Classic Restaurant Opens in Kent Station

Last month Cal’s Classic American Tavern introduced diners to their own brand of comfort food with incredible taste when they opened in Kent Station in Kent, Washington.

Popcorn with brown butter and sea salt

Although, the new dining option is called a “tavern,” it’s definitely family-friendly. Located at 504 Ramsay Way in Kent, the restaurant seats 110 in the dining area and up to 65 at the bar.

A few of the bar tables come with their own spigots for beer, so you charge what you think you’re going to drink and then keep pouring until the tap runs dry. Sounds like fun to me.

A couple of their appetizers called my name before I even ordered a drink – popcorn with brown butter and sea salt and fried peanuts. The popcorn definitely rated as a lively, fun and tasty appetizer. I’ll have to return to try the fried peanuts.

A very tasty hamburger according to my grandson.

Chef Shannon Galusha, who has worked at both the French Laundry and the Bastille Café & Bar, puts his own spin on classic comfort dishes like Chop Chop Salad with green beans, potatoes, olives, Feta cheese and tuna; Open Face Meatball Hoagie comes with fennel in addition to the whole milk mozzarella and tomato sauce and Wood-Fired “Old Forge” Pizzas including one with Shepard’s Pie toppings. Of course there’s tomato soup, chicken noodle soup, pot roast and chicken pot pie, but probably not the tried and tired recipes you’re expecting. You can stay home and open a can of Campbell’s. To really savor comfort food, you need to visit Cal’s.

As many ingredients as possible come from the area including farms in the Kent Valley and Skagit County. Taylor Shellfish and Carpinito’s Farm are also represented. All the purveyors used at Cal’s are listed on a gigantic whiteboard posted in the dining area.

The covered, heated outdoor patio and fireplace, can accommodate 40 people for most of the year – just not in the intense winter months.