Restaurant Review (Blueacre Seafood)

Recently my wife and I were with friends in Seattle, Washington and thought we'd try out a seafood restaurant named Blueacre Seafood.

http://www.blueacreseafood.com/

The ambiance was great. Dark wood, brushed nickel accents, and gleaming blue glass.  We grabbed a leather booth next to the kitchen.  

I like restaurants that let you look into their kitchen.  It gives me a feeling that they have nothing to hide.  The night we were there the place was packed and the kitchen brigade was going 100 mph.  But it was orderly.  They seemed very well staffed and everyone worked their specific stations.  Food seemed to be coming out in a timely fashion.

The menu was everything you could want in  seafood. Take a look.  It will knock you out.

http://www.blueacreseafood.com/Menus/Dinner.pdf

Just the starters look so good I ended up ordering a few.  Plus some sides. Let's start with those.

First off they brought me a plate of Salt & Vinegar French Fries.  That's right, I said salt & vinegar french fries.  Brilliant!  These were out of this world. They were gone before I had a chance to take a picture.  Okay, they looked like regular french fries. 

Along with that I had some Wilted Mustard Greens with bacon, toasted garlic and sherry vinegar.
  

This had a great taste but was a little chewy.  I think they would have been better if they had simmered another hour or two.  Maybe three.

Let's move on to the starters.

First up was the House Smoked Salmon with a vinaigrette salad. 

I don't know for sure (they wouldn't say) but I think they used alder wood for the smoke on the salmon. Whatever hardwood they used it was excellent. And it was sliced paper thin.  It was gone in the blink of an eye.

Next up was the Poulsbo Viking Pickled Herring with a horseradish sour cream, picked onions, and grilled seed bread.

This had an amazing taste but it wasn't your usual run of the mill pickled herring.  Oh no.  I did taste the usual Dijon mustard, black pepper, onions, white vinegar, bay leaf and garlic that one uses when making this dish, but there was something else.  I'm thinking lingonberries.  If it was, that would be very traditional, old school style. I'll never know because it's a company secret.

I followed that up with their Totten Inlet Manila Clams in Purgatory with toasted garlic, basil, Serrano chili, orange zest, and house made andouille. 

This was also from the list of starters buy big enough to be a main.  Unfortunately, this plate wasn't happening for me. I'm not sure why.  There were just so many favors mixed together I felt my pallet was confused.

Last up was the Green Curry Totten Inlet Mussels in coconut milk, grilled lime, ginger, and chili.

This was the winner of the night.  These guys in the coconut milk blew me away.  And, again, a big plate for a starter.  By the time this was delivered I had already eaten a lot of food but I made room for it.  Most excellent. 

So my wife had to roll me out the door.  All in all a great night of good food with good friends. The next time I'm in Seattle I'm going back here and work my way through the rest of their menu.