Dishin': A First Look at Blueacre's Seafood
Wednesday, we got a sneak peek at Blueacre Seafood, Kevin Davis' new restaurant in the Oceanaire space where he once worked. We dug the chance to sit in one of the marlin skin-like booths close to the opened-up kitchen, taking in some of the sights, smells, and sounds of the action.
Despite the name, landlubbers will find a good number of choices, from a lamb shank to a muffaletta to a sprinking of "vegetré" (okay, will someone enlighten us about that word?) options, including a farro burger. There's even a Terresa salad, named after Davis' business partner and life partner, who's working hard while carrying a couple of potential future partners in utero.
But our focus was fish - and other seafood. Davis' food remains solid, with sometimes bold flourishes and far-away influences. A perky aji amarillo perked up the geoduck tiradito ($12.95), with corn-nutty goodness adding extra-textural sensation. We went from the south to southeast (and east) Asia as kasu-marinated king salmon collars ($10.95) came with a ginger nage and green papaya salad.
Davis loves his whole fish (this night both choices were from Idaho streams, as Davis wants to serve only American seafood), and we struggled before choosing the rainbow trout ($19.95) over the crispy catfish ($16.95). The trout was perfectly cooked, though we wanted a little more of the fire-roasted piperade and cured olives to eat with both the fish and the accompanying bruschetta.
But we were most excited about the seared Alaska weathervane scallops ($28.95 for an 8-oz portion). Simply seared, they retained their natural sweetness, served with some melt-in-your-mouth (okay, some chewing involved) oxtail and smoked cauliflower puree. We noticed that Seattlest Ronald was in the room, and he also gave his thumbs-up to the scallops. This dish brought back memories of a Boston-area scallop and oxtail risotto plate that we'd like to see replicated here in Seattle.
We really wanted to try the crispy razor clams, which were sold out by 6:15 (really?), and the kitchen was reconfiguring the promising "charcuterie of the sea" platter. Bumps in the road, not unexpected at a preview dinner. We'll be back, and will look forward to reports from others as Blueacre opens today. (And note that Steelhead Diner remains open, with Anthony Polizzi competently at command in that kitchen.)
