Considering how often we visit Walla Walla to see famiy and friends, I can't believe it's taken us almost four years to finally eat at 26 Brix, a downtown restaurant that opened in 2004. During its first year in operation, we had heard that the place was a bit over-priced and high-brow, catering mostly to out-of-town tourists. It wasn't until the last two years or so that I had heard that 26 Brix had gone through a transformation, revamping its menu and lowering its prices to appeal to the local population.

It seems these changes have paid off, for on the Monday evening Kari and I dined there, the restaurant and bar were full of folks enjoying their dinner. Some of this had to do with 26 Brix being one of the few places open on Monday, but even still it was impressive to see the place full and alive. The main dining room is a large, open space with table settings that suggest a more formal environment relative to the casual bar scene, where you can order from either menu.

After checking out both places, we decided to eat in the main room where we were greeted by our server, Ted, who throughout our mail provided excellent service. In addition, we were helped with the wine selection by the house sommelier, Robert, who approached everything with a welcomed sense of energy and enthusiasm. 26 Brix offers a sizable list of local Washington wines, with a variety of selections by the glass.

To start off, we ordered the tuna tartar appetizer with a half bottle of L'Ecole No. 41 2005 Semillon. The tuna was served with fried wontons and offered a delicious, spicy kick off to our meal. For our main course, Kari ordered the "Steak & Frites", which was grilled, marinated hangar steak along with herb fries, chimichurri sauce and a Dijon-honey aioli. She paired her dinner with a glass of the 2004 Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (14.3%), which ended up going very well with her perfectly cooked steak.

I opted for the "Braised Pork Cheeks", an interesting French-style dish served in a bowl of trumpet mushrooms, sauteed peppers, beef-mushroom jus, and a risotto cake. Robert recommended the Yellow Hawk 2004 Sangiovese (13.8%), which was a good match to this rich dish, the acidity of the wine bringing many of the flavors alive. I followed this with a glass of the Mannina Cellars 2005 'Cali', a wine from the Walla Walla Valley that I had not tasted before. This cab/merlot blend came recommended by Robert as well, providing a nice finish to the meal.

For dessert, we went with Ted's recommendation and ordered the sampler plate, which included four different chocoloate treats. This was the only disappointing aspect of our meal, as the desserts did not seem fresh, with many tasting dried out, if not a bit stale. We should have sent it back, but with the wine remaining in our glasses to wash it down, we were too content with ourselves to hassle with deciding on yet another dessert.

I look forward to dining at 26 Brix again to try other dishes on their menu and wines on their list. The lively atmostphere, especially from a large gathering of local winemakers next to us, provided for a fun dining experience. As a result of this experience at 26 Brix, I can add yet another dining option to the growing list of restaurant choices in the Walla Walla Valley.