THE GOSSIPING GOURMET:For locals, Cedar Creek Inn is like an old friend

A few weeks ago at the Patriots Day Parade, a group of Lagunans gathered together on the corner of Forest Avenue and Third Street to chant, “Save Cedar Creek! Save Cedar Creek! Save Cedar Creek!”

Many of us have been feeling this way since a news item appeared in the paper suggesting that the restaurant may not be able to renew its lease.

From what we can gather, this information may be somewhat premature, as negotiations are still up in the air. Even in the worst-case scenario, they will still be here for another year.

This locals’ favorite has been more than a restaurant, it has also been a popular rendezvous and hangout for 20 years. You always seem to bump into somebody you know, whether at brunch, lunch, cocktails or dinner.

The restaurant’s popularity can be attributed to its amiable atmosphere, reliable quality, generous portions and moderate prices.

As you enter, you cannot help but notice the generous bar with comfortable chair-like stools for dining as well as drinking. The taupe colored walls, soft lighting, large stone fireplace and beamed ceilings create an attractive ambience.

If you prefer a quieter space, there is a second dining room with red leather booths lining the walls and, when weather permits, there is an attractive street side patio where you can watch the passing scene.

The seafood-heavy appetizer menu may have you debating among the coconut shrimp, ahi tartare, margarita shrimp salad or crab scallop cakes. The zesty margarita salad is chock full of shrimp with corn, avocado, black beans, tomatoes, chilies and cilantro. Served with tortilla chips, it could easily be a meal at lunchtime.

The four small crab scallop cakes are paired with a sweet, spicy and crunchy Asian slaw. The mating of crab and scallop along with the light and crispy exterior and a fabulous jalapeno tartar sauce makes this a great starter.

Other choices include a grilled artichoke with dill sauce and smoked turkey Zuni rolls with raspberry-chipotle dipping sauce.

A number of á la carte entrées are offered including: penne with Italian sausage, fish and chips and the ever-popular meatloaf and mashed potatoes. There are also a number of entrée salads.

Of course, there is a classic Cobb salad and a Caesar salad to which you may add grilled chicken or ahi.

More unusual is the Marcy’s salad with barbecued chicken, apples, blue cheese, spicy peanuts, corn and ranch dressing. Chicken papaya salad features curried chicken with cashews and raisins served in a papaya.

We selected the seafood salad — shrimp, crab and scallops accented with sliced egg, olives and pickled asparagus, cucumber and artichoke on a bed of romaine.

Normally served with Thousand Island dressing, we requested the lighter wasabi-ginger vinaigrette.

The cold seafood was quite bland but the pickled vegetables were overpowering. The salad was rescued by the flavorful ginger dressing.

Complete dinners are served with house salad, a small Caesar salad or soup of the day. The vegetable soup had big of chunks of fresh carrots and celery, but the broth tasted like canned.

The entrée selection is kind of old-fashioned but has something for everyone. The menu itself is a fusion of the ‘60s and the nineties. It’s steak and baked potato meets tuna tartare.

Prime rib, New York steak, rack of lamb, pot roast and pork chop are the meat dishes. Lamb is served with a tarragon, pinot noir reduction; the pork chop is stuffed with wild rice, sausage and dried fruit in an apple brandy, shitake mushroom sauce; and the steak is topped with gorgonzola butter.

Very contemporary is the seared rare ahi with a balsamic reduction and cilantro pesto served with baby bok choy, sugar snap peas and Napa cabbage.

This same sashimi grade ahi is served at lunchtime on a bun and makes a fabulous sandwich, slathered with their great jalapeno tartar sauce. More traditional is the “surf and turf” — two jumbo scampi and a medallion of beef tenderloin with garlic mashed potatoes.

We ordered the scampi as our entrée. Five moist jumbo prawns were bathed in lemon garlic butter, zesty with capers and chopped tomato, and sprinkled lightly with Parmesan and bread crumbs. They came on a bed of memorably good garlicky sautéed spinach.

Bored with mashed potatoes, we asked for another vegetable as a substitute. The waitress brought us some nice, crunchy fresh asparagus, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

There is a large selection of retro desserts. All the old favorites are here: carrot cake, coconut cake, cheesecake, triple layer chocolate cake, bread pudding, pecan pie, warm Toll House pie and brownie sundae with hot fudge.

Hungry yet? How about something a little more newfangled? Strawberry Lush has a butter walnut crust, layered with cream cheese, topped with glazed strawberries and finished with whipped cream.

We chose the apple, and dried cherry fruit crisp with ice cream. The snappy apples, sour cherries and crunchy walnuts married perfectly, but divorce yourself from the soggy topping, which puzzlingly turned out to be in the bottom of the dish. Perhaps that is why it was so mushy.

The Cedar Creek Inn is like an old friend — comfortable, reliable and one of the few places in town where you can have a congenial two-martini lunch.

Another big plus, especially in downtown Laguna, is the large free parking lot below. And, like an old friend, we’d really hate to lose it.

ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ owned a la Carte for 20 years and can be reached at themarkos755@yahoo.com