Longtime Olympia residents are well acquainted with King Solomon's Reef where everyone and their brother - at least in Oly - has had a job at The Reef and, at some point in their adult life, participated in its 6 a.m. happy hour. (Today, the lounge opens at 10 a.m.) Good homemade food - such as fresh pies and chicken fried steak - and the intimate bar that holds more stories in its walls than Rupert Murdoch has secrets are the reasons this bar is so epic. It has been known as a place of solace and debauchery and gritty bartenders. Clientele has ranged from state workers to gutter punks, with everyone rolled into one non-judging, loving ball of humanity.
If I were to cast judgment, I'd say The Reef's mac and cheese is simple, good food. The menu describes the dish as "a bowl of macaroni noodles and our own creamy multi-cheese blend, mixed together with a crispy top." Indeed. Efforts to reveal the cheese blend ingredients fell short, but I can tell you it's a buttery, oily bowl of comfort.
It will no doubt be voted in as one of the 64 best mac and cheese dishes in the Weekly Volcano's Tournament of Mac and Cheese next spring.
KING SOLOMON'S REEF, 8-3 a.m. daily, 212 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, 360.742.3199