The gentleman will have …

Whenever we eat out, Michael and I decide on our appetizer and entrées together, so we can share. Sometimes, like at Murietta’s Cantina, Michael orders the traditional Mexican enchiladas, which are so delicious he gets a little stingy with the sharing. If I want more, I can order the dish myself. But at places we don’t frequent, we order by consensus.

Sage Creek’s dinner menu has entrée salads, seafood, ranch food and pastas. We decided to go for seafood and chicken.

When our waiter stood poised to take our order, I said with enthusiasm, “My husband will have … “ and both he and my husband started laughing. And so we had a running joke for the night with our waiter.

I got back to business: “My husband will have the pan-seared sea scallops [$17.95], and I’ll have the grilled chicken pasilla [$16.95].”

Our waiter told us entrées come with a green salad or soup of the day, which was New England clam chowder.

“I’ll have the soup,” I said.

“And what will your husband have?” he asked with a giggle.

“My husband will upgrade to the Caesar salad [$1.50 extra],” I replied. “And before our entrées come, we’d like an order of the polenta fries with pesto aioli [$4.95].”

To drink, Michael opted for a pint Black Butte Porter ($3.25) from Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon. Sage Creek offers a variety of microbrews, including Ruby Mountain Brewing Co., Wells, Nevada; Lost Coast Brewing Co., Eureka, California; and even Great Basin Brewing Co., Sparks, Nevada.

Sage Creek is attached to the Meadow Wood Courtyard Super 8. The restaurant has a roadhouse feel with its long porch with chairs and tables for lounging (no outdoor dining). The interior has lots of interesting, subdued lights, plus comforting landscape watercolors and walls of warm, quiet red and tan.

When our appetizer arrived, we were pleasantly surprised. The fried polenta sticks were grainy, crunchy and soft in the middle. Michael called them a “multi-faceted mouth adventure.”

The aioli, although tasty, was a bit on the heavy side, like mayonnaise pesto.

When our waiter brought the soup and Caesar, he asked me directly if I wanted freshly ground pepper. I said yes, please. Then he asked, “Would your husband like some, too?”

I took this opportunity to remind them of the Lyle Lovett song “She’s No Lady” and of the lyrics in particular of the wedding ceremony wherein the preacher asks the woman if she does, and she says yes; then the preacher asks the man, and she says he does, too.

We had a big laugh, then enjoyed our food. The clam chowder was full of new potatoes, big pieces of tender clams—yummy. And Michael’s Caesar was the real thing. “You can taste all the Caesar stuff in it—anchovies, lemon, fresh lettuce,” he said.

The Caesar dressing, like other food items, is made in-house at the Sage Creek Grill. Both the scallops and the chicken were served with well-seasoned sliced zucchini and mashed potatoes. We were both happy with our entrées.

Then we got to the reason we dine out: to save room for dessert, and the desserts at Sage Creek are the best in town. We ordered the lemon tart ($5.95) and the chocolate moon cake ($5.95).

“Whoa, that’s lemon!” Michael said after his first bite. The assertive lemon curd plus the buttery shortbread dough was the perfect palate cleanser.

The dark Belgian chocolate flourless torte was light with a slightly bittersweet flavor. It may have looked like the surface of the moon, but it tasted heavenly.