Tag Archives: seafood

Jun 25 2015

Song of the Sea – Manolin

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t0e and I catch up from time to time, to hear about each other’s lives, ruminate on working out, and talk about food over good food. We have history, but it’s always nice to chat about things that make us happy. Manolin had come with high recommendations from Salumi and given that they were part of the same team on The Whale Wins, it seemed like a good candidate.

manolin - potato croquettes

Potato croquettes – expertly fried with just a thin crispy crust on the outside and creamy potato and parmesan on the inside; garnished with dill, paprika, and a subtle garlic aioli – a perfect starter

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Feb 3 2015

Westward Ho! – Westward

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I believe that good food shouldn’t be saved for just special occasions, because every day should be a day to celebrate how wonderful life is. Which makes celebrating special occasions a little more difficult, but only because I need to figure out what the honoree would like best, rather than what I like best.  For my mom and dad’s anniversary (let’s say 30+) and my mom’s birthday combination dinner, we chose Westward for the following reasons:
–  middle eastern inspired, which my mom likes
– whole roasted trout – there’s nothing my dad enjoys more than a whole fish
– nominated as one of the top 10 restaurants by Bon Appetite magazine
– I’ve been there before, and it’s solid

westward - grilled halloumi cheese

grilled halloumi cheese – with arugula, cranberries, cashews; loved the combination of cheese with the tartness of cranberries, earthiness of nuts, spiciness of arugula, and tanginess of vinaigrette; you have to cut the cheese with a knife and it has a nice firm texture without being too rubbery

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Jan 2 2014

$1.50 Oyster happy hour – Ballard Annex Oyster House

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My sister can eat 4 dozen oysters in one sitting – I kid you not.  She is amazing when it comes to oysters and I am allergic to them.  However, it’s the holidays and she’s back in town from SFO, so I make sure we have oysters while she’s home.  Usually, we go to Elliots for oysters, but happy hour there can be a chore to wait for. Salumi had recommended Ballard Annex Oyster House, so here we landed after 8 hours of shopping.

$1.50 for oysters – these were high quality oysters, briney and fresh, she loved them and they were well worth the trip. she also says they left the brine inside the oyster, which is a hallmark of an expert oyster shucker.

new england poutine – new england clam chowder over french fries with parmesean cheese; this was the perfect starter and I’d love to try to the chowder on its own next time

mussels pistu – swap escargots for mussels and cover them with cheese, dunk them in butter, tastey!

salmon cake sliders – lots of salmon, great flavor

saute calamari – a good portion, a little salty, well cooked to perfect consistency with just enough snap to know it’s done without being rubbery

salmon fetteccini – a little salty, served with a side of mushrooms and kale, still flavorful

The booths are cute, service is friendly, and I would definitely recommend it for happy hour.  Entrees are on the pricey side, but I would consider it a nice low key seafood joint.

SUMMARY
Overall: happily ever after
Highlights: oysters on a half shell, new england poutine
Footnote: Wednesday evenings are $1.50 oyster night

Ballard Annex Oyster House on Urbanspoon

Nov 26 2013

Rocking It – Rock Creek Seafood

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My dad loves seafood.  Loves it and makes some of the most perfectly cooked salmon both grilled and pan seared that I’ve ever eaten.  His favorite is whole fish though – nothing is more exciting at a restaurant to him than munching on the fish head to get the last bits of fish.  This is usually met with a bit of shock in western restaurants, but it’s perfectly normal at an asian one.  The fish is always served with a head at a chinese restaurant – that’s how they prove it’s fresh.  😛  So I’m always on the lookout for a great seafood restaurants, and while seattle has a plethora of restaurants that serve seafood, there are not that many that specialize in it.  Seastar, Ettas, and Rays are the standards that usually come to mind.  Recently, there has been a trend toward seafood with Barnacle, Westward, and most recently, Rock Creek opening.

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