Log Haven

He said:

USA Today named Log Haven among its Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in the U.S., while Forbes included it among America’s Most Scenic Restaurants. It seems a popular venue for wedding events. Indeed, during our visit we noticed a wedding party in a separate dining room. Romance may be somewhat of a calling for Log Haven, whose building was built in 1920 as an anniversary gift from steel baron L. F. Rains to his wife. Photographs of the home’s construction appear on one wall near the entrance. Other walls feature a vast array of awards and other accolades.

As we waited for our appointed time, I enjoyed listening to the live music performed by a pianist and a bassist. They specialized in The Great American Songbook, which may just be my favorite musical genre. They encouraged requests, so I made a couple of suggestions, for which they immediately provided beautiful improvisations without a pause. (For the curious, I requested “Heart and Soul” by Hoagy Carmichael and “Stormy Weather” by Harold Arlen. Later, I regretted that I hadn’t asked for “Stardust”, also by Carmichael).

A hostess led us to a table near a window overlooking the canyon road. Snow blanketed the ground and trees. Though it was dark, a light in the parking area revealed a waterfall across the street. The place settings at our table featured hand-painted plates with the Log Haven initials. The waitress removed these charger plates once we placed our order. They served merely as an attraction, I guess, too nice for eating on. I’ll have to make a note to myself: a sign of a fancy restaurant is that they have plates just for looking at. They do seem to like their plates, though. With the charger plates removed, they brought us each two more plates, one for our Artisan Rolls and another for our appetizer.

For the appetizer, the Grilled Quail served on smashed Yukon potatoes with pomegranate, pistachio, and Tzatziki sauce sounded really tempting to me. However, I didn’t want to deal with small bones, so I instead ordered the Korean Fried Cauliflower. Dipped in a milk and flour batter and then cooked until crispy, the florets were coated in a Gochujang glaze and topped with scallions and cashews. The Gochujang provided a mildly spicy flavor paired with sweetness.

The waitress only refreshed our diet colas once. At the end of our meal, we discovered that this was probably because they charged for refills. Though a small part of our bill, it still struck me as somewhat petty and atypical. At least I enjoyed the ice water, which came filtered from a natural spring on site.

For my entrée, I ordered the Bison Steak au Poivre, medium-rare. They cooked it with impressive exactness. Served sliced in two, it revealed a perfect sear surrounding a red center as tasty as it was beautiful. The steak sat atop a tasty peppercorn sauce. Although the peppercorns were soft and tender, the sheer quantity of them threatened to—but didn’t quite—overwhelm. The bison flavor was mild, almost indistinguishable from beef. However, the steak lacked good marbling, which denied it the moistness and rich flavor of a comparable beef steak. But I can hardly expect a bison to loll around enough to develop good marbling. The thought of a Kobe Bison lying on a mattress getting a massage made me smile.

We finished our meal by sharing a Frozen Coconut and Banana Souffle with roasted pineapple sauce and toasted coconut. We weren’t sure what to expect from a frozen souffle. Ultimately, we didn’t discover how it qualified as a souffle as it didn’t seem to have eggs and it wasn’t baked. Nonetheless, we enjoyed it. Lighter than ice cream, I think it was probably ice cream mixed with a mousse or maybe whipped cream. I enjoyed its sweet and light texture, delicious flavor, and let’s face it, nearly everything gets better with toasted coconut.

She said:

Nestled in the woods in a picturesque setting, the Log Haven was a great choice for a romantic date. (Reservations are a must). Going on a night with the snow coming down and blanketing everything in white added to the romantic mood. The setting was truly peaceful and idyllic. Rustic.

Upon entering, we were greeted by crackling flames in the fireplace, muted lighting, darkly painted log beams, and beautiful, live piano (and bass) music. Everything was sophisticated, classy, warm, and welcoming. The waitstaff were discreet and professional, offering paced service so that we could enjoy our dining experience at a leisurely rate. Being rushed can detract from savoring the fullness of the dining experience.

We started with delicious bread with truffle butter, followed by the Korean cauliflower. It was tasty, but a bit on the spicy side for me. However, I did enjoy the few bites I did eat, relishing the melding of the flavors.

Now to my entrée. After our server told me that the special was grouper with a tomato-vodka broth and saffron-ricotta dumplings, I thought, “Sure, why not?” I’d never eaten that species of bass before, and I decided to be a bit adventurous.

Honestly, I didn’t really care for it. The first strike against it was that my food was cold. Then, the sauce was overpowered by the burn from the vodka, so I couldn’t even finish eating my meal. The fish was pretty mild, and despite being cooked to perfect moistness and flakiness, it lacked any flavor. As for the dumplings, they could have been larger, had a denser filling, and been more plentiful. Balancing out the dish with asparagus would have been nice.

After my first impressions had been shaped by the ambiance, my expectations ran pretty high. Unfortunately, my experience fell a bit flat. However, I’m willing to return sometime in order to try out a different dish and give the Log Haven a second chance.

Conclusion:

The Log Haven is a first-class restaurant and a great place to celebrate love, proms, weddings, and graduations, or to impress on a first date. Overall, our experience was a positive one.