Gracie's Sea Hag Restaurant and Lounge - Newport, Oregon.

In my recent travels, I went to Oregon for spring break. Now keep in mind, good food can be good food by itself, but it only gets better with friends. This was our last meal for the trip and we went all out, thanks to our friend with very deep pockets. I myself had the king crab. It melted in your mouth, cooked to perfection, and just barbaric enough to make you feel more of a man! But the king crab wasn't the highlight of the meal. It was actually the desert.

Marion Berry Tart

Renowned Oregon Marionberries in a flakey pastry shell, slighty warmed & topped with ice cream & whipped cream garnish.  Another Sea Hag original that is featured in the New York Times Cookbook.

$5.95

Oregon is renowned for their Marion berry, and boy did they nail it with this desert. The berry itself is rich and colorful and has the slight taste of a blueberry/raspberry/strawberry flavor to it. I know that sounds like a lot of berry, but if two perfect berries got together to make a berry, it would be the Marion berry. It rivals the Olallieberry in California. These two are bitter, nay, sweet enemies. The flakey pastry shell and the ice cream were a perfect combo. It was a lot like a Marion berry pie with ice cream. Warmed just enough to melt the ice cream and cool enough that you didn't have to slow down to eat it. This desert is featured in the New York Times Cookbook, as it should be.

Overall rating: 4.6 out of 5

Opah Restaurant & Bar - Irvine, California

Don't you love it when you happen on great places by mistake? As a group we wanted to go elsewhere but the place next door had a 45 minute wait. We thought Opah would be a good alternative. We were thinking Greek, but boy were we wrong. If it is so bad to be wrong, I don't want to be right.

"The Opah or "Moonfish" once was viewed as good luck when caught by old-time fishermen and often given away as a gesture of goodwill."


Kobe Beef Burger


½ lb. with sweet caramelized onions
$12
(add aged cheddar, Havarti, Gorgonzola or smoked bacon + $1)




As far as burgers go, it doesn't get much better than this. The Kobe beef really made the difference from an okay fast food burger, to a gourmet masterpiece. The meat was so juicy and had just enough pink. The condiment that I rarely use was actually a great staple in this meal. Ketchup. I hate the word, but this was not your ordinary ketchup. It was thick, almost whipped. It didn't make the burger, but it helped bring it all together. The shoelace french fries were killer. Salty enough with a hint of garlic, perfect.






Overall rating: 4.4 out of 5