Manzanita Seafood and Chowder House

When Katie was off work on Saturday, she was good enough to take me on the long, winding road out to the coast so I could see the ocean, and soak up some sun. And see some surfers.



We arrived in what she calls "the Four-Door Sports Car," her well-used vehicle that has an exhaust leak too costly to bother fixing. It gives a satisfying roar as you cruise along, getting a lot of surprised looks from the hippies -- but hey -- it still passes the emissions tests. Katie has done some surfing herself, and she knew just where to stop the car to follow a beautiful trail that led out to the beach. To me, it was like a fairy tale.



The beach itself was magnificent! Perfect, warm weather (but not too hot), and the soft, smooth sand was like walking around in your own living room. If it was wetter on your toes.



After strolling up and down the beach a bit, we decided to move on up the road. Twiddling your toes in the sand can make you really hungry. That's a bit of a joke... But seriously folks, any contact with water makes me ravenous. Always has. It doesn't matter if I've been strenuously swimming or skiing in the waves, or if I just got out of the bath for a soak. (Cue Seinfeld: "What... Is the deal... With THAT?")

We pulled off the road just about ten minutes later in the little town of Manzanita. Katie said, "Let's eat somewhere by the water," but as soon as we passed the Manzanita Seafood and Chowder House, I knew I wanted to park and give it a shot. You gotta have seafood on the coast!



As soon as we went in, I thought of an adaptation of the Visa commercial: "But if you're going to this little coastal restaurant in the town of Manzanita, bring your appetite. And bring your CASH, because they don't take American Express. They don't take Visa, either!" Luckily, there was an ATM across the street. I was back in a flash.



All of the seafood looked good. I felt that I should get crab, at first, but none of the offerings were really calling out to me. Katie wanted fried fish, and I decided to join her. Why not see if it was better along the coast, eh? Truth be told, that's what I really wanted anyway. I got the cod (I was hoping it would be a Pacific cod, and therefore would be really fresh), and Katie got the halibut. Excellent.

My first shock came as I ordered, of course, an iced tea and took it back to the table to drink it. It was the foulest liquid I have ever had the misfortune to drink. Either something had gone wrong with the batch (very, very wrong), or these people just don't know how to make iced tea. I usually say you can judge a place by their iced tea, and so this did not bode well at all. In addition, because I always save a few calories by not getting the fries, I had ordered the lightly dressed pasta salad, and they were all out. I ended up with a double order of cole slaw. Lastly, there was no malt vinegar on the tables, and someone had to get a few bottles from the back. That's no problem, but I think it shows a bit of carelessness. Needless, bro, I was not stoked.

My misgivings were pushed aside, however, when my meal arrived. What a beautiful platter of fried fish, alongside a mountain of cole slaw. It truly was the best fried cod I have ever had. The fish had such a firm texture, I really want to compare it to the food that one is never to compare food to (like chicken, there, I spelled it out). It had NO fish taste at all, just clean and lovely.



Katie was equally pleased with her halibut. I gave her my tartar sauce, and soaked mine in malt vinegar.



We then scooted out to the beach, where Katie lay down to sunbathe, and I braved the excruciating cold on my feet to gawk more in the surf (the day was warm, the water was not). I've been in the ocean on either coast several times, but this one was crazy cold. Katie said the warning was generally that hypothermia sets in after about 30 seconds. I'm surprised it was that long.

After lying about in the sun for awhile (and yes, I always wear a strong sunscreen), we drove back, showered (no Chris, not together) and went out for... what else? More eating! And for that, I'll see you next time.

Sushi is Better Fried

Two more posts about Cali... Whoops, three. And then it's back to my own cooking! I'm having problems with the internet connection, but Lord willing and the waters don't rise, I'll post them all today.

We went out for sushi at a place near Dave called Miyako (you can even view the whole menu online at this site. Will revisit this page later...) It was really delicious. This post features more of Dave's camera phone photos. I gots ta git me one of those.

We started off with an appetizer of tempura-fried jalepe?os with cream cheese and tuna in them. They had a delicious, creamy and spicy sauce on top. I could have eaten an order by myself.



I'm not crazy about sashimi, but I do love the photos of it. I'm always tempted by the new craft stuff online in the shape of it -- jewelry and pillows and stuff -- although I don't really eat it.



The sushi rolls we got are lined up in the photo in the order I liked them best (just by coincidence -- even my OCD knows certain limits.)



The first was either the Aloha or the Caterpillar roll... It had mango around the outside, which may have been pickled or treated in some way, because it wasn't as juicy or as citrus-y as we would have liked. The middle was the Philadelphia roll, with smoked salmon and Philly cream cheese, and it was very good. The Tempura Shrimp rolls on the right were my fave, because how can you beat anything fried? The sauce on it was also delicious.

It was a great meal, and we all left feeling full for not too much money... But not bursting at the seams. Mmmm, sushi. Meat without the regret!

I am Siam

A place Chris and I like to go for some quick Thai takeout is "I am Siam" on Dundee road in Wheeling. Here's a link to the Citysearch listing, under which I believe I am the sole reviewer...) The dining room isn't very tidy, but the food is very consistent. We love the way that they package the takeout so carefully to keep the texture of everything just right by the time you get it home. They separate the breaded shrimp, the egg, the cucumber salad (which I could eat a pound of, then drink up all the dressing with a straw), etc. Good stuff, Maynard.

Shrimp Caesar Salad

Okay, I have a confession to make... I had never actually purchased uncooked shrimp before. I always got cooked, or cooked and frozen. But in the interest of upping the quality of my cuisine, I knew I had to stop being so lazy. Sometimes at least. Especially since the fresh takes about two minutes to cook. I still plan on getting frozen sometimes -- but maybe I'll be frozen uncooked shrimp. Do they make those? I cleaned these under water, and left the tails on.

Anyway, I used Alton Brown's "No Guilt Caesar" dressing recipe... It got such rave reviews on FoodTV.com that I just had to give it a shot. It's made with tofu, and no raw eggs. I thought it was really good!! It made so much, that two days later I served it at a little dinner party, and everyone seemed to dig it. My pregnant friend, Lindsay could indulge and not worry about the eggy-weggs. I used firm tofu, cuz that's what I had -- and I added a little milk to thin it to the consistency I wanted. I also added anchovies (which pregnant women can have, as long as they are the tinned kind). Anyway, Alton claims that anchovies have no place in real caesar dressing, but I can't imagine it without. Call me trashy.

I marinated the shrimp briefly in lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and Nonno's seasoning. Chris' grandfather makes this with fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, garlic and red pepper flakes) and a mezza luna, and then freezes it for us. I grilled them on my handy-dandy grill pan.

I covered the salad with parmesan cheese, and added more fresh lemon juice. It was fantastic!