Barrels of goodness at Cedars

One of the more comfortable places to enjoy drinks and apps with friends on a cold Tri-Cities night is Cedars on Clover Island.  Cedars has a nice lounge with a real wood fireplace with plenty of seating.

Our night kicked off a bottle of red wine, some Jack Daniels, a little Bacardi, and of course Cedars’ famous Rum Barrels.  For the appetizers, we enjoyed their potato skins, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, and Bruschetta.

The drinks were excellent and the food was pretty darn good.  One thing that has always bugged me about Cedars is this:  It’s a joint that has every ability to be a top-notch, first class restaurant but chooses to go the “mediocre route” with food like an old school salad bar, chicken strips, potato skins, and cheese sticks.  Yes, I know.  We all ate everything I find annoying.  I just wish there were more restaurants in the Tri-Cities willing to push the envelope with their menu a little more.

Don’t get me wrong, I will always continue to eat and drink at Cedars.  Their dinner menu is above average and it’s a warm and inviting place.

P.S.  I haven’t been there in a while and since then, Cedars has updated their Happy Hour menu.  Hours are between 4pm and 6pm and they have various, and well-valued drinks and food specials.

Someone came to the site yesterday looking for “good places to drink in Kennewick”. I figured I shed a little more insight. There are a number of good places to drink in Kennewick, but it all depends on what you’re looking for I guess. I would say the following places are great places to drink for the following reasons:

• Uncle Sam’s Saloon: They have a lot of great beers on tap including Irish Death from Iron Horse Brewery. They have a good jukebox, plenty of flat screen TVs for whatever sporting event is going on. The bartenders are all pretty cool too. They even have a kitchen that kicks out some damn good food.

• The Pub: For a long time this place was hit or miss. Lately though, they’ve tightened things up and have been doing really well. They have the usual beers on tap and every kind of liquor you’d need. There is plenty of seating, pool tables, shuffleboard, and free popcorn.

• Jackson’s in Kennewick: Again, they have great beer on tap, the whole gambit of booze you’d need. They have pool tables, big screens, and during the warmer months the patio is open.

• The Sports Page: All the usual beer and booze. Plenty of space to find a seat. Tons of TVs around and the food is pretty good.

Now you may notice I stuck to a theme here. These are all great places to sit down, relax with a drink, and catch whatever sporting event may be going on. These places are usually low on drama and are great places for friends to get together and have a good time.  I could write up a whole other list of places to drink in Kennewick that are “sporting events” free too.  You can also see what’s going by checking out the Tri-Cities Events Calendar.

There can/will be a whole other list that could be made for places to go when you’re looking for a little trouble.

Ok… you caught me.  I don’t normally get excited about a fruity drink, but the Rum Barrels at Cedars are pretty effing good.  But when aren’t they?  There’s nothing like a nice strong drink with a spodie to boot.

Sadly, I haven’t taken advantage of their deck more often this summer and know that I should have.  This being said, it was a great night (not too warm and not too cold) to hangout with a friend, sip a couple of good drinks, and enjoy the views of the Columbia River and the Cable Bridge.  I also have to mention the Bruschetta, it was killer.  But then again, I hadn’t had any carbs all day.

The next time you go to Cedars, ask for Jesse the bartender.  He’ll take good care of you.