A little bit of Texas in Northgate
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Southwestern XXX
Copper Sky Woodfire Grill & Bar
550 N.E. Northgate Way, Seattle
206-363-9911
No reservations
Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday
Prices: starters: $3.50-$8.75; entrees: $7.75-$21.95; children's menu: $3.75-$3.95
Full bar / Major credit cards / No obstacles to access / No smoking
Parking: lot
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Five suburban gal pals, lipsticked and livin' large, disembarked from an SUV and blew into Texas-toned Copper Sky leaving four harried husbands, 10 screaming sons and six dastardly dogs in their perfumed dust. It was Girls' Night Out and margaritas were in order. Despite a crowd in the dining room and another maxing-out the lounge, this pretty posse, poised at the end of the bar, got their liquid lubrication faster than you can say, "Mommmmy! Andrew stole my potato gun!"
If the folks at Great Western Dining, parent company for Northgate's Copper Sky, went looking for ideal customers, these gals could pose for the poster. These are women who would - and should - come back with their husbands for a baby-sitter-clock-ticking, steak-dinner date night. Or with their kids for "Tail Waggin' Corn Doggies" and pint-sized ice cream sundaes. Or alone to lunch on a lightly "blackened" halibut with shoestring fries and (shhhh!) a strawberry margarita.
That I was one of those women might surprise the corporate comers who own Copper Sky (as well as Winners in Tukwila and 11 Red Robin restaurants). Tit for tat then, since Copper Sky, which underwent a name- and slight concept-change last year (it was formerly called Krazy Bird), came as a revelation to this skeptical critic. Prone to pooh-poohing restaurants where cowboy boots double as decor and tables are lit by wagon-wheel chandeliers, I'm here to tell you that Copper Sky - intended as an upscale, mid-price-range, Southwest-inspired family eatery geared for suburban tastes - gets it right on every count.
Hostesses barely old enough to vote run an organized show up front. Servers, as required, introduce themselves. Forgive them and forget the name: You won't need to use it. This exceedingly well-trained young crew knows when to show up, when to leave, and when to come back. Without prompting, they'll bring a hot cloth to wipe the barbecue sauce from your rib-smeared lips, extra plates for trading bites and a pitcher to refill your iced tea. They'll also bring a bottle of wine to the table minus its cork - "to expedite service," says the small print on the basic brand-name wine list. But since this place aims to please customers whose preferences are reflected in a boozy beverage menu filled with exotic-fruit "Desert Quenchers," forgive them that, too.
When the Texas egg-roll pitch is thrown, run with it. Who was responsible for masterminding this concoction: chili-spiced chicken and Jack cheese, black beans and corn kernels rolled in a wonton-wrapper ($7.95)? Who cares? Like the avocado chicken pizza with chipotle tomato sauce ($8.95), which also features cumin-spiced sour cream and makes a shareable starter, it's 10 times better than it sounds. This is fun finger food and, I, for one, wanted more. At least I thought I did before the heaping-helping main courses arrived.
The all-day menu, making good use of a wood-fired grill and oven, offers thin-crusted pizzas ($8.50-$8.95) and juicy chicken sandwiches (try the bacon-laden barbecue version, $9.75). There are larger-than-Texas salads ($8.75-$9.95), daily seafood specials and four cuts of aged USDA Choice steak. The quality and considerable marbling of the 14-ounce New York strip ($19.95) made it a ringer for a more expensive cut. Massaged with mild "cowboy spices," grilled to pink-centered perfection and escorted by red-spud mashers bathed in wine-y gravy, this New York was better than many of the Prime-grade specimens I've eaten at Big Bucks steakhouses.
Honey-chili glazed pork chops ($14.95) come over-honeyed, over-chilied and (by my standards) overcooked. Their accompaniments - lovely roasted vegetables and buttery mashed sweet potatoes - almost compensated for that transgression. Go veggie and have the portobello mushroom fajitas ($16.45). The price is steep, but the kitchen doesn't skimp with the roll-your-own goodies, including a marinated, grilled mushroom-steak, a head of roasted sweet garlic, a stack of flour tortillas and mass quantities of guacamole.
In an effort to ensure family-friendliness, I made certain to return to Copper Sky with toddler in tow, meeting his father halfway home from work for dinner. Well, they pulled it off with flying colors. We (with flying crayons) did not. Once the Booster-seated One dispatched his begged-for "bones" - a mess of finger-licking barbecued baby back ribs ($17.95) whose garlic slaw went begging for flavor - he and Dad got out of Dodge, leaving me to my work. Oh, what's-your-name! How about a strawberry margarita?