mmm-yoso!!!

Honolulu - It's Back to Fresh Catch

After a wonderful dinner at Kinjiro (and karaage at Karayama) we awoke early to catch our shuttle to LAX at 520am. I actually slept better on the flight than at the hotel.

And breakfast was adequate and held us for quite a while. After getting about 2 hours of shut-eye, I awoke, freshened up, and soon enough, we were landing at "home".

My In-laws picked met us and of course the first thing we wanted was.....poke, of course! The Missus's Mom and Dad live in Ewa Beach, so the natural stop was Tanioka's. But man, the line was crazy....folks standing outside, with a security guard letting folks into the shop one-by-one. We decided to just drive "home" and unpack.

And then....well, we just needed to get some poke. Ono Seafood is closed on Sunday (and Monday), so after mulling some options, we headed off to my "neck of the woods" and Fresh Catch. Funny thing; I'd actually packed the Fresh Catch insulated bag to keep stuffs cold for this trip. So I guess it was just fate?

Not to say that Fresh Catch wasn't busy....they were.

The woman behind the counter was very efficient....but the pressure was on to have your order ready by the time you hit the counter. Decisions....decisions.....

In the end; it was a half pound each of the Hawaiian Blend, Spicy Ahi Shoyu, and Smoked Tako.

The Hawaiian Blend was the favorite hands down; just enough salt, but not enough ogo...still, the onion was sweet, there was a hint of spice.....the fish was good quality...well, in comparison to the poke in San Diego.....well; let's not go there.

The Spicy Ahi Shoyu was too sweet and salty.

I'd have liked more onions...need that pungency to cut the saltiness. Still the fish was good quality.

The smoked tako had too much mayo; but a nice smokiness.

Enjoyed the tobiko, which added a bit of texture; but the octopus was hard instead of being chewy.

Still, this was a nice start to our trip.

Fresh Catch
3109 Waialae Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816 

Ah, it was good to be "home". It had been too long.

And it was hard to beat our "dining room"...…

The Missus's mission was now to have poke every day.

Point Loma Fish Shop

mmm-yoso!, a food blog.  Cathy is writing today while Kirk is researching something to write about.

The Mister and I wanted to go to Point Loma Seafoods, but the line to the parking area was backed out onto the street.  We started driving around and saw what had opened in the old Charlie's Best Bread (Point Loma location) on the corner of Rosecrans at Cañon, just across the street from Harbor Town Pub. An open air dining concept, the space is quite large. 
Walk up, order, pay, find a seat and your food is brought out to you.  That's the whole menu.
There's a small bar area next to the cash register. Behind it is the 'Dog Friendly' area-bar height seating and essentially opposite from the low tables.
Since this was a first visit, we decided to try some 'basics', like the clam chowder (cup, $5).  WOW.  This was so rich; tasting of cream and butter and clams.  If you've ever had She Crab Soup (and we have, many times, when living in Virginia), the bisque-like texture and and mouthfeel is the same...just no sherry (or crab).
The menu style is "1. Pick a fish, 2. Pick a marinade, 3. Pick a style".  So, this was albacore with lemon butter as a salad ($12).  Another WOW.  The fish was rare-seared, moist, flavorful.  The mixed greens salad had pickled onions and capers as well as cucumber and cherry tomatoes.  We chose the house made ranch dressing, figuring it would be a 'neutral' flavor.  
There were several ads for the 'Fish Shop Seasoning' on the tables and ordering area.  We were curious about the description of 'a little sweet with a mild spice' and ordered the jumbo shrimp only-grilled with this seasoning ($11).  There were seven shrimp which were plump and juicy-perfectly cooked.  The seasoning was a Cajun dry rub-you can taste the smoky first, notice the sticky (brown sugar) and still can get the briny sweetness of good quality shrimp along with a nice spice end note.  These were pretty much perfect.  The house made side sauce (chipotle aioli) was complimentary and went with the shrimp.  (I tried some bites of shrimp with the Ranch dressing, but it didn't 'go' with the other flavors). 
 We also decided to try something fried and this small side of onion rings ($3) was our order.  I think you might be able to tell these were perfectly battered and fried to a good crunch.  The thick slices of sweet onion were crisp/fresh.

