REVIEW: Gateway Restaurant (Three Rivers, CA)

The evening of Day 4 of the Summer 2007 Road Trip we spent at "the best restaurant in [Three Rivers] to eat at if someone else is paying": The Gateway Restaurant and Lodge. Interestingly they had no problem when we showed up minutes before 8pm with a canine companion in tow and no reservation on a mid-week day in August (after spending nearly 7 hours in the park). They seated us outside and brought a bowl of water for the dog. The Gateway is almost directly outside of Sequoia National Park, literally on top of the Kaweah River. Their motto is "The only thing we overlook is the river!"

Mad Professah ordered the Top Sirloin Champignon Royale (A Truly Thick Cut of Chairman's Reserve Top Sirloin, Broiled to Perfection and then Topped with Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions in a Brown Sauce with Red Wine and Garlic) from the Entrées From the Broiler section of the sizeable menu. The Other Half ordered the Trout Almondine (Idaho Rainbow Trout Pan Fried to Perfection. Topped with Toasted Almonds) from the Entrées From the Sauté Pan menu.

Trout Almondine	Top Sirloin Champignon Royale

I quite enjoyed my Champignon Royale. The sauce with mushrooms, onions and wine was scrumptious and went perfectly well with medium-rare sirloin. I detest squash so I let The Other Half eat my portion as well as his. He was not as pleased with his trout, which he thought was slightly overcooked. He'd a master at pan-grilling salmon so he's often disappointed when he orders fish in restaurants (though, to my surprise, he does so quite often, since he does like to eat the stuff).

After our entrees we were pretty stuffed and didn't order any dessert. Mad Professah doesn't drink alcohol, but The Other Half ordered a Lambrusco, which was surprisingly served over ice and was pretty sweet and frizzy. Unimpressed, he finished the sangria-like potable and ordered a Pinot Grigio which he quite enjoyed. I took sips of both but grimaced both times.

Overall I rated Gateway a B+ while he rated it a solid B.