Fountain Place Restaurant

Published 4:00 am Friday, December 30, 2005

Location: 3709 SW 21st Place, Redmond

Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Price Range: $5.95 to $16.95

Alcoholic Beverages: Full service

Kids’ Menu: Available

Reservations: Accepted

Credit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover

Contact: 548-7213

REDMOND – There’s a lot going on at Fountain Place Restaurant in Redmond.

The eatery has a dining section, open tables and booths, two bars and a salad bar. And in the middle of all that, there are two big fountains and a profusion of live plants that lend a gardenlike ambience.

Gary Trent built Fountain Place 11 years ago with that vision in mind.

”I’d been in the restaurant business in Southern California and never lost my love for it,” he said.

Motorists see a nondescript building perched above Highway 97 and Yew Avenue. But inside the feel is cool and tropical and clean. The interior recently underwent some significant changes. Trent says he added more booths and put the bar in the middle of the dining room. He believes that it opens the restaurant up and makes it feel more comfortable. The bar offers 14 wines and five beers on tap. There is also a complete bar in the back.

Trent describes the cuisine as ”American with personality.”

The breakfast menu, which is offered all day, includes various versions of the three-egg omelet, pancakes and several combo plates such as steak and eggs, the western scramble (three eggs with diced ham, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, diced tomatoes and cheddar cheese and served with three pancakes), and the Santa Fe skillet (grilled corned beef hash over a bed of country hash browns, topped with two poached eggs and Hollandaise).

At lunchtime, the salad bar gets rolling. It contains 35 individual items. Trent boasts it’s the biggest salad bar in the region. He says it may not be the largest bar by size, but it offers the most choices.

Fountain Place serves everything from burgers and sandwiches to seafood and beef.

Trent and staff pride themselves on their prime rib. All entrees include bread and the choice of side dishes: soup or garden salad, steamed vegetables, rice pilaf, mashed, baked or fried potatoes.

Other specialties include the halibut filet and the 10-ounce filet mignon wrapped in bacon.

Fountain Place also offers an extensive senior menu with more than 20 diminutive portioned meals at a discount.

The restaurant also serves the ever-popular $1 margarita.

Besides all that food in its many manifestations, Trent believes it’s his staff that sets the restaurant apart.

”They’re very friendly,” he said. ”I try to bring out their personalities as individuals. We talk to them about working their station as if it’s their restaurant. That brings a lot of personal commitment … I love coming to work. I have a lot of fun with my crew.”