A glance at Budd Bay Cafe's menu choices for Olympia Restaurant Week suggest the waterfront business of nearly 25 years chose to play it safe and offer classics like Seared Salmon, Rosemary Chicken Breast and Marinated Flank Steak.

But a closer look reveals the salmon is actually with wasabi cream and soy glaze, and is served with the delicate balance of jasmine rice.

"We definitely wanted to put salmon on the menu. We prepare it six or seven different ways," explains Pam Oates, manager. "And this is our most popular salmon dish. It's very well received."

And the chicken isn't just seared with rosemary; there is also shiitake mushrooms, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes in a zesty wine sauce, served with a side of Yukon gold mashers.

"We chose this because it's like comfort food," says Oates. 

Having a beef choice rounded out the menu, she adds.

The appetizer and dessert menus seem consistent with seafood/steakhouse fare, offering Crab Cake, Chowder or Caesar Salad for appetizer choice or Creme Brulee, Cheesecake or Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert. 

Olympia Restaurant Week runs now through April 18 — Sunday-Thursday - participating restaurants offer three-course lunch and/or dinner menus for $15 and $25, respectively.

BUDD BAY CAFE, 6:30 A.M. TO 9 P.M. MONDAY-SATURDAY, 9:30 A.M. TO 9 P.M. SUNDAY, OLYMPIA RESTAURANT WEEK SUNDAY-THURSDAY, 525 COLUMBIA ST. NW, OLYMPIA, 360.357.6963

LINK: Olympia Restaurant Week Reservation Center

LINK: Olympia Restaurant Week Menu Guide

With lunch and dinner both on the menu for Olympia Restaurant Week, it's a good thing by "Week" we mean 10 days. You will need that long to sample all the goods Thurston County has to offer.

Designed to give customers a well-rounded taste of some of Olympia's finer restaurant's menus, Olympia Restaurant Week offers three-course lunch and dinner menus at $15 and $25, respectively. The promotion runs now through April 18, Sunday-Thursday.

At Trago Mexican Kitchen in Olympia's Westfield Capital Mall, it's tough to choose between the lunch and dinner menu. Both offer three choices for appetizer, entree and dessert.

Will it be the lunch menu's traditional Taco Plate, featuring two traditional style tacos on soft flavorful corn tortillas with black beans and gourmet white rice? Or the dinner menu's Chipotle Lime Chicken, chicken breast served barbeque style from marinade of chipotle and lime, served with mashed potatoes and veggies?

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