I used to live out in Preston, which is frankly one and the same with Fall City (they share a main road in fact- Preston/Fall City Road). I loved this area…I loved how rural and mountainous it felt. I loved that the land opened up and farm plots quickly replaced business complexes, pick-up trucks outnumbered BMW’s, tobacco was more common than chewing gum. Five or six years back I rented a small house here and in my driveway, I would lay out on the hood of my car at night and cherish how close the sky felt, how dark it was. It felt so remote and backwoods even with Issaquah a short 10 minutes away. Word is that there’s a new restaurant out here, one that consciously sources and puts out some pretty impressive food. So it goes, I set out for the Fall City Roadhouse knowing full well that even if the food doesn’t end up being worthwhile, the drive, the views and the memories that accompany certainly are. Lucky for me, it turns out The Fall City Roadhouse has made Preston/Fall City all the more appealing.

Already I am wishing that this was still my neighborhood. If it was, I would be saddled up to the counter here at least a couple times a week, shootin’ the shit with the rest of the regulars. The historic Roadhouse building has hugged this corner since 1916. Clean and polished, the inside is that of an upscale diner- comfortable with a suggestion of sophistication. The aesthetic is informal, blue collar (its a roadhouse after all) but the menu elevates the place- its creative, interesting and well thought out. Naturally, I sit at the bar and it isn’t long before Chef Cameon herself comes by to take my order. This woman is a workhorse. Its a busy lunch- everyone’s moving fast and there she is right along side the servers…taking orders, reciting specials, filling waters. She runs this place, creates the menu, cooks the food and works the floor…her smile buoyant all the while. I order a light lunch. The mango chutney- I can eat bowlfuls of it. Big, soft, sweet chunks of fresh mango taste as though they have been stewed in cumin, coriander and cardamom. I only get a small ramekin with the tandoori chicken skewers- soon I’m left wiping every last bit of chutney out of that tiny cup with my finger. The chicken is nice, tender. The salad I order is an adequate side (Full Circle greens, cucumbers, tomato, red, shaved onion, homemade dressing). When I realize that “Bonanza” is being shown on the bar’s television I’m stoked, my day made. I’m sure I laughed and/or looked around to check if anyone else took notice of the old cowboy program. But here, it fits and I’m the only one that regards it as novelty. This is one of those spectacular places where time is arbitrary- you eat unhurried, chat languidly with the locals, drink your beer before it gets too warm. Its quiet, slow…crowds and deadlines as rare as traffic lights. Sitting here, with “Bonanza” in the background, having lunch at a homegrown roadhouse is satisfying in a way one tends to forget. In a way, I for one, need to be reminded. Interview with Executive Chef & General Manager Cameon Orel. Can you tell me a little bit about you? Your background? I grew up in the area…on Mercer Island. Ive been cooking since I could reach the stove really. My Mom wasn’t a big cook so I started cooking for my family…and my Grandma was a really great cook so she taught me a lot- hospitality, how to cook things from scratch. When I got to be about 16 I started realizing it might be something I wanted to do for a living. So, at 16, I got a job in the industry and started working for a company called “Flaky Jake’s”. They made their own buns, hamburger…it was all from scratch even though it was just a burger joint. I worked for them for awhile and then I went to The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. I graduated from there in 1987 and then I worked in Manhattan for several years. Then back to the NW…worked at the Sheraton for Fullers, McCormicks, then the Yarrow Bay Grill and Beach Cafe for 13 years. From there, I came here…where Ive been for almost 2 years now. We opened…well, its been a year and a half. Our first full year ended in July. What brought you here to Fall City? I had been looking for probably around seven years for something that was different, more towards what my soul was telling me I needed to be. In my search for another job, it was just sort of kismet…I ran into people and they told me “you have to go talk to this person” or “that person” and it just all worked out really well in the end. To be here and have all the farms be 3 to 5 miles away and getting to know the community- its been amazing. Did you develop the menu on your own? What were you going for? Yeah. When we first opened it was hard to decide what we wanted to be…we didn’t really know what niche we would fill so the menu has gone through transitions. What its ended up as is comfort food with a twist and what a lot of that had to do with was the economy. You know, we had to make sure we were being value priced for people so that they would be able to come more than once a week which is what we’ve managed to do. Also, seasonality was a big thing I was looking for but without putting things on the plate that would be too intimidating for just about anyone that walks through the door. We wanted this place to be a place in which you could wear whatever you want- you don’t have to get all dressed up. So its casual dining but at the same time its not a Red Robin or something like that. You mentioned the farms and your desire to source locally…why was it important for you to do that? For me, personally, I really think its the only thing that’s going to get us out of the situation we re in as far as our economy is concerned. I think if we don’t start supporting our community- not just farms, but right down to where I buy my light bulbs. I buy light bulbs from the gentleman down the street instead of going to a large corporate store and getting them. The more I help them the more they turn around and do the same thing for me…they dine here..they do their business here, they have meetings…so its all about the community. Its a big giant circle. If we re not doing that, we re not helping to support each other during hard times. You know, that’s what we used to do way back when. Do you feel like folks appreciate that you source locally? Yeah, definitely. That’s one of the reasons I think people continue to support us because they know we re sourcing as much as we can to help the community. I’m always curious as to what inspires people to become chefs…you were obviously around a family that cared about cooking/food but was there a defining moment? I mean, at 16, you were pretty young to decide on a direction career wise… Right. Well, this was all before the Food Network and all that stuff. For me, when we were younger we traveled to California quite often…my Dad did things with old cars, he built up old cars. I wasn’t particularly fond of California…not a big fan. We went on a trip once and my parents were going to go further South and we stopped in San Francisco at my mom’s cousin’s restaurant in Cannery Row. It was the first time I had ever eaten in a white tablecloth restaurant and I was just bitten! Of course, Julia Child was somewhat of a inspiration but at the same time a funny inspiration because, I don’t know if you’ve watched any of her old shows? Anyway, the one that cracks me up was the one where she showed the different sizes of chickens…she has them set up- the little tiny Cornish game hen, then the capon…and she kind of has them set up so they look like chickens sitting down but they have no heads!