Sage Port Grille: Why is this Place in Tri-Cities

Back in the good ole TC, the cities so small we had to lump three counties together just to be considered map worthy.

Sage Port Grille is the diamond of the rough in the Tri-Cities. And really any place that uses the word Sammiches as a category of food has already won me over. The restaurant is Harley themed, and it makes a really nice family atmosphere. I'm always down for a nice meal at an unpretentious diner, despite being extremely pretentious myself. The menu has a lot to offer, but like any diner its mostly breakfast, burgers, and sandwiches.

You know that really nice vantage point past Chuck-E-Cheese? The one that overlooks the Columbia River? Yeah...well right across the street from that is Sage Port Grille.

Here's a shot of the exterior. The entire restaurant is Harley themed in case you haven't noticed by the festive Harley headlights beside the door.

This is the waiting area bench. The interior is filled with a lot of festive paraphernalia, reminiscent of a truck stop cafe, or some other diner you would find along the highway where bikers congregate. The signs are all sort of cheeky, one that sticks in mind said "The price adjusts according to your attitude." or something like that. Oh yeah, they are also a fan of manikins. Not sure what that's about, but to each their own.

Don't mind the dangling pair of legs. The ceiling is also lined with Harley/motorcycle-esque posters and signs. One reviewer on Yelp felt those signs were filthy, and that the interior was very drab. I really didn't see much dust anywhere and I thought the interior was very cheerful and followed the spirit of the diner. From what I hear, the waiters/waitresses are also really cool and spirited. Look at the table, the salt and pepper shakers are corona bottles.

Jalapeno poppers. Yeah I bet you wish these were in your mouth. That's what she said. It's really hard to mess up Jalapeno poppers, because its basically jalapeno, cream cheese, deep fried. I'm sure these could have been black as charcoal and they still would have been delicious. That being said, they really did do a good job. The batter was just the right thickness, and there was ample cream cheese filling. I didn't really like the sauce they gave us with these poppers though. It was sort of a mix between sambal and honey; I didn't think it mingled well with the flavors of the poppers.

This is the Mo' Burger I believe. Let me break this down. The total rounds to $9.50 which is fairly expensive for a burger in the Tri-Cities, but quite reasonable in any other metropolitan area. It's $8.50 for the burger, and a dollar for the beer battered fries (which are definitely worth that dollar). It also comes with a large pickle wedge. The burger itself is sliced ham, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, burger patty, egg, and some sort of sauce (it takes like thousand island dressing). I'm a big fan of eggs on burgers, but they don't ask you how you want the egg. The patty is so thin that don't even bother asking you how you want it. It's one of those frozen patties you get at Costco, I know because my family's restaurant use to use the same patties. This is all encased in two sesame seed buns. I would say its a fairly large portion, I wasn't able to finish it at least. Their Reuben also looked extremely tasty, and according to my friend it was.

The food was delicious, and I loved the vibe the place has, but I'm not sure if I would charge luxury burger prices for a clearly non-luxury burger. It would be more convincing if they made the patties themselves. That being said, if I had the choice, I'd definitely revisit this place again just for the ambiance.