Rockcreek Seafood & Spirits: Restaurant Review

My family and I always like to try new places to eat so a few weeks ago, we went to the Fremont area of Seattle to a newer placed called Rockcreek Seafood & Spirits.

This place had a very open feel to it, with it's high ceilings and long glass windows making it feel less stuffy and more welcoming. The seating is spaced out well, except for the weird part where the higher bar stool seating is right above a dining table (yea it was weird because it feels like they can see you eat). Other than that, the graphic imaging of a natural landscape stands right by the entrane and gives the entire place an outdoorsy vibe. Now on to the food!...

First were are small plates and appetizers. We had this calamari "kari out' where it was an asian inspired calamari dish served in an actual take out box with chopsticks.

I like that these were whole baby squid that was deep fried. It was served with a salad that was in a sort of sweet and sour dressing, that tasted like a Chinese chicken salad or something of the sort. I thought it was a cute presentation and the flavor was really nice.

Next we tried the grilled ocotopus with kidney beans and tomato. Some of this was better than the other.

I say that because a few of the octopus pieces were very tender, but then some of them were tough and chewy. It had a smoked flavor to it that complimented teh freshmness of the tomato and beans.

Next was a sardine salad that I actually really enjoyed.

It was a bit fishy, so if you are not into that type of tase or if you aren't used to fishier fishes, then I would stay away from it. I loved it however. There was an eggplant puree as a base for the fish along with pickled veggies and some fresh herbs and fried onion/shallot pieces. I loved the freshness of everything blended with the sardines.

We also had fresh oysters on the half-shell. I am such a lover of raw oysters and these did not disappoint. Sorry though, I can't remember the names of all of them, but we did try 4 different kinds from around the Pacific NW.

My beverage of choice was this infused dandelion wine with raw egg white served in this mini vase looking glass. It was very refreshing and light, but not overly sweet. The egg white is basically cooked from the alcohol so it added a nice layer of texture to the drink.

Now for my main dish. I had the hawaiian seared tuna with pickled onions, celery, sliced potatoes, olives and Italian flat leaf parsley over a tomato vinaigrette. I liked how raw the center of the tuna was, but honestly wished for even less cook time on the tuna than it had because it left some parts a bit tough. I also wish the tomato vinaigrette had more flavor to it, or perhaps with something else added. I know you don't want to overpower the tuna so you can taste it's flavor, but there was something about the sauce that just didn't quite match up to the tuna and pickled vegetables. Overall though, I did like this dish but would probably not re-order it. My brother had the black cod dish and I think I would opt for that instead. It was just more pleasing to the palette and had a nice variety of complex flavor without being overpowering.

And lastly, the dessert! Whenever we try a new restaurant, it is almost inevitable that we try the dessert as well! This time we opted for 2 dishes.

This first one was a ricotta apple beignet with a caramel anglaise, topped with powdered sugar. This was a really delicious treat. I liked that they were nice and bite sized and were not overly sweet. I wish there was a bit more ricotta to them and a stronger apple flavor. I was expecting a bolder apple flavor when I read the dessert menu, but didn't really notice it.

The last thing we tried was the RockCreek S'mores which consisted of a Valrhona chocolate mousse, smoked meringue, caramel, sea salt, and a graham tuille (cookie cracker thing). I loveeeed this dish, I think mainly because of the salted caramel flavor melded with that smoked meringue on top. It balanced out the creamy sweetness of the chocolate pudding below. The graham tuille was a nice touch too because there was a bit of saltiness to it as well.

Overall, I am highly pleased I was able to try this place and would definitely want to check out their brunch and happy hour items. This place in the mid-range when it comes to pricing--not overly cheap, but not over-the-top pricing either. Items ranged anywhere from $10 to around $24 with dessert and oysters being less than $10. If you are looking for a new restaurant to try in Seattle, and you love seafood, I would recommend this place!

Do you like seafood? What is your favorite seafood dish?!

Brass Tacks: Georgetown, Seattle, Restaurant Review

I have seen this place many times and I don't even know how many times I've actually drove by it but never ventured in. Well this week, my parents decided to try this place out for lunch and I of course jumped at the chance to join them seeing as I work not barely 2 minutes away.

What you get when you enter is an open space, almost like a warehouse feel, yet a somewhat vintage feel too with the decor and flooring.