As always, I researched after going home and having the meal.  There's a sister location.  The Pacific Beach Fish Shop has been on Garnet since 2010; I remember seeing it when working for the Registrar of Voters for the two Special Elections but never remembered to go back. cc was here, in 2014 (Happy Birthday, Bert!) Kirbie was at PB Fish Shop in 2014, too! Oh So Yummy was here in 2017. The Point Loma Fish Shop location opened about a year ago. Mary was here in March.  We will be back; there's parking, fair prices and the food so far has been great.

Point Loma Fish Shop 1110 Rosecrans Street #100 San Diego, CA 92106 (619)794-2449 Website Open daily 11-9 
 

Machu Picchu Bar and Restaurant

A few months ago, one of my coworkers mentioned a Peruvian place he and his wife loved. They are, like me, big fans of Peruvian food. I was surprised at the recommendation. It was a place in the Gaslamp, named after one of the places I'll never forget; Machu Picchu. He highly recommended the Pescado alo Macho; so I headed on down soon after.

The restaurant is located on 5th Avenue, next to Rockin' Baja Lobster. The interior is quite wide open and really looks like a sports bar with an additional dining area upstairs.

This being 1130 on a Sunday, the place was totally empty. The person tending the bar told me choose any table and I had a seat. A menu was provided and I started with a Chicha Morada; which wasn't overly sweet, though the cinnamon-clove flavor was also slightly muted. It was fine though.

In a short while my pretty generous plate arrived. The gentleman told me to be careful of the Aji sauce....which he pronounced Ah-Gee, rather than the correct Ah-hee...oh well.

The dish as a whole wasn't too bad at all. The fish, sea bass, was fried nicely, light and crisp, moist flesh with no off flavors.

The rest of the seafood was a mixed bag; the calamari rings were tough and rubbery and the mussels overcooked. The shrimp edged on being dry and overcooked as well. The sauce was very thin; but quite spicy....it definitely was "macho".

I prefer my sauce for pescado alo macho with a combination of aji Amarillo and aji rocoto; this one was quite one-dimensional and could have used perhaps a bit more tanginess from tomato and some pungent-savory flavors. It wasn't too salty though.

And while the rice was on the dry side and the "salad" was quite simple....looking at it I was thinking some sarza criolla would be a nice pungent, slightly spicy way of helping things along....even though that sauce...and the Aji was quite spicy, it would help to refresh. But it was just a salad with a simple dressing.

Still, the fish was the star, and was not bad at all.

So, a little over a week ago, when I took the trolley and visited the Little Italy Mercato and the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market, I decided to head on over to Machu Picchu. This time, the young man working was obviously Peruvian. Again the place was empty, except for two couples at the bar having mimosas.

This time, I started with the Causa Limena which was huge.

The sauce again had a good amount of spice. It was a bit too cold, the potatoes were on the mealy side. I like the potatoes in my causa to be moist and slightly creamy, this more mealy. The chicken filling had enough celery, but way too much mayonnaise for my taste. Lots of chicken though. Not my favorite version.....though it was quite hefty.

I couldn't help but order the cebiche pescado. The fish again was decent quality, but it had been in the citrus a bit too long and was starting to get mushy. The marinating liquid, the leche de tigre ("tiger's milk") was too thin and was much too sour. I prefer a bit more balance in my leche de tigre, a bit of oceany fish stock, pungent onion, cilantro, you get it. The sauce was again spicy Aji Rocoto based. I asked the young man if this was just Aji Rocoto; or if they snuck in some Aji Limo as well. He told me it was just Aji Rocoto. I wished for a bit more Canchita, but I really wouldn't have enjoyed eating it my favorite way....with a spoon of leche de tigre.

The camote was mushy and lacked the sweet and sometimes cinnamony tones of those in Peru. And corn on the cob replaced the wonderful large kernel "choclo", Peruvian corn.

