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RAVE: Heartland Cafe!

Started 2 years ago by Traci
Latest reply from charlabob

Traci
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Opening night was a lot of fun. We were greeted with "welcome, it'll be a long wait, bear with us!" and had fun people watching and exploring the GREAT space while we waited for our food. The staff was awesome and personable, and I am excited to go back and spend time in that bar! Very cool.

We're not meat eaters, so the menu was limited for us. The meaty dishes looked great, especially the sausage ones I saw. I got the "volcano", with mashed potatoes and green bean casserole (their gravy is mushroom based fyi) and it was perfect comfort food. We also got the grilled cheese, which had caramelized onions and an entire green chile in it. Tasty, but the casserole-type dishes seemed to be the better (and more substantial) option so far.

They're going to be open late night (starting at 11pm) for breakfast and will be open for breakfast-breakfast too :)

Opening night is tough for businesses of course, and they were gracious and apologetic for the wait, etc. They seemed honestly concerned with us having a great experience there. I'm happy that they're open, and will go back!!

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
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YAY!!!! Thanks for the review !

Posted 2 years ago #
westseattledood
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Wow! Green bean casserole! AND other casseroles! Is that amazing or WHAT!?

Hope other folks report in on other menu items. It will be a few days before I venture over there, but I am DYING to know the specifics of the menu.

I am hoping chicken and dumplings made the cut.....crossing my fingers. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
Traci
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Well I got green bean and mashed potato "volcano" which was just that - potatoes and green bean casserole with gravy. Which I personally think is delicious... My fiance got a fancy grilled cheese sandwich. I can only vouch for those two items on the menu. Sorry if that's not an adequate reflection of the cafe.

If my memory serves me decently...

There were tater tots, meat loaf, pretzels, many burger options including one with molten cheese in the middle and another with sausage and mustard on it, sausage quesadillas, a sort of mashed potato/cheese/beef casserole that looked tasty, mac 'n cheese, an entire menu section devoted to sausage, locally made pies, and a couple basic salads. Plus a full bar in the back, newly restored.

Better than thinking about it online, just go and try it! They have breakfast too. Hope you like it.

Posted 2 years ago #
Admiral935
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I went there for a few hours tonite, the bar, and later the counter in front for a late-night meal. (midnight) The staff especially, and owners, one of which I chatted with for a while, were absolutely wonderful and top-notch people. The food was okay and I'll go again. Pretty neat place. I'd could say they're off to a good+ or better start. Best wishes Heartland....

Posted 2 years ago #
Sue
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Oh, why couldn't this place have opened *before* I had to give up cheese <sigh>. :)

There's a website up now at http://www.heartlandcafeseattle.com but no posted menu yet.

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
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thanks, Sue, for the link :)

Posted 2 years ago #
dawsonct
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Consider this a preemptive strike:
To those who have been/will go to Heartland within a couple of weeks of opening and have a not entirely 100% satisfactory experience, settle down. Every new restaurant or other business will naturally have some glitches and hitches, sorry that it happened to you, don't take it personally, respectfully speak with the person about the issue who can best address the problem, and give the proprietor another chance a little later on.
If it still doesn't work for you, fine, homogeneity is WAY overrated.

Posted 2 years ago #
JackTheCorgi
Member Profile

Does anyone know whether Heartland serves locally grown/raised produce and meat? The website doesn't tell a whole lot yet. Friend of mine visited this morning for bkfst and sent me a pic of the menu - interesting indeed. But I need to know where the food comes from. Does anyone have information?
Thank you.

Posted 2 years ago #
odroku
Member Profile

I nearly went in for dinner last night around 830. I looked at the menu and was about to walk in, but the couple who had been looking at the menu before I did seemed to have walked in and were turned away. Since nothing on the menu was screaming my name, I figured I'd wait for another night. Looked nice on the inside and the menu is definitely familiar fare to midwesterners.

Posted 2 years ago #
charlabob
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The bob brought home a meatloaf sandwich and a cheeseburger (because the charla was working from home). He had a drink while he waited and raved about it too. The sandwiches were excellent. I wasn't as crazy about the tater tots, but those don't travel well AND I may have outgrown my fascination for them. They were ravingly busy and it was before 5 p.m. -- the inestimable Matthew is working there and, for us, that's worth the price of admission.

Hoping to get there for breakfast tomorrow -- I harbor hopes that truly religious will be occupied elsewhere and the crowds won't be quite as bad.

When takeout burgers make your mouth water, you've got a winner.

