Head to Duvall for brisket hash in a historic space
Since 1926, The Grange has been the community gathering space on Main Street in Duvall. There’s a feeling about the space, apparent from the moment you walk in the door. Sunlight streams through the many windows during weekend brunch, while a row of glass globes casts a warm glow during dinners. The wooden floor is creaky and scuffed from nearly 100 years of boots walking — or even dancing — across its surface. It’s surprisingly comforting, like finding a favorite mitten stashed away in the pocket the first time you shrug on your winter coat.
“How I like to describe The Grange is it’s been chugging along in this location as a community center and a well-wishing space for nearly 100 years now, so it’s already full of this highly spirited karmic sourdough starter that we inherited,” says co-owner Sarah Cassidy. “Everyone who comes in and can really pick up on that says it feels so good in here.”
Cassidy and her husband, Luke Woodward, are farmers first — they operate Carnation’s Hearth Farm — but in 2017 had an opportunity to buy what was The Grange Cafe from Woodward’s sister, Judy. After a slight renovation, the couple opened in July 2018 as simply The Grange, complete with wood-fired pizza and a small general store.
The space still hosts community events — Cassidy says they feel it’s important to say yes to businesses and nonprofits that want to use the space for meetings because “we feel like that’s in the mission of the original grange” — but it’s also become a wonderful restaurant with a focus on menu items sourced not only from Hearth Farm, but the couple’s farming and ranching friends throughout the Snoqualmie Valley.
I took the whole family there for New Year’s Eve brunch and we feasted on Harvest Hash ($22), shakshuka ($17), yogurt ($10) with granola and fruit, and a plate of possibly the best thick-cut crispy bacon I’ve ever had ($6).
The hash, topped with a slab of beef brisket, was heavy on squash and kale. There was a perfect sunny egg, the yolk a rich butter yellow.
The shakshuka arrived bubbling in a cast-iron skillet, a fistful of Samish Bay Feta scattered across the slightly spicy tomato sauce-drenched eggs and a thick slice of fresh sourdough on the side.
Both were my favorite kind of brunch dishes in that they utilize great ingredients and let them shine; filled with flavor but not overworked.
Last October, I attended the Grange Harvest Dinner, an annual event that celebrates the harvest at Hearth Farm as well as the community of Duvall. The evening was a seven-course affair that included velvety butternut squash soup with lion’s mane mushrooms, pumpkin risotto with braised chicken and halibut piccata with sorrel and delicata squash. It was a true celebration of the harvest season — and like with that New Year’s Eve brunch, the dining room was packed with conviviality.
I’m excited to get there for regular dinner service, too, not only to try the pizza, but I see the piccata with squash is on the winter menu with black cod. Cassidy says they’re also seriously considering adding a lunch service and I’ll gladly make that drive to The Grange for a midweek lunch sitting in that comfortable dining room.
Original article: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/head-to-duvall-for-brisket-hash-in-a-historic-space-and-unique-guatemalan-cuisine/