A food truck serving gourmet hot dogs has opened at The Vault Wine Bar and Bistro, amid other changes allowing the restaurant to expand its cuisine.
Fare Thee Well food trailer opened behind The Vault in downtown Blaine in mid-June to offer the community high-quality food while expanding Blaine’s food truck presence, said Jacob Finston, who runs the trailer.
The menu offers a classic brat, PNW dog (on a furikake brioche bun with smoked salmon and cream cheese) and green machine dog (made with pestochurri, pecorino parsley and pickled red onion.) The trailer also offers a traditional hot dog, tabouli salad, chips and lemon curd on shortbread cookies.
Jacob Finston said he would like to have a rotating menu that includes a summer pasta dish and charcuterie.
“I would like to bring an elevated sense of execution on the culinary side but to the demographic we have in town,” Jacob Finston said. “I would like to appeal to those markets and hone into what I can do.”
The truck operates behind The Vault from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday as well as travels to private and community events, such as the Birch Bay Kite Festival.
The Vault originally used the food truck to serve food while its kitchen was remodeled earlier this year to support its growing menu.
“We managed to do as well as we could with the cooking capabilities we had, which, as time went on and we got more known for our food, were really inadequate,” said Joni Finston, co-owner of The Vault.
The kitchen remodel allowed the restaurant to improve service through cooking greater amounts of food faster. The changes included nearly doubling the number of burners, and switching them to gas, as well as doubling the number of ovens. The Vault returned to serving at full capacity May 10.
The Vault has welcomed new menu items such as a toast with figs and balsamic vinegar; grilled zucchini with strawberry salsa, herbs and hazelnuts; lamb rack with polenta and chermoula; and maple-glazed salmon.
While the kitchen was being renovated, lead server Lexie Dixon was able to receive her Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) 1 certification in Vancouver, B.C. Now that Dixon has the basic wine certification, she plans to obtain her WSET 2 and sommelier level 1 certifications.
The Vault offers a monthly paired wine dinner that is five courses paired with five wines. This month’s dinner will feature Walla Walla’s L’Ecole No. 41 Winery presented by winemaker Marcus Rafanelli in celebration of L’Ecole’s 40th anniversary. The restaurant also hosts weekly trivia on Thursday and live music on Friday nights.
Jacob Finston said he wants the food to provide communion for the community.
“I want to give them an oasis to relax and enjoy high-quality food around a really cool town and nice area of the world,” he said.
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