Cascade Springs becomes favorite
for quality dining & solid music
With a friendly atmosphere, great food and live music on the weekends, Cascade Springs is quickly becoming a neighborhood favorite. Owners Steve and Keri Smith have put in their time to keep this gathering place fresh and welcoming.
Specializing in American comfort food, Cascade Springs is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner 365 days of the year, with a customer-tested and recommended menu. On major holidays, Steve and Keri prepare the food and serve a buffet so their staff can have the day off, while making sure their customers have a hot, traditional holiday meal.
Fenix (Photo by Eric Tworivers)
On all the other days, the food is prepared by Chef Aaron Welton, who has more than 10 years as a professional in the kitchen and accomplishes great things with a gentle hand. The food is of the best quality with an emphasis on fresh, local meat and produce. Beef and pork come from a local butcher shop and the steaks and chops are hand-cut daily. The potatoes are “real,” fresh, never frozen and the veggies are straight from the farm, with a veggie burger ready for the non-meat crowd. Popular menu items include fettuccine, flatiron steak and rib-eye, along with an assortment of burgers and chicken selections and rotating daily specials.
This writer and companion were able to sample several menu items; the clam chowder is loaded with bacon, buttery and creamy, with lots of clams and potatoes, cooked just right. The fettuccine is of perfect texture, flavorful and with a cool parmesan garnish. The generous omelets, offered with a choice of hash browns, potatoes O'Brien, and a variety of toast are artfully presented; every bite speaks to the quality and care that go into the preparation of every menu item.
The cozy full-service bar opens at 6 a.m. You can share an early morning coffee with the regulars as they head out for work, hang around for lunch or enjoy a local ale as you begin your evening. There is an interesting Rogues Gallery of customer photos growing on the wall.
Music was provided the night of this visit by Fenix, a five-piece group based in Portland and specializing in rhythm and blues. The band is fronted by Fenix on tenor, alto and soprano saxes; he is ably supported by Wad Martin on lead guitar, Jeff Otto on keyboards, Miyuki. H on bass and (this night) Nichole Black on drums.(Ms. Black rotates the drum chair with Drawback Slim, who has played and toured for many years.)
The band has a lot of communication onstage and the rhythm section of Miyuki H. and Black are very impressive in their solid timing and ability to move folks onto the dance floor. All the players are very smooth in their approach and the songs are a balanced selection of Motown, funk, blues and jazz standards from several decades. Fenix says that there are some originals in the works, and this writer is anxious to hear the results.
The band Fenix has played together for more than three years and they are available for corporate events and private parties, as well as club gigs. You can catch them one weekend a month at Cascade Springs, just look in Bandstand for dates and times.
The Halloween tradition is alive and well at Cascade Springs. Several years ago a neighborhood, private party grew so big, it moved to the pub and has been there ever since. Everyone is invited to Carla and Larry’s Halloween Party so plan your costume now.
The parking lot is well lit and patrolled by the owners, helping to make Cascade Springs Restaurant and Bar a safe and friendly neighborhood fixture, located at 516 S.E. Chkalov Dr. (south of Mill Plain) in Vancouver, Wash.