1) A family I know went to Mabel’s last Sunday morning just before 8 am, looked at the hours on the door, which said they opened at 8 am, and then walked around the block to kill a few minutes. At 8 am, the owner opened the door and said “you know we don’t open until 9? See you in an hour.” And shut the door in their face.

2) Another family I know went for dinner last week on a weeknight and waited so long for their food that they missed all of their evening activities. When the food came 40 minutes after they ordered, it was cold.

So those 2 stories are enough to keep us away, but please comment if you have had a different experience.

And if you ever have the crazy idea to open a restaurant or business on the Ridge, you better understand that you can’t make mistakes like that, because we all hear about it really fast.

Got a tip today that there was a “Closed” sign on Mike’s Cascade Grill… wondering if it’s permanently closed? We heard rumors over the summer that he was trying to sell the restaurant.

Drop us a line at editor@snoqualmievalleyblog.com if there’s any info we can post.

I’m not very adventurous with my Thai food -  I always eat the same two dishes: Tom Ka soup with chicken and Phad See Ew with beef. I’ve also had CC Thai’s Swimming Angel, which is mostly spinach, peanut sauce, and chicken, and I absolutely loved it.  Tonight was our 4th time picking up dinner at CC Thai, and each time has been exceptional on every level.

The family who owns this restaurant is very nice and the service is wonderful, a true step up from our typical experiences in this area.  Their story was recently written up in the Valley Record, detailing how they fled Cambodia in the 1970s, moved to Tennessee, then Seattle… a great story!

Ana’s Mexican (Snoqualmie Ridge): 3-7 pm, bar only. $3 well drinks, beer & wine $2-$3, $3.50 margaritas

Attic Bistro at the Salish Lodge: 4-6 pm

Capone’s Lounge at The Pizza Place (North Bend): 12-6 pm and 10pm-midnight; Half price appetizers and pizza by the slice, half price wine and microbrews, 25% off spirits, and free pool after 10 pm.

Cascade Steak & Seafood (North Bend): 3 to 6 pm; $5 wine, $4 wells, $2.50 and $3.50 pints

Finaghty’s (Snoqualmie Ridge): 3 to 6 pm and 10 pm to midnight; $3 wells, $2 domestics, $3 imports, $5 imperial pints, all small plates half price.

Jay Berry’s (North Bend): 3 to 6 pm, 9 pm to close; $5 menu

Mike’s Cascade Grill (Snoqualmie Ridge): Specials from 4 to 6 pm.

Mt. Si Golf Course Restaurant: 2 to 4 pm; Bud Light and Coors Light $2 pints

Pour House (North Bend): 4 to 7 pm, $2 pints, $3 microbrews, $4 wells, $1.50 PBRs

Raging River (Fall City): All day until 6 pm, $3.50 wells, $3 domestic drafts

Snoqualmie Brewery: 4 to 6 pm, $1 off beer and appetizers

Uncle Si’s Pizza (Snoqualmie Ridge): 4 to 6 pm; $2.50 pints

Woodman Lodge: 3 to 6 pm; half off appetizers

Monday

Mt. Si Pub- Micro Mondays

Twede’s Diner – $9.99 all you can eat pancakes

Tuesday

Mt. Si Pub – Tightwad Tuesday $1 PBRs

Raging River – $1 Tacos

Jay Berry’s – $2 taps including Mac & Jack, Pyramid, more

Wednesday

Woodman Lodge: Wild Women – Music & Wine Wednesdays

Mt. Si Pub – Well Wednesdays

Jay Berry’s – $1 off any house wine

Twede’s – $9.99 All you can eat chicken strips after 5 pm

Thursday

Ana’s Mexican – $5 tequila tasting

Jay Berry’s – $2.50 wells

Los Cabos – $1 tacos, $2.50 Miller Lite

Most people try a restaurant once and if they don’t have a good experience, they never come back. In terms of the Ridge, that could put a place out of business in a hurry.

In particular, I love the Pickle Lady for lunch and have had good experiences at Emerald City Smoothie. We like iBurger, but when I’m craving a great burger it’s certainly not my choice.

When we tried to go Talay Thai, we walked in to a nearly empty restaurant, sat down, and waited for at least 5 minutes. The chef saw us, ignored us, and didn’t tell anyone in the back we were there. We heard lots of laughing and commotion from the back, but no one ever came out. We’ll never return.

Nick and Willy’s take and bake pizza is now closed. We never tried it. Hmmm…

Taco del Mar is one of my favorites, but when I tried to go there on the Ridge, the food was sub-par and the service was awful.

Tried to go to Finaghty’s once, but it was so crowded that we couldn’t sit down. I take this as a sign we need more adult-oriented restaurants! We’ll try again and report back.

Mike’s Cascade Grill was overpriced and the menu was mediocre and unmemorable at best. It’s very loud in there.

I have to wonder if the restrictions placed on businesses in this area have prevented success in general. The cost of just being open has got to be extremely prohibitive for the owners of these restaurants. While it’s nice to have original concepts in there, I fear that the conditions for opening, growing, and maintaining a successful small business on the Ridge are backfiring a bit, resulting in a standard of poor quality and service.