended some perfection since returning home in fall of 2020.
So I started with a Horsethief - a hopped whiskey with ancho chili liquor, lemon and summer sangria with a dram of honey.
Yippee Ki-Yay! It was like an old-fashioned with a chili kick telling me to write off my afternoon. Careful with these.
Cole decided to take a little Island Vacation - made of gin, cream of coconut and lime, and pineapple juices. The change was almost instantaneous. Reviewing quickly expanded into fun and socializing.
Nice work Griffin! Great photos Cole!
Burrata
For the appetizer, we ordered the Burrata - slow roasted tomatoes with pesto, flaky sea salt and and a mozzarella ball that had been hollowed out and filled with creamed mozzarella.
It was so fresh, like spring in your mouth. The soft cheese oozed as our forks cut in. The classic combination also had a twist with a fried basil leaf that provided a hint of smokiness.
It was a great start. Our only complaint, we wanted another tomato. But we’re greedy.
On to the main courses: Vegetable Curry and Greek to me Prime Rib.
Vegetable Curry
Cole took on the Curry and its garlic, ginger, butternut squash, peas, tomatoes, garbanzos vadouvan spiced cauliflower and peanuts.
Vadouvan is a milder and sweeter version of Indian curry powder that incorporates the aromatics onion, garlic, and shallot.
“It’s kind of like a masala,” Cole said. “It’s sweet and little bit smokey with a dimension of starchiness from the butternut. It’s so balanced. The peas are al dente. It’s really springy. What a great vegetable dish.”
The Greek to Me Prime Rib came on a slightly crunchy ciabatta roll with slices of beef, tzatziki, olive salad, whipped feta cheese and tomato.
Whipped Feta meets Olive Salad and his big brother, beef, in this flavorful sandwich.
The crispness of the bread provided a nice juxtaposition to the bold flavors of the olive salad which was then muted by the feta. Wow, it exploded in my mouth as the tzatziki brought a brightness as the prime rib spoke soft base notes behind it.
Great sandwich!
Others were equally impressed with their food.
Kerry Proctor had the Candied Bacon Burger for lunch. “It was delicious,” she said.
Cane syrup, cayenne glazed bacon, steak sauce aioli, cheddar cheese and carmelized onions make the burger sing.
“I had the Bronzed Salmon,” said Anne Kelly. “It was super tasty. Just great, we’re super excited for Baldwin to reopen. We wish we could have cocktails, but it’s too early.”
That was the only fly in the soup we could find.
Kerry Proctor and Anne Kelly enjoyed a lunch at the Baldwin last week.
Chef Kosarek, who was a prosecutor in his previous life, called the new lunch menu “approachable but still has that high quality fine dining touch to it.”
And his favorites?
“I know it’s kind of mundane, but I really like our Caesar Salad a lot. And I really like our Sunshine Mill Burger, the combination of goat cheese and fig jam, which we make here. The combination of the sweetness and meatiness is really good,” he said.
Molli Martin said they intend to phase the restaurant in during the next several weeks.
“And then once we get our lunch kitchen crew trained up and we can execute everything properly, then we’re hoping that in two weeks we’ll open up for dinner,” she said. “We’re doing as many local foods as we can.”
“It’s tasty,” said Brian Cassidy, who ordered the Candied Bacon Burger. Peggi Cassidy ordered the Chicken Alfredo.
Mike Kelly had a Candied Bacon Burger. “It was very good,” Mike said.
“It’s nice that they have a new lunch menu, isn’t it? Did you get bored of eating the same foods during the pandemic?” asked Cole Goodwin.
“For sure,” said Anne Kelly.
“Absolutely,” said Matt Proctor.
“We’re definitely looking forward to coming back,” said Matt. “It’s nice to be able to go back out and not have to worry quite so much about masks.”
