SNOQUALMIE – It may come as no surprise to Valley residents who frequent the Salish Lodge and Spa in Snoqualmie that it is one of the best restaurants in the region, if not the nation.

Others will be taking note, however, after they find that the Salish Lodge recently won a slew of awards from “Seattle Magazine,” “Wine Spectator” and “Wine Press Northwest Magazine” in the past few weeks for the restaurant’s wine and dinning mastery.

“No dining experience can be boring,” said restaurant Manager Michael McPhie. “People used to want the traditional quiet and formal dinner, but we have to be more engaging. At the same time we don’t want to be Vegas, either.”

Running an award-winning restaurant is no small feat, considering restaurant staff’s high turnover rate, an economy that is causing people to trim down to the essentials and a location that is a good jaunt from a major metropolitan area. But McPhie relishes the environment his restaurant has flourished in. He has worked to build a cohesive staff that shares a common vision.

As far as the spending habits of the dining public during a recession, Cellar Master Randy Austin said the Salish has survived because people can rely on them for a good night out.

“When people have less money to spend, they will spend it on what they already know is good,” Austin said. “As opposed to gambling on something they don’t know about, they want to be sure they are going to have a great meal and wine.”

Austin was named “Best Sommelier” (restaurant wine expert) by “Seattle Magazine,” and the Salish was named by “Wine Press Northwest” magazine as having the best Washington wine list for the third year in a row. Austin said the Salish’s wine list is unparalleled, as it has more Washington wines than any other restaurant in the world.

“We have great wine here in Washington,” Austin said. “The wine list should make a statement about Washington wine.”

Austin is the first, and only, cellar master at the Salish, bringing the first bottle of wine into the restaurant back in 1988. Since then, he has built a cellar that contains more than 1,100 types of wine from all over the world, ranging in price from $20 to $3,000 a bottle.

The cheese program, which won “Best Cheese Program in Seattle” by “Seattle Magazine,” is truly in a class by itself. When the winner of the cheese program was about to be announced, McPhie sarcastically wondered aloud who would win it since he had, to his knowledge, developed the only cheese program in the state. McPhie said there have been instances when his restaurant had the only wheel of a particular kind of cheese in the nation.

The Salish’s Chef de Cuisine Mike Davis knows that all the wine and cheese in the world would be moot unless it accompanied a great meal.

“We don’t let anything out of the kitchen unless it’s the best possible dish we can make,” Davis said.

Davis’ taste was born in the Cajun kitchens of Louisiana and was honed at the ski resorts of Colorado. He first came to Washington in 1992 as a cook in Seattle, but choose to come to the Salish after he witnessed the restaurant scene in the city retreating from what it was supposed to do, serve great food.

“Everyone there is too involved in trying to be different,” Davis said. “They were all trying to push the edge and they pushed a little too far.”

Davis was named the head chef at the Salish this year and marvels at his present staff. He is convinced he is at home in what he considers an “exquisite restaurant.”

“We have spent so much time on every aspect of the meal, to make sure everything is in harmony,” Davis said.

The staff of the Salish, which was named a finalist for “Restaurant of the Year” by “Seattle Magazine,” said they will not rest in assuring that they will remain on top in the restaurant industry.

“We are always out there trying to see what the latest is in fine dining,” McPhie said. “And when we see something that has the potential to last, we’re going to do it 100 percent.”