Not a terrible version of cebiche pescado, but lacking in some of the details that make this dish one of our favorites.

Service was a bit slow, but friendly. The portions are quite generous but with typical Gaslamp prices.

Machu Picchu Bar & Restaurant
314 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 10pm
Fri - Sat   11am - 11pm

After that lunch, it was easy getting on the Green Line back to pick my car up. Perhaps I need to check out other places in the area when my car in in for service.

Thanks for reading!

It's Fry-day - A Revisit to Mr Fish and Chips

I had a bunch of errands to run the weekend before our trip to France. The clock was striking 11 and I was getting hungry. I really didn't want to eat at any of the "chains" in the area and other places didn't open until at least 1130. Coming out of CVS; I recalled not having been back to Mr Fish and Chips in over four years! Heck; I'd be getting my share of tete de veau, foie gras, and other goodies soon enough. Why not have some fried food for a change?

The place was pretty quiet when I arrived.

Not much has changed over the years (can you believe I first posted about this place in 2007??); except the prices of course; the Fish Combo was now $11.99. And it looks like they give you a little "trolley" with every sauce in the world when you receive your food.

I had no complaints about the fish.....

The crisp and crunchy batter was nice; not greasy in the least. The fish was moist, with no off flavors. Of course, with this brand of Malt Vinegar I had to use a ton of it to dial it up to my "taste" (the tartar sauce is super bland).

The fries...ummm chips; were limp, dry, and like cardboard; there was no remedy for that.

The coleslaw was generically decent; I used more malt vinegar on it as I thought it needed some oomph. But it was nicely chilled, the veggies crisp, and not overly dressed.

The owner was much more "chatty" then I recalled. As the place filled up, it seemed like he knew a good number of customers.

In the end; the meal was quite consistent with what I've had here over the years. And that's not a bad thing.....every four-five years or so.

Mister Fish & Chips
5647 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 830pm
Fri - Sat   11am - 9pm
Closed on Sundays

 

Post #3951 - It's Back to the Beginning: China Max, Sandwich Emporium, Bay Park Fish, and Another One.....

Recently I was asked via email if I'd hit 5,000 posts yet.....well, I knew I wasn't even close since I've only been around since May 26, 2005, which, if we count forward until today would be a total of 4898 days. Of course there's no way we'd be doing more than one post a day. But, I was kind of interested in counting our posts and saw we were getting close to 4,000. But, I didn't want to burden myself with keeping track so I chose to do something; well today.

I had noticed something interesting; all of the places listing in my first five posts are still in business! What are the chances? So, I decided to revisit four of those places; the other Sushi Komasa is still going strong, at least as far as I know.

I think we've been to a good number of places over the years. I once had a page I called the "Big List" which listed places, included those which had closed, only in San Diego, with a few photos I'd never published....well, the page got too big for Typepad to handle and it wouldn't load anymore. So, it's back to the drawing board with that one.

Anyway, I'm not going to go too much into detail, after all, I've probably posted on these places a few times before.

Post #1 May 26, 2005; China Max:

Which I visited with the Late, Great, Ed from Yuma; I miss you my friend! The Missus humored me and was actually wanting some Gai lan….and I was craving the Seafood Pan Fried Noodles. The drill is that the Missus gets all the seafood, except for the squid which is usually on the chewy side, and most of the noodles and "gravy" is mine. I usually want this about every year or so.

Time sure does fly; this is now $20.99; man can you believe this used to be (with more noodles) $14.99 ? Anyway, having grown up eating what we call "cake noodle" (sam see mian) - "Mr Z" if you read this; Kin Wah used to make a nice version! Anyway, the shrimp was nicely cooked, at least that's what the Missus said. I just loved the always evolving texture of the saturated crunchy noodles.

The Missus got Her gailan.

We also ordered some dimsum.

We got two items that had usually been fairly dependable here; but you can easily see the holes in the wrappers of the Pan Fried Chive Dumplings:

The Chazhou Dumpling's wrappers were really sticky and tore when we removed them from the tin.

Still the flavor of the fillings for both were fine.

