Archive for the 'Seafood' Category

Hungry Cat – Los Angeles (Hollywood)

Published by Gastronomer on February 17, 2012 in Chain / Multiple Locations, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and Seafood. 6 Comments

Weekend brunches and seafood shacks are two of my favorite things, so it was only a matter of time before I made my way to Hungry Cat. A collaboration between Maryland native Chef David Lentz and his wife Chef Suzanne Goin, the restaurant is famous for impeccably fresh seafood, served without fuss, just like they do back east.

The concept has been so well received that the restaurant has opened outlets in Santa Barbara and Santa Monica in addition to its original Hollywood location where I dined.

With the restaurant located on an uber-touristy stretch in Hollywood, I found it impossible to channel the seaside spirit. Still, the restaurant tried its best to evoke that eastern seaboard ambiance with fresh lobsters and oysters on display over ice and pictures of cats eating the day’s catch.

My friend Amy and I shared a selection of oysters to start. With three varieties on deck this afternoon, I decided to go for one of each—Kumiai from Mexico, Chincoteague from Virginia, and Malpeque from Prince Edward Island, Canada.

The oysters were shucked to order and served with lemon wedges, a red wine vinegar, a rice wine vinegar with ginger, and cocktail sauce. Slurping these briny bivalves instantly transported me somewhere beachy.

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Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine – Oxnard

Published by Gastronomer on January 30, 2012 in Brazilian, Central Coast, Restaurant Review and Seafood. 4 Comments

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?

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

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

Published by Gastronomer on December 27, 2011 in Mixology, New American, Restaurant Review, Seafood and Seattle. 7 Comments

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?

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 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

Published by Gastronomer on December 21, 2011 in Diner, New American, Restaurant Review, Seafood and Seattle. 3 Comments

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.

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.

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)

Published by Gastronomer on November 7, 2011 in Las Vegas, Media Event (this meal was free), Restaurant Review and Seafood. 3 Comments

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 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.

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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