Seattle Edition!

So I just got back from an amazing week in Seattle, and one of the reasons this trip was so awesome, was the food. I ate at two of Tom Douglas's five restaurants, and loved both of them! We'll go in order here...

Night one: Etta's Seafood-What a great way to start the trip! Etta's was fantastic! I had forgotten how seafood restaurants are always bringing you plain bread and butter at the beginning of your meal. This tradition carried on every night. Aside from the boring bread, the rest of the food was amazing! Being a Tom Douglas restaurant, I had to try the crabcakes. I was not disappointed! Douglas is famous for his crabcakes...and for good reason. They are hands down, without a

doubt, the absolute best crabcakes I have ever had in my life. Perfectly crispy on the outside, yet still creamy on the inside with a tomatillo and lime cocktail sauce...I can't think of one negative thing to say about them. And that was just the appetizer! For dinner I had the shellfish cioppino. For those of you who don't know what ciopinno is, it's like a seafood stew. You basically start with the makings for vegetable soup but then you add in shrimp and clams and mussels and lobster! It was fantastic! For dessert, I had the coconut creme pie. Again, this world famous recipe did not disappoint. I'm not huge on pies, but I love coconut, and this was full of it. My dad would have been in heaven (he, too, loves coconut). Overall, Etta's was wonderful and get's a 9.7/10.

Night two: Flying Fish-What should have been a great evening full of delicious food and fun, was almost completely ruined by the lack of service at Flying Fish. I usually try to leave the service aspect out of a "food" blog, but there's no getting around it in this situation. When we walked in the door, the hostess acted like there was a problem with our reservation (which there couldn't have been, I reserved a table online and got a confirmation email from the restaurant). We were seated pretty quickly though, and our server came by to take our drink order. Immediately I didn't like her. She wasn't very friendly, and she acted like she had no time for us (and this was just her first visit to our table)! She brought our drinks promptly, gave us suggestions for dinner and took our order, and then she was practically never to be seen again. We got two appetizers, gulf shrimp and clams. The clams were fantastic, but I was a little disappointed with the shrimp. The shrimp were spicy (which I like), but overly so. The spice was definitely overpowering...I could hardly taste the shrimp. That, however, is my only gripe about the food. We ordered the halibut entree and split it, and it was very good. However, the entire time we sat at our table, we felt excluded. I've never been in a restaurant and physically felt like I wasn't welcome, but that's exactly how I felt at Flying Fish. We watched the manager bring food to four different tables around us, but she never so much as glanced in our direction. Other tables had their dishes cleared the instant they were done eating, but we were walked past countless times. Our server was not busy; however, she made herself busy with another table, constantly refilling their water, bringing them bread, pouring their wine. They must have been very important, because she was very concerned with them. I tipped lower than I ever have at Flying Fish. I'm usually a solid 20% tipper, but here, I didn't even want to shell out the 10% that I left. I hope to move to Seattle some day, but I will never go back to Flying Fish, and I'll tell everyone I know not to go, too. Flying Fish=5/10

Night 3: Enter Dahlia Lounge! Thank you Tom Douglas for having amazing restaurants! I loved everything about this place for the second I walked in the door. The atmosphere is great; the

walls are red and there's a distinct Asian feel. Paper lanterns hang from the ceiling, but it doesn't look cheesy. Our server was very polite and helpful (a relief after the previous night's events at Flying Fish). We ordered the shrimp and scallion potstickers, and they were fantastic! The real standout of the night though, was the Washington beef strip that we ordered. We also got the salmon special that day, and I was very good. However, after all the seafood we'd been eating all week, the steak was a welcome change. I'm a sucker for a good steak, and this was no exception. Everything about it was amazing. It was perfectly cooked (medium), and everything else on the plate complemented it. That's what I love about Tom Douglas, nothing is an afterthought. Everything on that plate is important, and it is meant to be eaten together. For dessert we shared the creme caramel and we decided it was the perfect combination of creme brulee, cheesecake, and flan. Overall, Dahlia Lounge gets a 10/10!

La Costa

I'm not sure if words can accurately describe the experience that is La Costa, but I'll try. I went yesterday evening with my friend Ana, and while we only had appetizers, that was enough for me! La Costa is a moderate-expensively priced restaurant in Market Square. It's Spanish theme is evident in not only its menu but its extensive wine list. The exposed brick walls give it a very rustic, yet modern feel. Friendly staff, too.

For "dinner" we ordered the duck quesadillas, fish tacos, and queso with spinach dip. Fantastic! I had the fish tacos, and they were all that fish tacos should be with dressed cabbage, pico de gallo, and spicy crema to boot! Tilapia is a great choice for fish tacos, and it was fried ever so lightly in cornmeal...amazing! Ana had the duck quesadillas, and I must say, I've never had anything quite like it, but I certainly will again. Smoked duck breast with carmelized onion, dried apricot and manchego is quite the perfect combination. I will never go to La Costa again without ordering these, and you shouldn't either. Ana and I also split some queso blanco mixed with spinach that was finished with fried artichokes (mmmm!) and seasoned tortilla chips. It was very, very good.

Overall, I don't have one negative thing to say about La Costa. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that we ate during happy hour, so our meals were half price (since they were appetizers)!! Not the duck quesadillas though, you'll pay the full $10 for them, as well you should! Food like that is never going to be discounted, and we're lucky that it's only $10 because it tastes like $50! La Costa gets a 10/10!

Sunspot

This past Thursday I was treated to an awesome meal at Sunspot. I must say, if every belated birthday gift turned out like this, I wouldn't mind a bit that my birthday was two months ago! Anyway, on to the food!