For what it's worth China Max still might be the best dim sum in the area. Which pretty much tells the story of dim sum in San Diego.

China Max
4698 Convoy Street #C101
San Diego, CA 92111

Post #3 May 28, 2005 Sandwich Emporium:

I've long mentioned my affection for those mom-and-pop sandwich shops. Though SE has pretty well for themselves over the years with locations in Rancho Penasquitos, Escondido, and Mira Mesa. Though I don't drop by nearly as much as I used to; it's still my neighborhood sandwich shop.

And "say hello to my little friend".....

This one is called the "Spicy Julio". I believe one of the "twins"; John told me they make the roast beef inhouse these days? Anyway; a toasted roll, a sauce with pickled jalapenos, guac….this was quite nice on an especially warm fall day.

Sandwich Emporium
3054 1/2 Clairemont Drive
San Diego,CA

Post #5 May 30, 2005 Bay Park Fish:

Though I really only bought some seafood on that day. This was way back when Bay Park Fish used to sell seafood.....interesting story; that seafood case eventually ended up at Catalina Offshore.

It had been quite a while since I last visited; for some reason, the Missus and I just aren't thrilled by the menu, prices, etc....

I recently dropped by for a beer and the one item I enjoy here; the smoked fish, though there seems to be a bit more "filling" than on previous visits.

Still this wasn't too bad.

And with a nice cold .394 I was full.

Perhaps one of these days; I'll drop by and start retrying other items on the menu.

Bay Park Fish Company
4121 Ashton St
San Diego, CA 92110

There is one place conspicuously missing; it's from Post #4 May 29, 2005. So here's the deal. I actually drove up to the College area on a recent weekend for a revisit. It had been about three years since my last visit and a decade since my last visit before that.

So, I actually dropped by......

I walked in and there was....shall we say a "fragrance"...….it was pretty tough, even for someone who has had some interesting and wonderful things over the years, and some unknowingly disturbing items as well. I mean, it was bad...….even worse than what you'd think trout smoked over...well, you know what. I had to leave....sorry, just couldn't do it.

Regardless; I'd like to thank everyone who have visited over the years. We're flattered that you'd even take the time to visit. It's been an honor to sit and do my "stream of consciousness" posts. Frankly, I didn't think I'd last a year. So, thank you once again!

Point Loma Seafoods (again)

Welcome back to reading mmm--yoso!!! a food blog.  Kirk is enjoying work so much that he just isn't bothering to go out to eat or write posts, so Cathy is writing again today.  

The Mister was born on a Thursday and I was born the following Thursday many, many, many years ago.  Our habit has been to go out for a meal each day from his birthday until mine.  This year we chose local spots.  Point Loma Seafoods, was, of course, a joint choice.

 The day began as overcast, which was such a relief after the horrid summer heat we had just a few weeks prior.  

You walk up, order from the overhead menu and/or the black board, pay and wait for your number to be called.
There are several seat yourself areas, all with nice views. 

  The fried clam plate ($22) was ordered and the order-taker guy immediately grabbed a container of fresh belly clams from the counter and handed it to the kitchen.  Perfectly breaded, lightly fried, wonderful, fresh belly clams.  The fries are thin and crispy and just the crunch needed and the slaw here has some bell pepper in it, which is so refreshing. A craving fulfilled.  

For some reason, I was feeling like we should share a light/not fried meal and chose a smoked fish salad ($14).  The photo is deceptive and there was a lot of lettuce as well as a variety of house smoked fish; hamachi/yellowtail, (albacore) tuna, swordfish and salmon.  As always, I chose the traditional, house made Louie dressing, because it is just the perfect accompaniment for the lettuce.

A nice day for lunch and walk along the docks .  

