Best Seafood in Seattle

Fresh Seafood Seattle Style

Seafood Specialist — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:03:47 +0000

When it comes to fresh seafood, Seattle has plenty to offer. Situated along the Pacific coast, our Seattle seafood restaurant has access to salmon, crab, clams and other popular seafood caught fresh daily. What can’t be found in the waters around Washington and British Columbia has only a short trip here from the cold, pure waters of nearby Alaska.

Pacific salmon is far and away the favorite among all the fresh seafood Seattle provides. What many visitors to Northwest and even quite a few Seattlites don’t realize, though, is that our shore side location is great for other fish like halibut, cod, and rockfish.

Of course, fish isn’t the only fresh seafood Seattle offers. Crab is almost as popular on menus around the Northwest. From the prized King crab to the often underestimated Snow crab, we offer a wide selection of succulent crab dishes like Savory Baked Crab Cakes with mustard and green onions, Creamy Crab Bisque, and refreshing Crab and Broccoli Salad spiced up with diced bell peppers.

Another type of fresh seafood Seattle boasts is the local clams. Frankly, we think they taste best lightly steamed and dipped in melted butter, but we serve them up baked and fried, too. A hot bowl of chowder is another great way to enjoy local Washington clams, especially on one of those chilly grey days Seattle tends to get plenty of.

It’s important to realize, however, that even here in the Pacific Northwest not all varieties of seafood are available fresh year round. Salmon, for instance, is caught from May to September, so that’s when it’s at its freshest.

Our menus are based on seafood that’s in season and when we say “fresh” we mean just that. While the quality of any frozen seafood we may use during the off season is of excellent quality, it cannot rightfully be called “fresh seafood.” Seattle restaurants that value quality and respect their customers won’t try to fool you into believing it is.

No matter what time of year you visit, though, we’ll always have something fresh to serve up. Whether it’s a light salmon salad on a warm summer evening or a steaming bowl of King crab bisque on a rainy January morning, you’ll find something at our place that hits the spot. So if you’re hungry for seafood, make your reservations to try some of our “fresh seafood Seattle-style” right now.

Seafood as date food?

Seafood Specialist — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:36:01 +0000

So you’ve got a hot date coming up and you’re looking for the perfect place to go for a nice, romantic meal for two. You asked you sweetie for ideas and they said “surprise me!” Great. No pressure there.

You love seafood, you saw your honey eating sushi at least once, so you’re thinking, hey, why not a seafood place? But if you’re still having doubts (Is it romantic enough? Is it too messy?), we have a few ideas for you.

We’ll make the obvious suggestion first here: oysters are aphrodisiacs. At least, they’ve had that reputation since Roman times and we’d rather not mess with tradition. The oyster’s love-potion properties are thought to come partly from its high iodine content. Even better, it’s not just oysters that provide a good dose of iodine, but many other seafoods like mussels and sushi wraps, too.

Another plus is that seafood is healthy. If your date’s health- or weight-conscious (and who isn’t these days?), there are few cuisines that compare in variety, taste, and diet-friendliness.

Salmon, for instance, is low saturated fat, but high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. If you’re concerned about the heavy metal content in some wild salmon or PCBs in farmed salmon, rest assured that at Sample Restaurant we source our salmon from the pure, uncontaminated waters off the Alaska coast. It’s literally some of the healthiest fish in the world.

Oh and by the way, that goes for the Pacific oysters we serve up, too. While the American and Eastern varieties are known to contain high levels of lead, the Pacific variety remains healthy.

Another thing that makes a seafood restaurant a great date destination is the versatility of seafood itself. Our menu offers just about any type of dish you might be in the mood for. Want something lighter for hot summer evening? Try our shrimp salad with cool avocado and fresh roma tomatoes. Hungry for a hearty meal? Order up a thick salmon steaks marinated in our special warm-your-gills mustard sauce or a steaming bowl of clam chowder flavored with garlic and potatoes.

Now for the downside: we serve lobster. It’s expensive and it’s messy. It’s also incredibly good and we can almost guarantee you’ll make an unforgettable impression on your date when you indulge them in our grilled lobster tails with herbed butter sauce as you watch the sun set from one of our tables overlooking Elliot Bay.

For reservations, fill out our online reservations form or call us at 206-1234.

Just Launched! Best Seafood in Seattle Newsletter.

Seafood Specialist — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:30:21 +0000

Want to stay in contact with your guests so you can remind them to keep coming back week after week? We can set up sign up page and mailing list for you. If you want, we’ll be happy to manage the whole thing and even write weekly newsletters for you, too. Visit best seafood in Seattle. As one food critic told us, “I dined out nearly every day this year and have yet to find seafood in Seattle that I didn’t like. It makes being a ‘critic’ very difficult!” (Talk about a tough job!) Certainly you’ll find the occasional ‘off’ day in any restaurant, but Seattle’s seafood is one of the main reasons visitors and locals alike, keep coming back for more.

Seattle has long had a robust commercial industry; one that is vital for Seattle’s economy and an important part of its heritage. Surrounded by chilly waters of the nearby Pacific Ocean, markets and restaurants are able to purchase the freshest and highest quality seafood directly from fishing boats at the local docks. If you’re a local and prefer to eat at home, the best seafood in Seattle can be found right at the Port of Seattle.

Seattle is well known for their Wild Northwest Salmon, including Chinook, (King) Sockeye, (Red) and Coho. (Silver) Whether you enjoy a gourmet culinary Salmon experience, prepared by one of Seattle’s well known, creative, chefs or cooking it on a cedar plank on your grill at home, fresh Salmon in Seattle is to die for. Alaskan Halibut, Tilapia, Cod, Snapper, Sole, Rockfish, Marlin, Swordfish, Yellowfin Ahi Tuna, Catfish, Trout, Sea Bass and Buffalo fish are also popular local catches and clearly contribute to the wide array of menu choices, putting Seattle of the map for their seafood.

Some claim they’re not really ‘fish’ people. While you will find a number of fine steakhouses in the Seattle area, we would like to guide you to another option that we believe will leave you begging for more. We certainly take pride in our region for its high quality fish, but we have to admit that our Northwest shellfish is like no other. Seattle is one of the largest oyster producing regions in the world, harvesting all four types and more than 60 varieties of oysters. Shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops and Dungeness Crabs are all found in abundance, as well.

In our search for the best seafood in Seattle, we conclude that freshness is the most important key element in any seafood dish. Seattle is fortunate to have many, many markets that provide fresh ingredients for our seafood creations. Whether your seafood’s grilled, fried, broiled, served with a sauce, surrounded by puff pastry or in a pasta dish, in Seattle, it’s all good.

Seattle also has one of the largest and most diverse Southeast Asian populations in the United States and Asian culinary traditions are carried through in many seafood dishes here. Using the many spices, herbs and ingredients native to Asian cuisine such as curry, cilantro, cocnut milk, wasabi, noodles and rice, the Asian Fusion seafood scene is booming. And of course, there is sushi. Where better to expect the freshest sushi around but in Seattle.

So where does one find the best seafood in Seattle? We have a pretty good feeling you’ll find it right here at Sample Restaurant, but we’ll let you be the judge of that. Become your own food critic and begin your search right here on our menu. You won’t be sorry, but you may find it difficult to criticize!