We ordered the sundried tomato and roasted garlic hummus appetizer. I was not disappointed. You couldn't ask for a bigger portion size (which was great because I took it home, and I'm still eating it)! Topped with fresh cucumbers and diced tomatoes and served with delicious pita bread, this hummus is fantastic! I should mention that you get fresh chips and salsa verde when you're seated (and it's really good), so an appetizer isn't really necessary, but if you like hummus, you won't be disappointed.

For my meal I ordered the fish tacos. Let me just say that I love trying fish tacos, and that if you can make a good fish taco, you've got a friend in me. Sunspot definitely delivered. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the fish was halibut (fish tacos aren't on the online menu, so I can't be sure), if not, it was tilapia. We're going to go with halibut though! Either way, it was perfectly cooked! It was a spicy grilled fish that would have been fantastic by itself. There was also fresh crema, avocado, and red onion in the soft flour tortillas, and two were more than I could eat! It was served with yellow rice and black beans that were very flavorful. I hate when restaurants forget about the side dishes and you end up with bland rice and beans. Sunspot gave them the attention they deserved though! My friend ordered the pollo loco chicken wrap, and while I didn't try any of it, it looked good, and I think she was pleased. Whether you agree or not, it's true that we eat with our eyes first and then with our mouths, and Sunspot remembered that.

For dessert we were a little adventurous and ordered the spiced chocolate cake. The only way I can describe it is interesting. Our server told us it was spiced with chili powder, and upon eating it, she was definitely right! I've often heard of chefs pairing chocolate with peppery spices, but I've never tried it before. Well, now I can say that I have, and that's all I can say. Perhaps my taste buds are not quite developed enough to enjoy it. Regardless, next time I order dessert it will be the cheesecake or the mango mousse.

Overall, Sunspot receives an 8.75/10. Reasonably prices, great atmosphere, and good food. Perfect for hanging out with your friends! A must for Knoxville's younger crowd!

By the Tracks Bistro

My first experience at By the Tracks can only be described as blissful. It was the last in a long list of birthday restaurants, but it was by far my favorite. Being 22, I can't say that I found the atmosphere appealing. It's definitely for your middle-older aged patrons, but it was still very nice. Our waiter was very friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. Definitely an A+ for service! Our group ordered the calamari for starters. (I've found that that tends to be our appetizer of choice and if a restaurant has good calamari, I usually like the rest of the menu, too). It was perfectly cooked, and the smoked tomato sweet and sour sauce was superb! It's absolutely a must if you're ever there.

We all ordered different entrees (which I enjoy because you get to try more dishes that way)! For my main course I ordered the Truffled Scallops. I'm no exaggerating when I say they were the best scallops I have ever tasted. They were perfectly cooked with a great sear on the outside and that amazing texture that can't really be explained unless you've had properly cooked scallops. As if I wasn't happy enough with my perfect scallops, the dish was served with creamed corn, sauteed carrots, sauteed spinach, and pickled red onion. Let's review in ascending order...shall we? Pickled red onion: different. I've never had it before, and it was not what I expected, still good though. Creamed corn: definitely a step above your mom's...still nothing spectacular. Sauteed carrots: fantastic! Who knew carrots could taste so good?!? Cooked carrots are not my favorite thing, but these were awesome. Sauteed spinach: my favorite thing on the plate besides the scallops. I love spinach anyway, but it does have a tendency to be a little boring when cooked and not seasoned properly. This was not the case at By the Tracks. If you like scallops, I'd absolutely advise ordering this!

The other main courses I got to try were the Fried Green Tomato plate and their special that day, seared Ahi Tuna, both of which were excellent. Fried green tomatoes have never been my favorite food, but these were definitely good. The tuna was amazing, perfectly cooked, and very flavorful.

Overall, By the Tracks gets a 9/10. If you have the money and want a great, gourmet meal...look no further than 5200 Kingston Pike.

Abuelo's

For my 22nd birthday, my friends took me to Abuelo's for dinner. I just have one word to describe it: fantastic! I don't remember the salsa being anything special, but everything else was top notch. Besides having an awesome menu, they had a pretty extensive drink list. I ordered the Tropical Rum Punch and was pleased. It was made with Sailor Jerry's spiced rum, which I prefer over Captain Morgan, so they were already earning points! It was a great balance of fruit juices to alcohol that a mild or moderate drinker would enjoy. Great for the girls!

Now on to the food! For dinner I ordered the Tilapia Veracruz. The fish was perfectly cooked, as were the accompanying shrimp and scallops. Being the scallop lover that I am, I would have preferred more than two-three baby scallops on the plate, but it was still great food. Served with rice and beans, it was overall a wonderful dish. However, the real star of the night was my friend Ana's food. She ordered the Enchiladas de Cozumel. Nothing like enchiladas, these were guacamole filled crepes topped with shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, spinach, and peppers in a white wine sauce. A-Mazing! Absolutely amazing. You might think it would be too much guacamole, but with everything else on the plate, it was the perfect balance. I will be ordering these for myself next time I visit Abuelo's, and I'd recommend the same for other guacamole lovers.

Let's not forget dessert! Since it was my birthday, we got free flan! I've never been crazy about flan, and since it was free I didn't have high hopes. I was pleasantly surprised though! This was probably the best flan I've ever had! It was traditional Mexican flan, and it was perfect. Even the Mexican at the table agreed it was awesome! ;-)

Overall, Abuelo's gets a 9/10. Great food, great atmosphere, great service! We had a party of seven, and our server was still quick and friendly. If you get the chance, go to Abuelo's!