Archive for the 'Seafood' Category

Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine – Oxnard

Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine - Oxnard

Aside from eating apple fritters the size of a small island nation while visiting the Central Coast, The Astronomer and I also indulged in a seafood stew called moqueca from Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine. I would have never found this out-of-the-way restaurant if it weren’t for my friend Bill of Street Gourmet L.A. I mean, sleepy surfer towns and authentic Brazilian fare don’t exactly go hand in hand, you know?

Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine - Oxnard

To begin, The Astronomer ordered a bottle of Xingu beer. The dark and spicy Brazilian tipple fit his mood and palate perfectly.

Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine - Oxnard

I took Bill’s advice and ordered a caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail. It was made with cachaça (sugar cane rum), sugar, and lime—simple, refreshing, and strong.

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The Walrus and the Carpenter – Seattle

The Walrus and the Carpenter - Seattle

An article penned by Frank Bruni inspired The Astronomer and me to bus it to Ballard for dinner at The Walrus and the Carpenter. We had a beast of time scoring a table at the adorable seafood shack, but everything was smooth sailing after that initial hurdle. Our meal here turned out to be not only the most memorable of the trip, but one of my favorite of the year. Seafood and cocktails—what could be better?

The Walrus and the Carpenter - Seattle

Located in the newly restored Kolstrand Building, The Walrus and the Carpenter is the vision of Chef Renee Erickson (Boat Street Café, Boat Street Pickles) and her partners Jeremy Price and Chad Dale. Together they’ve achieved their goal of building a restaurant serving the “highest quality food and drink in a space that is stripped of pretense and feels like home.”

The Walrus and the Carpenter - Seattle

The Astronomer and I were seated along the back of the restaurant with views of the elongated bar and open kitchen.

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Steelhead Diner – Seattle

Steelhead Diner - Seattle

Whenever The Astronomer travels out of town for physics conferences, I usually stay home and revel in our quieter-than-usual apartment. However, this past August I packed my bags and came along for the ride to Seattle. In between powwowing about the latest developments in the field of plasma, we wined and dined on amazing Pacific Northwest cuisine.

For our first lunch in the city together, we stumbled upon Steelhead Diner near Pike’s Place Market. The restaurant is set atop a hill with terrific views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic mountains.

Steelhead Diner - Seattle

A collaborative effort between Chef Kevin Davis and his wife Terresa, the restaurant’s focus is contemporary diner fare inspired by the seasons and scenery.

Steelhead Diner - Seattle

Every meal at Steelhead begins with a basket of crusty bread accompanied by a slab of butter drizzled with olive oil and herbs.

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American Fish by Michael Mina – Las Vegas (Aria Resort & Casino)

American Fish by Michael Mina - Las Vegas

After polishing off our tomahawk chops at Jean Georges Steakhouse, we walked across the corridor to American Fish by Michael Mina. With ceiling  lights emitting a serene oceanic glow over every table, glass, and chair, the setting could not have been any more perfect for a restaurant celebrating the bounty of America’s waterways.

The best part of the dining room was the huge window peering into the kitchen. Every seat in the house offered a perfect view of meals being made from start to finish. Dinner and a show—how very Las Vegas.

American Fish by Michael Mina - Las Vegas

American Fish is one of sixteen restaurants owned by San Francisco-based chef and restauranteur Michael Mina. On our tour of American Fish, Chef Mina demonstrated the restaurant’s four signature cooking methods: salt-baking, wood-grilling, cast iron-griddling, and ocean water-poaching.

“I wanted to pay homage to rustic cooking methods from across the country—lobster boils, clambakes and campfire cookouts—but apply them with modern finesse for a truly refined dining experience,” said Chef Mina in an interview with Vegas magazine.

American Fish by Michael Mina - Las Vegas

The first technique that he demonstrated was ocean water-poaching. The filet of halibut was packed tightly with water from the Pacific Ocean, kelp, and a pat of butter prior to being dunked in a sous vide bath that the chef designed.

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Son of a Gun – Los Angeles

Son of a Gun - Los Angeles

I like to visit restaurants that are “so-hot-right-now” after they’ve had a chance to cool off a bit. This sentiment isn’t popular among fellow food bloggers (ahem, Kevin and Darin), but I can’t deny that I like my restaurants worn in and comfortable, like an old pair of sneakers.

Some eight months after Son of a Gun opened its doors, my friend Lien and I made our way there for dinner. Whereas chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo focused on nose to tail cooking at their first restaurant, Animal, this follow up effort draws inspiration from coastal seafood shacks.

Son of a Gun - Los Angeles

The 55-seater was packed when Lien and I walked in on a weeknight. We were expecting to be relegated to the communal table since we didn’t have reservations, but were fortunately given two seats at the bar after waiting for twenty minutes. While sharing the communal table would’ve been festive and cozy, Lien and I preferred the relative seclusion the bar offered.

Son of a Gun - Los Angeles

Since neither of us had eaten here before, we ordered a mix of Son of a Gun’s most popular dishes and ones that read interestingly on the menu.

The first dish to arrive was the lobster roll ($7). Stretching three-inches long, the sandwich contained hunks of lemon aioli-dressed Maine lobster tucked into a buttered and toasted roll. Finely chopped chives and potato chips provided the finishing touches.

Lien and I split the roll down the middle. We were prepared to order another serving if necessary, but it turned out that a bite and half each was all that was needed to take in the rich and creamy sandwich.

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