Moody’s Bistro & Lounge Restaurant Review, Truckee

Moody’s Bistro & Lounge is a high end Mountain comfort food restaurant in downtown Truckee. Local, organic, seasonal focus or as they tell it – Moody’s food philosophy is “fresh, local, seasonal and simple” . Chef de Cuisine is Guy Frenette. The Restaurant opened in 2006 and is owned by the same folks who also own Baxter’s restaurant in Northstar at Tahoe. Both have similar the menus and have live music. Our last visit was during a trip to the Mountains, in early 2011.

Decor, Vibe – Moody’s is housed in an old Truckee Hotel building with Mountain decor, lots of dark wood, bar in front with boothes and attached lounge area, main dining room, old pictures, pots hanging by the kitchen. Most folks coming up to ski/board, and some locals, mostly in their 30′s to 50′s.

Menu Pictures (Click to zoom into any picture)

Menu change all the time. Starters, House made Charcuterie and Offal, Soups, Salads, Pasta, Meaty entrees, and a single Vegetarian entree. They have happy hour at the bar with half off wine and well drink specials before 6:30 PM.

Website Moody’s Bistro Menu

Moody’s Full Image Set

Picks:
The homemade Warm bread with a good crispy crust is stellar.

Crab Toast ($15) dungeness crab / ciabbatta / butter / lemon is also a signature appetizer. This stellar starter comes with a huge mound of fresh crab with a bit of lemon zest on top of a thick toasted. Simple and effective.

Tomato Soup en Croute tomato / red wine / mint ($9) is also a long time signature dish. A thin and buttery puff pastry covers some very fresh tomato soup. The soup is not creamy, allowing the rich shell to balance out this dish. Great for vegetarians.

Beet Salad ($12) with red beats, strawberries, lite dressing was simple, very nice and refreshing.

Ahi four ways ($16) comes with seared sesame crusted lemon sauce, sashimi soy sauce with wasabi, tartare with a tartar sauce ala 1000 island, and seaweed wrap and fried. Stellar dish with fresh fish. A signature dish and must get. We actually didn’t follow the four styles precisely and mixed and matched to better effect. The soy glaze was a bit too salty, so we swapped it out.

Hedgehog Mushrooms organic polenta / shaw family farm sunny side egg ($13) had several very fresh mushrooms sandwiched between some creamy polenta and a perfectly cooked egg. Another excellent starter, also good for vegetarians.

Fusili pasta with duck ($18) had lots of tender meat and good pasta. We had to ask for more pasta because the amount of duck was so great.

Vignetto pasta ($18) braised beef, brussel sprouts, garlic, onion, lemon, Parmesan cheese was another hearty great sized pasta with lots of tender beef chunks. This semolina pasta was made without eggs and proved to be far better than most pastas we’ve had in San Francisco.

Spaghetti ($18) Four huge, fluffy but not dense meatballs. Balanced sauce and solid tender noodles.

Big ass pork chop ($28) with polenta, broccoli, Apple chipotle barbecue sauce glaze was one huge piece of delectable pork. It costs as much as a portion half the size in San Francisco! High-quality pork that was especially juicy once you past the surface cuts. This dish was extremely hard to cut, could have used a Santoku! A must for fellow pork fans.

Pan roasted Antelope ($32) Came cooked Medium rare and was excellent. Great flavors, not gamey, big portion size, tender brussels sprouts. It needs more starch! Are they catering to Atkins diets here? We used up a ton of bread with this. A perfect type of dish for this Sierra Nevada locale.

Grilled Asparagus meyer lemon / evoo ($8) was simple, fresh, and cooked in a healthy manner.

Fruit Crisp ($8) was HUGE and made with cranberries and apples. A loose crumble topped it off along with some quality vanilla ice cream.  Not very buttery unlike other places. Food portion sizes are so generous, that is hard to order dessert.

OK:
None

Pans:
None

Moody’s Bistro & Lounge had friendly and competent service with servers continuously patrolling the restaurant. Prices were on the high side, typical for high end places in a touristy locale, but portion sizes and food quality was extremely high. We expected the food to be very good after eating at their sister restaurant Baxter’s, so we were still impressed and have no qualms recommending this place. You can dip your toes by trying drinks and lower cost happy hour appetizers. With PlumpJack cafe, Moody’s, Baxter’s, and Manzanita, North Lake Tahoe now has some excellent restaurants that we look forward to. You can stick around for the live entertainment at the bar.

Good wine list with high markup. Wine by the glasses from $8, $20 corkage. Happy hour 7 days a week 2:30-5:30.

Sister Restaurant:

Baxter’s Bistro & Lounge
8001 Northstar Dr. Suite 8114
Truckee, CA 96160
530-562-3200

Book Moody's Bistro & Lounge Reservation

$25 Dining Certificate for $5

Moody's Bistro & Lounge Overall Rating: (Very Good 2.5)

Come Back?

Food Rating:	(Excellent)
Service Rating:	(Very Good)
Atmosphere Rating:	(Very Good)
Value Rating:	(Very Good)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:	Full Bar
Attire:	Casual
Hours:	Daily 11am - 4pm, 5-10pm, Brunch Su 9am - 3pm
Parking:	Street
Reservations:	Yes
Prices:	$18 - $38