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?!

Sitka & Spruce: Father's Day Dinner--Review

Yesterday for Father's day, my family and I went to Sitka & Spruce located in Seattle's Capitol Hill.

The little restaurant is located inside Melrose Market , which also has a bunch of other little shops inside as well. It is a farily open space with windows all around letting the light in offering green house feel to the atmosphere which I found really comforting.

They're menu, I believe, changes every day so click HERE to see updated menus for Sitka & Spruce.

We started off with their bread of the day which came from the Columbia City bakery (located in south/central Seattle).  The baguette was nice and crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. The whipped butter with the sea salt flakes paired nicely with it as well.

The brined & baked ham with fermented rhubarb was also a nice pairing to the bread. I've never had rhubarb in a fermented/pickled form and found it quite nice. It had the sour/tartness of a pickled radish and went well with the mild flavor of he ham. The fresh Italian flat leaf parsley also added an earthy element to the dish and when eaten together, it offered a nice, clean, fresh taste. The tartness of the rhubarb really enhanced my appetite.

 

Then came our salad which consisted of young lettuce (romaine I believe) hazelnuts and a cow tomme cheese. Nothing much to say about this salad besides the fact that it was indeed fresh and the vinagrette enhanced the sweetness of the young lettuce. The cheese added a nice salty touch and the nuts added a crunch of texture.

 

Then we had the black morel (mushroom), garlic spear, and egg soup. At first glance, it looked like a typical Chinese egg drop soup, but that is where the similiarities end. the flavor of the broth was more robust than your typical egg flower soup but I can see inspiration taken from the Chinese soup. The morels were excellent and provided a meat like texture to the soup. It was quite unexpected but welcomed. It brough a sense of heartiness to the soup. The chopped up garlic spears/scapes also added a nice mild onion-y flavor and texture to the soup. Then the beaten egg that was added to the soup created a fullness to the soup as a whole. Overall, this was a really excellent soup.

 

I really wanted to try the raw salmon, but was a little put off by this dish since it had zucchini in it. I'm not a huge fan of zucchini but found that it worked really well in this dish. The soft texture of the zucchini paired nicely to the raw salmon (which by the way was not fishy at all and you could taste the pure flavor of the salmon.) Along with the crunchiness of the rye bread, the texturse flowed nicely. I found the dill to be a little too overpowering in flavor, but the sea bean added the right amount of tart and salty flavor to the overall mild flavoring dish.

 

Then came the lamb belly and lentil dish. This dish is the perfect way to consume lentils, in my opinion. The lamb was nice and soft and flavorful without being gamey, like most lamb dishes are usualyl known for. I was nice and moist, most likely from the fat, and paired nicely with the lentil and emmer and borani (a Persian appetizer with yogurt).

Then came the halibut dish which though it was good, didn't impress me as much. The piece of fish was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. The flavor and method of cooking the fish also wasn't too impressive. It was packed with a butter flavor, but I will say it was cooked well and wasn't too fishy in smell. I did enjoy the terragon leaves however as it added an unexpected twist. The potatoes were also good and gave a new appearance to how to present potatoes since it looked like meat. Overall, this dish was okay and something I could pass up.

Lastly, we tried the gateau basque which I would say is like almost a soft thick custard type of pie. It was not to sweet and it was creamy on the inside with a nice flakey crust. The strawberries paired nicely with the this tarte like dessert as it was sweeted and seemd to have had the strawberry flavor enhanced.

It went really well with the coffee we had as well.

As we got our check for the evening, they came with the caramels (which I also believe they hand made). They were nice and soft, but seemed a little greasy since the butter that was used to make the caramel perhaps was too much? It oversaturated the paper wrappers they were held in.

Overall, I would like to try this place again, maybe for their brunch or lunch even! I like the idea and concept behind using fresh ingredients on the daily and providing a new menu almost every day to keep things unexpected.

It is a little pricey, but you are paying for the services (which by the way is excellent) as well as the quality of the food.