By Brian Griffin
I remember this place well from my youth. When we moved to the area, one perk of my dad’s job was a membership to the Tri-City Country Club, so we spent a few weekends of the first summer that we lived here out on the course. I had taken a few lessons as a kid, and my drives were straight but never had much distance. But I really didn’t need much distance to try to hit the cars in the parking lot across the street when my dad wasn’t looking.
Kids are the worst.
I remember very vaguely coming here back in the day. I remember my dad telling me that a collared shirt was required, and this may or may not have been true. It is possible that he just didn’t want to be seen in public with me while I was wearing my Limp Bizkit shirt. I think that I probably paired my polo shirt with some cargo shorts and some sandals with socks, which couldn’t have been much better.
This latest trip was a little bit different. This time, I was invited to check out some food in the Edge Sports Lounge.
First of all, the view from the deck is stellar, with panoramic views of Kennewick all the way out to the Blue Mountains. It would be hard to find a better place to sit down and have a cocktail on a summer evening. I have always loved the idea of watching people golf. My dream is to have a house on a golf course one day and watch the players from a hot tub on my deck. This place gives you all of the enjoyment of that, but getting hit by a ball would take a catastrophic mistake, or a herculean feat of mischief.
Anyway, let’s break this up into lunch and breakfast. Let’s start with lunch for some reason. Oh I should mention the Chef, he’s worth his weight in gold. Phouty Vongsaly with over 11 years of executive chef experience has created a delicious menu.
Lunch
We started with the ceviche. The chips had an unmistakable homemade feel to them. Not at all like how the barn door I made for my bedroom has an unmistakable homemade feel. I mean that in a good way. They are crisp and fresh, and excellently seasoned, and paired well with the white fish ceviche.
Now, my wife and I have an agreement when we go out. We have similar tastes in food, so we are generally split between two options, and they are usually the same options. That is, unless there is a french dip on the menu. She hogs a french dip like a wild animal. When she is done, she has smeared au jus across her face like war paint. While she wasn’t looking, I stole a bite. This was one of the more interesting au jus that I have tasted. It had a wintery spice to it that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, and I loved it.
I have a similar conviction when it comes to green chili cheese burgers. They are my oldest favorite food, dating back when I grew up in New Mexico. There is a place in Taos that serves dishes that look like they have a vat of mush in the kitchen that they just scoop up with a plate and throw lettuce at it from across the room. That was the first time that I ever had a green chili cheeseburger, and ever since then, it didn’t matter what else was on the menu. I could be shopping for a coffin for my dog, and if that place happened to have a green chili cheeseburger, I would forget why I was there and order one. The burger at the Edge Sports Lounge is an interesting variation with a rather delicious slaw thrown into the mix. I had mine with some house made potato chips that were outstanding. You can also substitute a vegetarian patty if you are a forward thinking kind of person, and I have a feeling that would be excellent as well.
Breakfast
I won’t mess around. I ordered a breakfast burrito. A breakfast burrito is unadulterated culinary perfection. It is taking every ingredient of an ideal breakfast served in a manner in which you can pick the whole thing up and eat it while you jog, or whatever. There is almost no way to mess it up, and they certainly haven’t here.
Now, here is where my mind starts to wonder. What is the difference between an omelette and a breakfast burrito? Obviously, the answer is a tortilla, but if you wrapped an omelette up in a tortilla, is it suddenly a breakfast burrito? If that tortilla opened up, is it an omelette again? At what point does a breakfast burrito turn into an omelette sitting on top of a tortilla? Is that a tostada?
Anyway, this Denver omelette was awesome. It was served with like 64 square inches of perfectly done hash browns and your choice of toast.
I would like to take a moment to apologize for my behavior here as a youth. I am honored that they invited me back as a grown man to check out some of the food that they now offer since they have opened to the public. Despite all of the negative news, the world truly is becoming more inclusive all the time. We are becoming safer and more tolerant on the whole as a species, and The Edge Steakhouse and Sports Lounge is a great indication of that. I highly recommend spending an afternoon there, taking in a game and looking out over the beautiful landscape of the Zintel Creek Golf Club.
Oh, I remember one time, I lost a frisbee in some kind of vacuum in the pool when it was a country club in 2002.
I’m sorry guys.
VIBE facts on the Edge Steakhouse & Sports Lounge- The Edge is now open to the public & located at 314 Underwood Street above the Zintel Creek Golf Club. The sports lounge is open 7 days a week, Steakhouse is open Thurs thru Saturday 4pm-11pm & open for breakfast Fri thru Sun 7am-11am. They offer a full bar & craft as well as domestic beers. If you are a Pho lover, try their pho it is one of the best (if not THE best) pho in the Tri Cities. Both the restaurant & golf club have their own text clubs for special alerts & discounts. Text: EDGE to 78816 for restaurant & text: ZINTEL for the golf club. For all food pictures & menus click here for entire album on Tri Cities Cork & Fork Facebook page.