The Crab Pot

Price: $$$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆
The Crab Pot: Menu (embedded flash on their site)

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The Crab Pot, while yes it is a tourist trap (so expect 30+ minute waits). It does prepare you for what you waited for, getting messy and devouring seafood. I thought it would be fun to take my friend here whom was visiting from Oregon for the weekend.


their signature mallet for shell crushing


The Pacific Clambake- steamed clams, mussels, dungeness crab, snow crab, oysters, shrimp in the shell, halibut & salmon skewers, andouille sausage, corn on the cob, and red potatoes in their jackets


A close up of the skewers

This would be what makes the dining experience the most fun. Given a hammer and some boiled and seasoned crustaceans is bound to be an adventure. Which also draws in tourists by the droves. However, with my personal experience with eating massive amounts of seafood, I knew the more effective way to crush these shells is to use your teeth (primarily because you can gauge the appropriate amount of bite pressure needed without creating a countless number of shards).

The halibut & salmon skewers were coated with plenty of cajun seasonings which felt just right, but not excessive. The waitress also brought out a tray full of butter for dipping the glorious mountain of food for extra flavoring (the worse it is for your body, the better it tastes --true story).


the Electric Watermelon and Crab Pot Iced Tea


almost there!




the aftermath

Washed down the food with a couple of drinks and continued our feast. I like to brag about how much I can shamelessly stuff my food without end, especially when it comes to seafood. However, I found myself slowing down a little bit past the halfway point of the remaining items while my friend continued eating and dipping the remains into the butter. Color me impressed!


rhubarb cake with a side of vanilla ice cream

Initially we both felt satisfied with the dinner alone, but we felt confident enough we could still add in dessert. The rhubarb cake was a lot larger than what the waitress had indicated (using gestures with her hands), and we were too intimidated to even eat more than two bites before surrendering and getting it boxed.

The Crab Pot, located right off the Waterfront with a nice view over Puget Sound. The interior sports a very casual atmosphere with it's checkered white/red plastic tablecloth and the chalkboards that pepper the walls and ceiling. Great place to take your friends and family for a very unique seafood experience, if you're the person that is afraid to get their fingers dirty, I do not suggest this place.

Plan in advance as no matter when you come you will be waiting in a line for at least 30 minutes.

Etta's

Price: $$$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆
Etta's: Menu

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This is a first in a while; an early dinner. Etta's was a missed opportunity when my friend Gilbert came to visit from New York, as I had work to do. Anyways, this place is located on the northern side of the Pike Place Market, which is home of the first Starbucks ever; expect a lot of tourists standing around.

Parking is actually really easy if you know where to look. Past dates have left a good memory of where to find them, which came in handy. I had made a reservation using Open Table as suggested by their website, so there was no waiting for our 6:15 arrival.

We were promptly served a very crusty olive bread along with two dry beverages, kumquat and vanilla bean:


Artisan bread with and without olives

The last time we had olive bread I was not fortunate to find any pieces with any in them. After inspecting and a minor discussion about all the possible baking methods, we concluded that there were just two separate breads that were served. Primarily because they were separated on the plate each time we were given more bread.


Kumquat Dry Soda


Vanilla Bean Dry Soda

We had already pored over their SRW menu and knew what we were getting. The baby spinach salad, and sake cured salmon bites; which wasn't a regular menu item:


Baby spinach salad -curried cashews, sesame dressing, crispy bacon

The dressing tasted really good, and had a subtle sweet aftertaste to it. I did not find any of the cashews with the portion I forked but with or without it, the salad still tasted great.


Sake cured salmon bites -hot mustard, cucumber

I did not realize that they had put horseradish into the mustard so I took a nice deep breath after taking in a good bit of salmon covered in the mustard. It was a simple but very flavorful meal. The salmon itself was nice and firm, although I ran into a piece that was a bit tougher than the rest. The cucumbers give the whole dish something that feels fresh, and helps with the hot mustard.

Dinner we had Etta's rub with love wild Coho salmon and Seared Washington chicken breast which was also not listed on their regular menu:


Etta’s Rub with Love wild Coho salmon -shiitake relish, cornbread pudding

The cornbread pudding had more attention than the salmon itself. Soft and had a taste that reminded me of the stuffing you eat inside a Thanksgiving turkey. The salmon was flaky and soft and easy to split apart without anything more than the fork. Apparently one of the asparagus was a little old, or possibly improperly cooked, but was your typical blanched vegetables.


Seared Washington chicken breast -sugar snap pea succotash, easter egg radish salad

Again, the main attention was not the seared chicken breast but the succotash that was underneath it. Cooking chicken breast and preventing it from being dry is something that takes a little bit of work. The breast was very juicy and had a nice crusty skin. I found the radish salad to be a little on the bland side as eating it separately or with the rest of the meal produced nothing that I could taste. The succotash on the other hand had a nice curry taste to it that left me wishing they served more of it with the dish.

Dessert was going to be an adventure. A triple coconut cream pie and the vanilla and rhubarb crisp; I have an allergy to ginger but love the taste.


Triple coconut cream pie + white chocolate

At a glance I was expecting this to be as rich as the mud pie we had from 5 Spot. But it was very light and easy to eat even on a full stomach.


Vanilla and rhubarb crisp + ginger ice cream

Luckily there wasn't enough ginger in the ice cream to warrant an allergic reaction. The rhubarb has a very strong tart taste that overtakes the Vanilla crisp part of the dessert; I could not taste any vanilla at all in-between the helpings of rhubarb and ice cream. It was still a pleasant order and very hot. I think pear or a more subtle fruit would have worked better with the ginger ice cream.

Etta's is definitely a place I recommend grabbing reservations for; the place is not very big. The tall glass windows that look across the Puget Sound is great as it faces the sunset.

Possibly due to the fact that the place is small, it ensures that the waiter or sommelier will always be checking up on you throughout the meal. At the end of the meal, if you give them your email address and your birthday, they will send you a gift certificate as an incentive. I definitely will come back again, with or without a certificate in hand.