(laughs) It really…just makes me laugh. Anyway, what else? To me, I knew I was good at it and I enjoy service in general. I think that’s my gift. I like to serve people…with what I make, I feel like I may make a difference in their day or maybe even their life. There’s people who come in and their children have allergies, they feel bad because they don’t want to ask about those things so they don’t go out to eat very often. They come here and they know that we re going to do whatever we can to make sure they feel comfortable and that their kid can eat here. I think that’s really important. And…well…because my Mom didn’t cook I grew up eating in restaurants so the sound and feel of them is really familiar…its a comfort for me. Although, sometimes lately (I’m about to turn 43), I’m in back and the dishes are clanking and it starts to drive me a little batty. Have you done anything outside of the food industry? No…I toyed with the idea of horticulture for awhile but that’s of course interesting because again its food oriented. I do organic gardening. My brothers and I laugh because we re all sort of obsessed with food in one way or another. Its not that we had so little in the house growing up…I mean, my Mom was perfectly capable of giving us food but she was kind of a health food nut and so she would get things like whole wheat lasagna before whole wheat lasagna was actually good. So this was in ‘68-‘72…around there. As soon as my parents would go out of town and we were old enough, we would head straight for the grocery store. The cereal aisle…Captain Crunch! You know, we d go straight for the absolute worst products we could possibly eat. So I think because she always fed us such a balanced diet- I kind of veered off of it. But now, Ive come back to it although you ll find me eating Haagen Daz on a regular basis. I love ice cream…if I could live on ice cream I would…especially chocolate. Do you cook a lot at home? Yeah, I do. I cook quite a bit. Not probably what you would think but we grew something like 250 pounds of tomatoes this year. Our garden is not that big but we get a lot out of it. So yeah…we grow and we cook. My husband is also a chef, he doesn’t work any longer, so we ll go and get things…like hamburger and make something like Hamburger Helper but with porcini mushrooms in it. Just things like that. When we cook a nice meal, like on my days off, its generally something like roasting a chicken or finding a meat we don’t usually use and trying new things with that. So, yeah we do a lot at home. Mainly, for us, we cant necessarily afford to go out a lot so when we do we usually go to dives. Those are our favorite places to go…because if we go some place that’s really fancy we tend to be critical and I end up not enjoying it. Unless we re traveling…if we re in a different city we ll splurge. Whats your favorite part of your work? The people. My crew-its taken some time to get down to where we have the people that really care, but yeah…and of course our regulars, our guests. Your least favorite? People bringing negative energy in. Your favorite item on the menu? Right now, its probably the Chicken Risotto with the butternut squash, goat cheese, dried cherries…that combination- I’m in heaven! Dishes that I’m most proud of are probably things like the BBQ Pork or the Meatloaf. I know that Meatloaf sounds pretty simple but knowing that its grass-fed, that its such a quality product makes me happy. Whats the most popular? Interestingly enough, its the hamburger. What would you like to see change in the way that people eat? I would like people to think a lot more about independent restaurants. Especially, where they re spending their dollars…is that money going to benefit their community? During this economy, I have a lot of friends that are chefs and restaurant owners…they re doing their best to take care of their clientele but then they run up against the Olive Garden..not to say those businesses are bad. They hold a certain niche too. But, really, you have to think directly about where your money is going…whether you’re feeding your soul or just feeding yourself. What would you like to do with Fall City Roadhouse in the future? I think it would be nice to have music in here occasionally. Let see…next summer, we’d like to do a crab feed. There’s parts of me that would like to introduce more upscale items to the menu so I’m trying to figure that out…wine dinners are definitely in the future for folks that want that experience (we have a private dining room upstairs). What would you be if not a chef? I would be a travel guide in some exotic city…preferably Venice. What are your absolute favorite things to eat? Ice cream! Ice cream and vodka…that’s the honest answer. Chocolate Haagen Daz in the microwave for 10 seconds until it gets all nice and soft…then I eat it right out of the container. Vodka- Absolut Vanilla Vodka with ginger ale or organic blueberry pomegranate juice. Foods you dislike? Sardines…not a big fan. My husband loves them. Its kind of a big joke in our house that after he eats one he’ll chase me and try to give me a kiss. Fava beans too…its a texture thing with that. Favorite places to eat? In Everett, there’s a taco truck that’s by the KIA dealership- right next to it. Absolutely the best tostada’s Ive ever had in my life…and Ive tried many. Also, Brasa…Tamara does a great job there. Flying Fish too…Wild Ginger… Free time? Sleep. Garden…read. What do you like to read? I read a variety of stuff. Omnivores Dilemma was one of my favorites. I read the whole Twilight thing…that was kind of silly but I wanted to know what it was about. Harry Potter…I’m kind of a child at heart. I like Ann Rice…her books, not her smutty books but any of the vampire series I could read over and over again. Proudest achievement? Going to the James Beard house. While there, the director of the French Culinary Institute at the time said my salmon was the best he ever had…that was pretty great. Is that the salmon that’s on your menu here? Yeah. Folks you admire? Heroes? My dad. He’s amazing…taught me how to live. He passed away about 7 years ago. He taught me to be careful in how I treat the people around me-that everything really does come around. You never know who the person you’re waiting on today will be in your life…thats really important. He was always very giving of himself and I think that was his biggest lesson for me.