Trinity delight

My mother and I went to the heart specialist yesterday. Dr. Jenkins has been seeing Mother for the past three years, and his expertise has made all the difference in her congestive heart disease. Her heart has improved greatly due to medications he prescribes.

In fact, it has improved so much that he told her not to come back until May for her next check-up. With that good news, Mother wanted to celebrate by going to lunch.

So, we drove down to the Edgewater Resort where Cafe Trinity has moved from its First Avenue location and has taken over the resort restaurant. We arrived at a somewhat light time with just a few tables filled inside and even fewer out on the deck. Later, the crowds came.

The temperature outside was about as close to perfect as anyone could wish, and the view---as usual, spectacular. When you're sitting on a deck in the shade with a little sun filtering through the tree limbs and you're looking east past a beach full of swimmers at a big gorgeous lake with Cabinet Mountains in the background, it doesn't get any better.

Our waitress, Sarah, was putting in her last day at the restaurant before heading back to college in Chicago. Of course, we hit it off because she told me she has a journalism degree. She's a dancer who wants to write about dance. She said she needed guidance on what direction to go with her writing.

I said, "Write what you know, and you'll be on the right path." She seemed pleased to hear that.

Mother and I each ordered a salad. In my case, it was my favorite Trinity offering the almond-crusted chicken salad. Normally it comes with goat cheese, but I always order without. Since moving down to the Edgewater, the Trinity chef has changed the salad a bit, and it's all for the better.

Besides the big strips of delicious chicken and fresh lettuce nicely accented with viniagrette, yesterday's offering was complemented with sliced strawberries, peaches and tangerine. Talk about good to the very last piece of lettuce. I ate the Big Salad as if I'd not tasted food for months.

Mother enjoyed her steak salad as much as she enjoyed the view, the setting and learning about Sarah every time she came to check on us.

The whole lunch scene was a delight, especially because we were there for a good reason---Mother's good health.

We're so lucky in Sandpoint to have access to a seemingly endless supply of wonderful eateries, and yesterday's experience was, indeed, a reflection of the wealth of opportunities in our small town.

If you're ever in Sandpoint, go to the Edgewater Trinity and try that salad. I guarantee it!