I didn't get much time to look around since I had a short amount of time to eat, but at least once I got there the food was ready! I ordered the Artichoke Agnolotti, a pasta dish, my mom had the Washington State grass fed burger, and my dad had the smoked brisket mac n cheese. All of our dishes were amazing and you can definitely taste the quality behind the ingredients. Nothing was overly salty, or fatty, or whatever other negative adjective you can think of. Yes the items are a bit more on the pricey side ($14 and $16 on average per large dish) but it was well worth it for a satisfactory lunch.
My dish was a bit on the smaller portion compared to both my parent's dishes, but the overall taste of the dish was very good. The fried chokes were salted and paired well with the freshness of the arugula pistou sauce.
 

My mom's burger was really good for the couple bites I had. It was huge and the quality of the meet was excellent and it came with a crap ton of fries. Cooked with some pink inside, the meat was nice and juicy and didn't have any gamey taste for being grass-fed natural. She added bacon to it which gave it a nice salty and smokey flavor (but she really should've added the egg!)  

The pickles they used weren't typical ones you find at like McDonald's. These were definitely less sour and overall more pleasant to eat. The grilled onions wre nice and sweet and the white cheddar glued everything together perfectly. This burger was definitely one where you needed that knife to help you out!

My dad's dish was very good too. You could really tasted the smokiness of the brisket which was nice with the mac n cheese. There was also a lot of the brisket hidden underneath the macaroni and it wasn't overly chewy either. I'm not sure what type of cheese they used but it complimented the meat really well

Overall, I am glad I went here for lunch and look forward to trying out a brunch here! The staff is friendly and comes by often to refill ice teas and see how you're doing. Also, at around 12pm (when we went) the place wasn't overly busy so it was a relaxed setting. Plus, there is a cool alien figurine there right by the entrance. #riphrgiger

Mobile Food Truck Rodeo 2014

Despite the pouring rain, I was still at the 2014 Mobile Food Truck Rodeo that featured a 'Taco Libre' battle of the tacos showdown (even though I didn't really see any tacos or eat any). Besides that, I still got to try some yummy food! Here's a look below!

I've had these donuts before (last year I believe) but I tried a different flavor profile: Cinnamon and Caramel. The little donuts are freshly made and fried in front of you with the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top and topped with the caramel sauce. These were very hot and fresh, but the only down side is that some of them were a bit doughy--as if they weren't cooked inside long enough. But for $4 at a food truck event, it isn't too bad a price since everything else is pretty pricy.

My main meal was a Shrimp Sandwhich at Papa Bois, which is Caribbean inspired? I think? I may be wrong..

The sandwhich is on a French baguette (like the Vietnamese Banh Mi) but it is toasted. Inside the sandwhich was a pickeled onion, some sort of cole slaw type cabbage and the marinated shrimp.

At $12, it was a bit pricy but the sandwhich was good. It was nice and hot and had a spicy/smokey flavor to it.

Here's a look of the people baring the rain to get some Food Truck food!

I needed a drink and I wanted to try something different, so this Soda Jerk stand looked promising with their different flavored sodas.

I tried their Lime Cilantro Jalapeno soda and quite liked it. It definitely reminded me of Pho noodles though, especially when I squeeze the lime into the broth, which is weird to say but if this product wasn't sweetened, it would definitely be a Pho veggie version of Pho. I did enjoy it though, but once again, found the 12 oz size to be pricey at $3.00.

Below are items my friends ordered and tried out.

Coconut curry w/ Tofu (this was a bit too sweet for me).

Shwarma (my friend only tried it since the Avengers had it. haha.

Garlic Fries with Hummus and a Yogurt dip. These fries were hella salty! You def need to dip them in either the hummus or yogurt.

This Gourmet Grilled Cheese food truck had a consistent busy line so I wanted to see what the fuss was about. It was also pricey for what you ordered so I decided on the original grilled cheese with grilled onions and bacon.

I have to honestly say that this wasn't anything special and quite disappointing, especailly for the $7 I paid for it. The bottom yellow cheddar cheese, as you can see, wasn't evne melted all the way and still kind of hard and the bacon wasn't as 'thick' as I thought it would be.

Lastly, here's a look at the Luchador wrestling ring!

I love food truck events and am glad to have tried different food trucks. I probably would have enjoyed myself much more if there wasn't any rain! However, I look forward to future food truck events in the Seattle area!

Do you like food trucks? What types of food would interest you in a food truck?? Let me know!