Point Loma Seafoods 2805 Emerson Street San Diego 92106 (619) 223-1109 Open Mon-Sat 9 a.m-7 p.m. Sun 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (hot foods served after 10:30 daily)website (NOTE: closing is at 6 p.m. once Daylight Saving time change occurs)

Mariscos Monday - The Mariscos on Miramar Truck

I've often said that things around these parts would not be as delici-yoso without all the recommendations and tips I receive. About three weeks ago; "MichaelW" was nice enough to drop me an email letting me know about a Mariscos Truck that had started doing business in back of the strip mall at 6904 Miramar Road....you know; the one that houses Jersey Mike's, Denny's, Pho Ha Noi, and the Philadelphia Sandwich Company, among others. I was able to run out to check the place out the following week. And yes, there it was.....

The truck has the back corner of the strip mall parking lot, there are signs on the road, and if take the turn north onto Commerce Avenue, you can't miss the signs. Funny, I guess I haven't been to the Sandwich A'Fare in a while. The truck is in the same side of the mall as that shop. There are also three parking spots against the building designated for the truck....I think they've got a nice deal.

It was pretty busy even at 11am when I arrived. A lot of the local guys were lined up waiting to order or waiting for their order.

The menu is nicely varied; from the usual Mariscos Truck suspects; the Gobernador, Fish Tacos, Camarones a la Plancha, Tostadas, Cocteles, and Botanas.

Ordering was pretty easy for me; as Michael had made a recommendation and I went with my usual; the Gobernador. The woman working the window is very nice, though the salsas are limited and things take a while....not necessarily a bad thing as it means items are really made to order. Though one should keep that in mind.

 

I was handed a consommé while waiting. Strong celery and pepper tones; on my first visit it was quite mild, on my second visit, much stronger in the celery/seafood department.

My order took about 20 minutes or so, but it was worth the wait. While the Gobernador wasn't among the best I've had; not enough peppers and onions; the tortilla was nicely coated with cheese then griddled, thus protecting the tortilla from breakage. The shrimp was plump and tender; this was a bit light in the seasoning department; but not bad at all.

Michael had recommended the Taco de Costa Azul, a nice combination of shrimp, bacon, and some slightly smokey, but not fishy smoked tuna....this trucks version of the usual smoked "marlyn". This was quite good as the crunchy bacon, complemented the shrimp and smoked tuna, which wasn't overly salty. The avocado and squeeze of lime, along with the standard seafood salsa just worked together in harmony. The tortilla; though quite standard held together well with the light coating of melted cheese protecting the integrity of the taco.

I was pleasantly surprised. I also bought two extra tacos for the guys in the office to taste. They all enjoyed them.

In fact, the following week, I returned with Calvin and also ordered some tacos for JeffP to try.

It was right before 11 when we arrived and there were already people there.

I got a bit greedy and ordered tres tacos for me this time.

The best of the bunch was the Machin; shrimp, octopus, and smoked tuna....though it wasn't quite as good as the Costa Azul. The pulpo al ajillo was the weakest of the bunch....not much octopus; what it contained was tender, but quite bland. The camarones al ajillo was decent; the shrimp again decently prepped and cooked, though I expected a bit more of a garlic "punch". The tortillas were left on the griddle too long this time around....though while the crunch was nice; it just tore to pieces when biting into them.

Still, this was better than many other trucks I've eaten at over the years.

Like I mentioned; I really like the woman who works the window here. No nonsense, but also quite nice. It's not a bad choice for lunch in the area....though like I mentioned; you might want to give yourself some time for the folks to prep your food. You can use the time tasting the consommé.

Notice the "Mariscos Rolex" tag on the truck.

Mariscos On Miramar Truck
6904 Miramar Rd - in the back parking lot
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours
Mon - Fri  1030am - 8pm
Saturday   11am - 6pm
Closed on Sundays

Thanks for the recommendation Michael! I owe you some tacos!

Sunday Sandwiches - Revisits to SuperNatural Sandwiches and Embargo Grill

A couple of sandwiches for a humid Sunday.

Supernatural Sandwiches:

My buddy JasonV asked me if I'd ever been to this sandwich place.....he told me it was "awesome" and showed me a photo of Supernatural. I cracked up and said I'd been a customer since they had a stand at the now defunct San Diego Public Market. And I did tell him that they do make some good sandwiches. A few days later; Deanna told me she had gone to Supernatural Sandwiches after work and loved it. I'd taken her there a few years back. So I got the hint; it had been nearly six months since my last visit.