Posted 2 years ago #
faerdla
Member Profile

We went for breakfast this morning and had a fantastic experience! Way better than I expected for being the first day open. We had our 2 little kids with us and the service was not fast but not slow at all either. Biscuits and Gravy was excellent and so were their pancakes. Kids enjoyed their egg, hashbrowns and toast...coffee was good too! Best of all, breakfast for 4 ran us about $30, which is competitive with other breakfast joints around. Will definitely be back!

Posted 2 years ago #
DBurns
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Went for breakfast this morning and had a great time! Glad to hear that it picked up for lunch because breakfast time (9am) was pretty slow.
We sat in the bar which was so fun - dark and themed out like a pirate ship. My friend kept saying, "I feel like we're in Vegas!"
Bartender was great; it's clear that they are all working their butts off right now to make it all work. Food was great - just had scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, toast - I had a biscuit which was great. Everything was good and under $10, so can't really complain! We would like to see a few more interesting things on the menus - but what's there looks good and well priced.
PS like Dawsonct said, please give these folks time...the way to get really good at this business is from experience, which only comes with time doing it! They'll be great!

Posted 2 years ago #
Slugbait
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We just had dinner there. She had the chicken fried NY Steak, me, the meatloaf. The steak melted in our mouths and the meatloaf tasted like 100% meat. Server was very attentive! Both of us cleaned our plates (if I could I would have licked the gravy off the plate)! She doesn't usually clean her plate (ever) but you could have seen yourself in the reflection of her plate it was so clean. I also had the German Potato stuff and she had the slaw. Two people, great dinner for under $26. I will be back to try the other items on the menu. Stop by and give them your support!

Posted 2 years ago #
pigeonmom
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"Scrambled Eggs" in DBurns post is a link to a shopping site?

Posted 2 years ago #
WillieMurderface
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Have been in for late night breakfast both nights so far, and have been impressed both times. Friendly staff, and delicious food. Got the Hangover breakfast, and the chicken fried steak. Scrambled eggs have been perfect both times... gravy seems home made, and not from a mix... hash browns are crispy, and totally not too greasy... kielbasa is wonderful... definitely gonna be my new late nite weekend spot...

Posted 2 years ago #
HelperMonkey
Member Profile

I saw a pic of the bar - it looks like they've restored it to 100% accurate representation of the former Benbow glory. Nicely done, Heartland! I will wait for the crowds to die down a bit before I come in, but rest assured I will be coming in!

Posted 2 years ago #
DBurns
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Pigeon Mom: Did I somehow do that? If so, I have no idea - sorry!

Posted 2 years ago #
pigeonmom
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No worries, just thought it was strange. It goes to a dead link.
*cue Twilight Zone theme*

Posted 2 years ago #
WSB
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DB - that's what I e-mailed you about recently. Was that one of the posts you did from your phone? It's the exact same problem. I just removed the link but whatever you used to make that post and the others I'd mentioned in e-mail, it's infected or otherwise corrupted and randomly causing key phrases in your posts to be links to spam-type sites. Best to have whatever computer that was (or phone) checked out to make sure it's wiped clean of whatever's causing it.

Posted 2 years ago #
DBurns
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Got it. I will be sure to take care of it.

Posted 2 years ago #
westseattledood
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I went in yesterday late afternoon. I was one of two people :).

Got a nice booth next to the window, but I think that the communal table will be great, great fun for the late-night crowd, when they arrive.

Anyway, I got the Chicago dog. Could have used a crane to eat it, it was so big. :) Jalapeno? Check. Pickle? Check. Massive amounts of cheddar cheese? Yup.

Had a side of sauerkraut, which I thought was good. Not super sloppy wet, not too vinegary, but nice.

Plus, the waitresses told me they will be working toward more items suggested on the blog, so even though they did not have chicken and dumplings, I still have hope. Not that there aren't plenty of good options.

Definitely a cozy, comfortable vibe to the cafe. And the bar kind of reminds of a pirate's ride at Disneyland, wondering if the whole ship was gonna' pitch. And, that was without even having a drink in there. Really! ;)

Next time, it'll be the shepard's pie, I do believe. With a beer.

Posted 2 years ago #
ChrisMonsos
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Stopped in for drinks & dinner tonight... It was great! The chicken fried chicken was awesome - we'll be back!

Posted 2 years ago #
grr
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do they have a vegetarian menu?

