Tulalip Bay Restaurant

Summer vacation with the family has been awesome...this is the first family trip with the kids since they were let out of school and hubby and kids were looking forward to staying at the Tulalip Resort in Marysville, WA (see more on this in my "Travels" section).

It was a Saturday night and my husband and I wanted to do a little date night and leave the kids in our room to play their XBOX or watch YouTube videos (baby girl loves watching reviews on her fave toys or the Guava Juice channel).

Makeup fresh, hair did, and outfits chosen, we walked downstairs and headed to our destination, the Tulalip Bay Restaurant.  

This restaurant is fancier than the rest within the casino and prices are $$$ - atmosphere is dark, romantic, and comes complete with a wine tasting room.  We were greeted by our hostess and sat in a cozy little booth in the middle of the restaurant and served by a jovial, lighthearted waiter - a man with a distinct accent (Irish or maybe Scottish).

Since we are both dieting (more on this later), we have been mindful of what to order when eating out.  So, naturally, we shared our meal.  We still indulge but in moderation.  Here is what we had...          

We ordered red wine.  Usually it's just water for us (mine with a lemon wedge and iced) but since the kids weren't with us, we decided to live it up a little (haha).  I started with a blend while hubby had a cabernet.  While hubby enjoyed his, I felt mine was a bit strong but I love trying new things (hubs ended up finishing it for me at the end of our meal).   

As like other restaurants, we were served bread...except this bread was different.  It wasn't your traditional bread basket but a small, single piece topped with cheese and basil and stuffed with a light helping of heavenly goodness...was it more cheese?  Or was it ground meat?? I'm not even sure but it was flaky yet melted quite nicely in your mouth.  YUM.

​Right after being served the wine from the connoisseur, we were each served hor d'oeuvres to try (which I assume is a new concoction that the kitchen dreamed up)...a nice presentation of a red grape covered in herbed goat cheese over some type of sausage.  Ummm, after typing this I really wish I was able to get the actual name because that SOOO did NOT sound fancy...but damn, did it taste GOOD.

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Next up was a starter dish - we shared the pancetta wrapped prawns.  So light and satisfying. Again, the presentation of this dish was beautiful - 3 huge prawns over a sun-dried tomato puree with capers, basil, olive oil and topped with sprouts...

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Before being served our entree, we were each served a strawberry-mint sorbet in a mini dish (probably about the size of my palm).  The sorbet was teeny-tiny (about the size of a ping-pong ball) but it's purpose was to cleanse our palette.  We thought that was so interesting...not only did it taste good but it certainly did the trick.  

And, finally, our entree: 12oz filet mignon steak with demi glaze cabernet to the side served over a (concrete?) slab.  Two side dishes of sauteed mushrooms (not pictured, unfortunately) and charred brussel sprouts were also ordered - remember to have those veggies!

Usually hubby and I like to order our steak Medium - not too pink, not too done.  Just right for us.  Since we were sharing the dish, it worked out perfectly. 

Surprisingly, after all this food, we weren't too full. Everything tasted very light (other than the steak) so we decided to order some dessert (shared, of course)...YOLO, right??

We ordered the Pistachio & Raspberry Crosata (described as an open-faced tart with pistachio linzer crust, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries, creme fraiche zabaglione) served with a side of chocolate biscotti. Probably one of the best desserts we've had - we're tiramisu and creme brulee type of folks but this was AMAZING. After a few bites, I was wishing that I'd had my own but I had that little voice in my head telling me "only in moderation, Mari" which I had no choice but to listen to because I know it's for my own good.

So, needless to say, we had an awesome experience and will definitely be back.  The ambiance was warm and cozy, the food - amazing, and the staff was very welcoming.

Although, it's a fancy place, some people were dressed very casually (which is understandable since it's in a casino and people are dressed how they want),  Hubby had jeans on and didn't pack his nicer pants, however, he dressed it up a bit.  I had nicer shorts but wore it with my blouse unbuttoned at the top as well as my strappy heals.  The makeup I wore (smokey eyes, of course) and jewelry dressed it up a bit more.  

If there's time, and you know you're going to dine there, I suggest putting in the effort to spruce up a bit to really soak in the atmosphere and dinner experience as a whole.  I'm not talking formal (but you can if you want), just something you would wear to a wedding or Sunday mass.  After all, it's not like most of us dine out like this often :)

~XOXO, Mari