Needless to say; the place was doing some major business when I arrived. Love the folks who work here; they always have a smile for me.

I went with my usual; the Siren....I realize I need to start ordering other stuff on the menu. But the folks here have this totally down.

From the lightly garlicky-spicy mayo; to the moist and plump shrimp, to go with the buttery-slightly sweet brioche. I'm thinking that it could use a bit more acidity to cut the richness; but that would be splitting hairs.

It's one of my "guilty pleasure" sandwiches.

It's also nice to see a place that's doing so well expanding. With locations now in Santa Ana and Tijuana, and two other locations in PB (they are going to make a killing) and Little Italy opening soon, it's going to be a "SuperNatural Kingdom". Good for them!

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd. #122
San Diego, CA 92121

Embargo Grill:

Speaking of guilty pleasure sandwiches.....

I was over in Point Loma a few weekends ago and was a bit hungry.  It was a bit too hot for other options so I decided to stop by Embargo Grill. It had been nearly two years since my last visit.

I went with basically the same thing as on previous visits.

The Yuca Frita; which was disappointing.

This was too dense, dry, almost hard, and not crisp enough for me. It was also still barely lukewarm in the center. The mojo was very nice though. Garicky with nice citrus tones; not sour, but with a nice acidity.

The Medianoche the "midnight sandwich" was very good.

From the nicely pressed, crunchy, yet light bread, to the moist and tasty pulled pork, to the milky cheese, the ham, and yes, the all important pickle, which cuts through all that high-caloric goodness. This place also seems to have sandwich down.

I could only finish half the sandwich. I took half home and the Missus polished it off in no time flat. I guess She liked it......even cold.....midnight or not.

Embargo Grill
3960 W Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Anthony's Fish Grotto (La Mesa) -revisits

Thank you for stopping by to read this food blog, mmm-yoso!!! Kirk is still very busy with work and Cathy is writing another post.

The Mister and I have had a vacationing relative with us for a few months and we've enjoyed showing her around.  She's not very food-adventurous, but does enjoy simple meals.  I showed her my first,  second, third and fourth Anthony's posts and she wanted to try lunch here. We've now been here twice. 

 There's a tall sign you can see from the interstate, but the parking lot dips down to the magnificent entrance of Anthony's. 
 Walking to the front door, you sort of feel as though you are under water.
Once seated inside, the feeling remains. 

 There's a small Fish Market area to the left of the entrance door, where you can pick up items to take home and cook, or even order "To Go" from the menu.  It's open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. 

 There's also outdoor seating along the man-made lake (dogs are welcome).


 We ordered from the lunch menu (bottom of this post) and soft, warm roll and garlic butter was brought out.  These are wonderful. 
The simple Quick Catch Fish and Chips ($12.50) was quite large and  perfectly fried, fresh and tasty. 
The Quick Catch Shrimp and Fish (with slaw) ($12.75) was just as perfectly fried; the fish and the shrimp were large, meaty pieces. The dressing is on top of the slaw and you can mix it in or not.
  The Wedge Salad with Bay Shrimp ($11.95)  was surprisingly large and the Bay shrimp were quite meaty.  The Louis dressing brought all the flavors (there were hard boiled eggs, chopped tomatoes, avocado and bread crumb 'croutons') together. 
 The Cobb Salad ($15.25) was (of course) seafood based: Bay Shrimp, albacore and salmon were the proteins on this.  The usual 'Cobb" ingredients (tomatoes, carrots (multi colored), cheddar, bacon and avocado) were present and the choice of Blue cheese dressing (made in house) was just excellent.  We did enjoy the flavors. 
 The chilled Tuna Salad sandwich ($10.25), served on a large (soft) French Country roll with lettuce and tomato.  The tuna salad is made with albacore and is mildly flavored and unique. It ended up being disassembled after the first half was consumed; a bit large in the bread department. 
The Quick Catch Chowder Combo ($10.95) was a wonderful surprise.  I wanted the famous clam chowder (of course)(and it was great; creamy, clam filled with diced potatoes). There was a choice of a chilled tuna salad sandwich or a petite tuna salad.  Since we had ordered the sandwich, I chose the salad.  It was just that- a salad: lettuce tomatoes, carrots, cabbage and a lot of shredded fresh albacore tuna.  This was probably my favorite 'Soup and Salad' combo I've had all year.  