:D

Posted 2 years ago #
kg
Member Profile

Just ate there for lunch today with my spouse and had a great time overall. We ordered the cheeseburger with potato salad and Chicago dog with slaw. The veggies on both main dishes tasted very fresh, and the meat on both dishes were very hot as they were straight off the grill. The wait staff went out of their way to present a very welcoming atmosphere, not just when we walked in but throughout our entire meal.
The two problems we encountered, which I chalk up to not being open too long, were that the cheeseburger was not cooked the way we asked, but was quickly corrected AND we were given a heartfelt apology from our waitress. The second problem was that we were only charged .17 sales tax on a $20 ticket. We made the management aware of the mistake and I hope they take the appropriate action. No idea how long that mistake has been going on.
Even though we encountered two small hiccups we will be going back.

Posted 2 years ago #
Sue
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I went the other day for dinner. Was greeted promptly and enthusiastically, and someone came over in a few minutes to take my order. The wait wasn't too bad considering I overheard them say the entire restaurant and bar were full. However, when they dropped off my food, the server sneaked up from behind me, slapped it on the table and ran. Never saw him again until another server told him I wanted the check after I sat there for 5 minutes finished.

The food was okay, but not rave-worthy. Chicken-fried chicken was very good, but the gravy was too much, both in quantity and too heavy - I'd ask for it on the side next time. Mashed potatoes were good, but the potato salad mediocre. I was surprised that there were no veggies on the side dish list (other than sauerkraut) and mentioned that to the server.

I'll give them another try in a month or so and see how things may change.

Posted 2 years ago #
westcoastdeb
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I feel the same way. I will be back to check it out again, but I had the sheppards pie and it wasnt rave worthy. My waitor was over attentive and was almost hovering over me to fill my glass -- granted I sat up by the register, but it was just a little much. Menu was a little limited for me, but give it a month or two for them to work out the kinks and I will be back.

Deb

Posted 2 years ago #
squareeyes
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It's already got the atmosphere of a local hangout. I was there last night (Friday). The place was packed - front and back. We sat in the bar and loved the decor. Service was a little inattentive but entirely understandable; they were slammed and are still getting all their processes in place. Will definitely be back. Am looking forward to trying breakfast.

Posted 2 years ago #
sam-c
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we made it for the first time on Friday evening. the host said it would be a 10-15 minutes wait, but it ended up being almost 30. I thought that wait would be disastrous for the almost 2 yr old, but the service was so fast that nobody was crying for their food. I thought the meatloaf was great. the double-brat dinner was "good, not great", yummmy yummy sides: the potato salad and the cole slaw were good. our server was nice and came at all the right times, and like I said, we didn't have to wait long for our food. We really enjoyed the atmosphere and peeked into the bar- very interesting; we never saw it in its previous incarnation.
my only complaint would be about the beer; I wish they had draft beer. and maybe, more microbrews instead of coors and miller. but according to the mid-westerner in the house, mid-westerners don't need microbrews.

now, just need to make it back for breakfast. we looked at the b-fast menu. I will have a hard time making up my mind.

Posted 2 years ago #
Heartland
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Hello West Seattle,

We took our time to make the Heartland Cafe a place where WS could congregate. Boy! did you ever... After 10-days of business, we have met so many of you. To the families! You showed your trust by bringing in children —and lots of them. We worked hard on creating a space where everyone felt comfortable. It felt specials to see folks from 1yr-91yrs gather together on common ground.

Let’s not forget the Benbow Room, which has brought back so many memories for multiple generations. We had the pleasure of putting on a smile for “Joe” a sweet lady who once bartended here for 30+ years. I could tell she was tickled pink to see the old ship sail once again.

Thank you for being patient with our service, menu options and hours of operation. In the next week we will dial in our hours and cater our menu to your liking. We plan on offering prime rib and fried chicken to our weekend menu, as well as Family Style dining on Sunday nights.

Starting tomorrow we will be closed on Mondays. Don’t worry though, we will be back on Tuesday serving breakfast, lunch and dinner 6-days a week.

The Heart of WS is now at the Heartland Cafe.

Posted 2 years ago #
charlabob
Member Profile

We've now been to Heartland twice and we're sold. Bob's a fan of the Admiral Benbow and ask Matthew about the Wicked Wench (cosmo on steroids with pomegranites....) Works for brunch too. The chicken fried steak is the best ever, according to both of us. Burgers -- all of the sides (try the sauerkraut -- it's surprising -- spicy and delicious.)

Service was exceptional -- the Benbow room is just plain fun and funky (and, yeah, very Vegas like.) Drop by -- it was definitely worth waiting for.

Posted 2 years ago #