Recently Reviewed

The Inlander Staff & r & & r & KLINK'S ON THE LAKE & r & & r & The journey to Klink's deck beside Williams Lake built our anticipation for the resort's weekend breakfast. Klink's serves real, heavy cream with its Cravens Coffee, so just a dab will do. The breakfast menu features the usual suspects: eggs several ways, smoked meats, chicken-fried steak, pancakes, French toast, biscuits and gravy -- and Klink's signature oatmeal. The big dish of oatmeal ($5) came with little side dishes of Craisins, candied pecans and brown sugar, turning it into a complete meal. The smoked salmon omelet ($10) included big chunks of pleasingly moist and smoky salmon (smoked in-house) with dollops of cream cheese, served with a side of house-made jalape & ntilde;o pepper jelly that added the right amount of zing to bring it all together. The Dungeness crab and cheddar omelet ($13) is an enticing blend of earth and sea, with big pieces of briny crabmeat and oozy melted cheddar all wrapped up in a fluffy three-egg omelet. Breakfast at Klink's is refreshing and relaxing -- just what a trip to the lake is supposed to be. 18617 W. Williams Lake Rd., Cheney, (800) 274-1540 (AC)





OLIVE OILZ


The d & eacute;cor at Olive Oilz doesn't scream Italian -- it's more Americana -- but the menu is all Mediterranean, from Spanish paella ($25) to pasta dishes and a dozen enticing antipasti (appetizers). The soups at Olive Oilz are outstanding -- the creamy tomato vegetable soup with Gorgonzola and the rich creamy curried lentil alone are worth a visit. Among entr & eacute;es, the orzo pasta with chicken featured tender chunks of chicken in a lemon-basil cream sauce ($18). The New York strip steak with wild-mushroom Gorgonzola sauce ($22) arrived in bite-size pieces, and it was almost melt-in-your-mouth tender. Two breads, baked in-house, accompanied the meal. We finished with a hopped-up, piece-of-pie-shaped brownie ($6.50), moist, with a crumbly top layer, drizzled chocolate frosting and chocolate shavings. From bread to dessert, Olive Oilz is friendly, cozy and comfortable. 2812 E. 30th Ave., 535-3104 (DN)





BARDENAY


The moist, fragrant and meaty "Wild Turkey Bourbon" pork loin chops ($13) are ultimate comfort, served with deliciously sweet and smoky cider-glazed apples and onions, garlic mashed potatoes and chef's vegetable. Other interesting entr & eacute;es included rum pepper steak (the rum and gin are distilled on site, while the vodka is made at Bardenay's restaurant in Eagle, Idaho) served with green peppercorn demi-glace and topped with Roquefort cheese ($23), and Hagerman trout fillet grilled with capers in balsamic reduction ($12). Our Bardenay Club sandwich ($8.50) was three inches of house-roasted turkey breast, ham and thick, peppery bacon with fresh lettuce on toasted, cracked-wheat sourdough ($8.50). Bardenay takes its beverage service seriously, extolling nuances like using pure fruit liqueurs, freezing their gin, and replacing dry Vermouth with Lillet Blanc, a French aperitif. 1710 Riverstone Dr., Coeur d'Alene, (208) 765-1540 (CS)





THE VIKING TAVERN


Whether you want classic breakfast or something from the lunch menu, the Viking aims to please with its Saturday morning breakfast lineup. The breakfast menu consists of four items -- meat (bacon or sausage) and eggs, a breakfast sandwich, a breakfast burrito or an omelet, priced at $4 with additional ingredients available for $1 each. It's basic, it's breakfast, and it's at a bar -- and sometimes that's all you really need. But you can also order off the regular lunch menu, greatly expanding the available offerings. The sandwiches are big and just as good at breakfast as at lunch. And if they've got bacon cheeseburger chowder, go for it. Service is prompt, friendly and comfortable without being pushy. As befits the general comfort level at the Viking, we lingered long after our meals were done. 1221 N. Stevens St., 326-2942 (AC)