Bedrock's On Its Way With All-Around Menu

The Bedrock Cafe, 16261 Redmond Way, Redmond. Open daily for lunch and dinner from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Lounge and disco open until 2 a.m. weekdays, 4 a.m. weekends. Food available after dinner hours in lounge. Major cards. 861-9925.

Normally I wait a while after a new restaurant opens before sampling the fare.

The Bedrock Cafe is the former Old Town and, before that, who knows how many other forgotten eateries.

But reaction to the Cafe has been strong, especially among late-night Eastsiders. So it seemed fair to have a taste.

All in all, the results were pretty good. The Bedrock is trying for an all-around approach: appetizers, pasta, sandwiches, salads and some meat, with the emphasis on light alternatives.

The burgers are a good case in point. There are four selections, ranging from $4.95 to $5.25. The lightest of the bunch would be the Nut Burger, which is a vegetarian patty. The others come with a choice of beef or chicken patties.

Of course, with a heavy hitter like the Surprise Burger, filled with bacon, sausage and salsa, the calories saved with a chicken patty are a moot point. The bacon-and-cheese burger (choice of cheddar, swiss or jack) was also very nice. All the sandwiches come with steak-house fries.

Speaking of sandwiches, the sausage ($5.95) was a real treat: sliced Cascioppo Bros. links topped with grilled onion, pepper, tomato and mozzerella cheese on a French baguette. Sweet, spicy,

crunchy and messy. Very satisfying.

The pasta choices revolve around fettuccine, as in Seafood ($10.95) and Alfredo ($6.95), and around linguini, as in Con Pollo E Funchi (chicken and mushrooms; $8.25), Primivera (fresh vegetables in a cream sauce; $7.50) and Possillopo (prawns in tomato and crushed pepper sauce; $9.25).

The Linguini Possillopo was very spicy, so be forewarned. The prawns were fine, and there were plenty of them, a rarity in most seafood dishes.

The restaurant runs daily specials, salads, pasta and sandwiches, all around $6.50.

The soups change daily. The vegetable beef was dark and flavorful, full of meat, broccoli, cauliflower and zucchini. Surprisingly, there was no carrot filler. A side of Caesar salad came with lettuce that could have been torn a little smaller and almost too much dressing, if such a thing is possible. But it had good flavor and the greens were fresh.

The service was a little green, but friendly without being fawning. The routine should get more polished with time.

When the Bedrock Cafe took over, it made some startling interior changes in the formerly dark and dreary Old Town.

The walls have been painted bright enamel apricot and peach with turquoise accents. It's very cheery, but with the intensity of the current lighting (at least during the day), it's much too bright.

The walls give off a glare, especially in the no-smoking section. And with the overhead Casablanca-style fans going, the room takes on a strobe effect. It's distracting and discomforting. The powers that be could do well with some lower-wattage lamps.

And as for that Bedrock Cafe name - yes, there is a little "Flintstones" influence here - in the bar. As in the Flintstone Lemonade or the Prehistoric Screw.

Yabba dabba do!

Restaurant reviews are a regular Thursday feature of the Seattle Times Eastside Life section. Reviewers visit restaurants unannounced and pay in full for all their meals. When they interview members of the restaurant management and staff, they do so only after the meals and services have been appraised.