Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Whiskey Creek Steakhouse, Keyport Washington

Why:
So, we'd tried it before, and it was so bad, that we it was unlikely we would ever go back.  It was "the blue hair club" dining experience.  While the live music was was entertaining, it wasn't for us.  The food was awful, and the decore was more dead then the food.

We saw "Kitchen Impossible," (KI) and thought the changes were in the right direction.  This is our first experience visiting a Kitchen Impossible fix.

She Said:
Sooooo confusing when you walk in. Apparently, I went in the "wrong" door (it was the closest to where we parked) and landed in the bar. Hmmm, could be kismet, but I digress.

Once I found the hostess stand (and I use the term loosely, since it was a table on a post, by the kitchen door) and the hostess (several staff just stared at me in my confusion, clearly willing me to the right spot. Non-verbal communication never my strong suit, I no doubt looked like I was doing the hokey-pokey as I turned myself around) we settled into the bar for a pre-flight cocktail. Highly recommend the key lime martini. A tad sweet, but fun.

I was surprised they wouldn't transfer the check to our table. Had to cash out at the bar. Makes me think the staff doesn't play nice with tipping out.

He Said:
Called ahead for a reservation, but all the reservations were full for the night.  However we were told to just come on in, the wait shouldn't be bad.  I found this lovely lady waiting at the bar, she looked she might be interested in a date.  I asked the bartender what was on special or what she recommended.  After a bit, she mentioned the Key Lime martini.   It was really frothy, not quite what I was expecting but still very good.  I recommend it.

Our wait was very short, about 10 min.  The bar was not crowded.  We did have the option of having our meal at the bar, again not our style.  After closing out our bar bill (annoying), we walked the 10 feet to our table.

Atmosphere (decor):

He Said:
Gone are the dead animals and the live band - YEA!.  However there were still some strange items around - some colored stick trees with yarn wrapped on them?  Lighting is good, and overall the new decor is very pleasing.   The sliced log wall, show on kitchen impossible is very nice.


She Said:

Appetizer:
We had the calamari and seafood chowder.

She Said:
Calamari was greasy. REALLY greasy. There was a puddle in the bottom of the bowl. Sauce was nice, but we didn't finish it. Did I say it was greasy?

Seafood chowder, YUM! I could have made love in this soup.

He Said:
Calamari was good,  a tad greasy, but not inedible I thought a bit under salted therefore slightly bland.  Seafood chowder was good.  Slightly odd flavor seasoning.  Good, but a little over salted.  The fish was lost in the salting and seasoning.

Entree:
She had the Rib-eye.  I enjoyed the Salmon

She said:
I had the rib-eye. Ordered medium, was medium well. I didn't send it back, so I'll take the blame on that. Taste was OK, but nothing I couldn't have done at home.  Mashed potatoes has a weird pastiness to them. Couldn't place what it was, but it wasn't good. Green beans were perfect. I could have made love in those beans.

My beloved had the Salmon. We have always fundamentally disagreed on the proper way to cook Salmon. I say anything over medium is a abomination. He likes it well done.

I think he's wrong. Because of this fundamental difference, I will abstain from comment.

He Said:
Woman have no unexpressed thoughts!  I'm sure she is having a few right now.  The Salmon was WONDERFUL.  Great flavors and beautifully cooked.  It's a steak and seafood place, not a sushi bar.
I agree on the green beans, just lightly cooked on olive oil.  YUMMY!  The wine selection is good, and was easy to find a match with the food.  I sampled her steak.  I found it well seasoned and very tasty.

Dessert:
We each ordered our own dessert, very rare for us.  She had the brownie sundae, I had the creme burlee.

She Said:
I had the brownie sundae. The brownie had so obviously been nuked, it was still screaming from radiation burns when it got to the table. Too hot to eat when it got there, too dry to eat once it cooled down. Blech.

He had the creme brulee. We got the creme part, but there was no brulee. The custard (which is my favorite part) was really good but there was no ceremonial cracking of the sugar. It was just soft discolored sugar that was kinda sad actually.

He Said:
I got nothing.  What she said is accurate.


Service:

She said:
While I think everyone was trying hard, I have to give it a "meh".
We ordered wine and appetizers, and it was a looooong time until she came for our dinner order.
2 people brought our desserts, one of them thought my dessert was hers (since she's apparently ordered dessert for herself during dinner volume?)


He Said:
Service was okay.  I would describe it as bit confused.  Waiters running around to service their table at opposite ends of the restaurant.  Everyone was friendly and they would chat with you and offer their comments if asked.  I found it interesting that the owners were not present, even after "Robbie's" recommendations from KI

Overall:

She Said:
Overall, I'd rate it a "C". I've had worse, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again. A bit on the spendy side for a very average meal.


He Said:
And here all this time I thought I was the judgemental hard ass.  I would give this a B.  Definitely room for improvement, but all in all not too bad.  Then again, I get spoiled by very good cooking at home.  (thank you dear).  I wouldn't mind going again to try some other items.  The fish and chips looks very good. 

As usual for me, and much to her horror, I decided to talk to some other guest.  This other couple apparently had been coming there for a long time.  They enjoyed it before.  They thought the changes were good, and the food was better, especially the fish and chips.  BTW, the fish pieces were exceptionally large for fish and chips, and looked very nicely cooked.



Saturday, January 26, 2013

The purpose.....

So, my husband and I are HUGE foodies. We read Yelp, Travel Advisor, you name it, we surf it.

Then we try.

Then we disagree (too salty, no it's delicious......),

We thought we'd start an anonymous blog to hopefully help and amuse other foodies.

While we live in the Pacific Northwest, but you never know where we'll be eating next.

I hope you enjoy our musings (and agree that well, I'm usually right.)