More restaurant reviews-

Brasserie Four, right on Main Street just east of 2nd, is a great semi-casual spot. Pick your wine by the bottle with minimal mark-up and enjoy it at your table. A simple menu of very well executed bistro mainstays with a few local twists. Steak frites and moules frites are outstanding. I avoid fries because these usually seem like a mass-produced excuse for grease-loading. Not here. The frites are made daily; total celebration of a pedestrian food rarely made in noble fashion. Seats are not the greatest, but the local art displays and cheerful service more than make up for that. Joyful atmosphere and staff that really seeks to please.

TMaccarone's. On Colville Street just off Main Street. There is some hit and miss here, with lots of flavor mixing and juxtaposed textures on the plate. Some of the dishes seem a bit over-wrought and confused, but one dish alone is good enough to go back for more again and again. The duck offered as a main course is a flat out marvel. Perfectly cooked, with sizzling hot slices of breast meat served over leg confit, gnocchi, divine peaches, and peppery arugula, this dish rocks!

For a really casual, easy spot to enjoy, the Green Lantern tavern on Isaac St. just east of Whitman College has great pizza, good eats all-around, good beers on tap, pool tables, and games on the TVs. Locals and students here.

Unfortunately, one of the favorites seems to be losing steam. The Whoopemup Cafe in Waitsburg still has a great ambiance, outside dining especially so, yet the food has slipped. Precise flavors taste routine and perhaps even pre-made? The menu and the cooking staff need to shake things up and refresh. Call this tough love, as I truly want to enjoy the food as much as the staff and the ambiance, but it is time for some changes...

If you are reading this and planning your weekend or holiday trip to Walla Walla, think about calling ahead to make arrangements for tastings at some of the wineries that are not generally open to the public. Longshadows, Garrison Creek, and Abeja come to mind and there are plenty more...