Another few great, memorable meals. 

Anthony's Fish Grotto 9530 Murray Drive La Mesa, CA 91942 (619)463-0368  Website Sun-Thurs 11:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

 

Seward - Seward Brewing Company and Dinner at The Cookery

We loved the town of Seward. Tucked in the Kenai Peninsula; this town of about 3,000 had character and charm. Instead of staying at one of the hotels near the boat harbor; we decided to stay at a B&B in the historic downtown area. And driving down Ballaine Boulevard to the B&B indicated I'd made the right decision.

This was the view across the street from our unit.

When we checked-in we found that there were some severe storms at sea and our whole day wildlife tour was cancelled. After travelling for a while you understand that no one controls Mother Nature and you have to go with the flow. We were given some Resurrection Bay alternatives. Major Marine was given as the company to use. We decided to wait until the next morning to book our tour. And headed off to explore Seward.

We were steps from the Alaska Sealife Center, but our schedule didn't allow us time to visit. Though there were some musicians and this really interesting vendor there as we walked past.

Now there must be a story here...….

Downtown Seward had the feel of a touristy-kitschy-artsy-"wild frontier" kind of vibe. It is also "framed" by some wonderful views.

Things were quite mellow when we arrived. We were told that the first cruise ship of the season had just left, so things were quiet until the next one came in.

It was still too early to head to the spot I wanted for dinner, so we wandered around a bit.

It was a bit too early for our dinner destination; so we decided to grab a drink at the Seward Brewing Company.

We enjoyed the vibe of the bar area. The Missus had a white while I had a red ale. Folks here just start talking to you...….

Our bartender was from...….San Diego! Encinitas if I recall. She was here for the summer, working, like many folks we ran into, several jobs during the busy season. Her other job? Well, working at Major Marine. Go figure......

We really enjoyed the Seward Brewing Company and returned the following evening.

Seward Brewing Company
139 4th Ave
Seward, AK 99664

Our dinner reservations was at a place called The Cookery. I'd looked over their menu online, and the small plates seemed like just the thing we'd enjoy.

First off, this place gets really busy, really fast. The crew is quite nice, though they seemed a bit harried. We enjoyed the menu....perhaps a bit hipster, but quite interesting and perfect for folks who don't want to stuff their face.

The Amuse was a ceviche of sorts.

This was quite nice. A good acidity; meaty fish......

I love my oysters so we started with a half dozen.

The Halibut Cove were really briny reminding me of Atlantic/French oysters. The Jakalof Bay oysters were still a bit too briny for my taste, but had an interesting, almost sweet finish. It had been too long since I'd had good oysters, so I really enjoyed these.

The fish of the day was Halibut Cheeks...….how could we not order this?

I actually enjoyed what the light curry sauce and the mango added to the dish. The Halibut Cheeks would have been amazing, except it was over-cooked, therefore losing that rich fattiness that would take this to the "delici-yoso" level.

The Roasted Brussel Sprouts had been cooked well, as in not mushy, still crunchy.

The Missus, who loves Brussel Sprouts simply said; "not savory enough and not enough flavor" in Her assessment.

The "Wild & Tame Mushroom Toast" was a nice dish; nice earthiness, but a bit too sweet for our palate.

I told the Missus to order dessert......but knowing how much I missed oysters...….

We enjoyed our meal at the Cookery. In fact, if hey had not been closed on the following evening, we'd have eaten there.

As is; this was the second best meal we had during our trip to Alaska.

The Cookery
209 5th Ave
Seward, AK 99664

Hours
Tues - Sun 5pm - 10pm