What I Ate: May 15, 2010 (McCormick & Schmick's)

Dinner: At dinnertime, we found ourselves near The Domain, so we decided to try McCormick & Schmick's (11600 Century Oaks Ter, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 836-0500‎).

We started with Crispy Buttermilk Fried Oysters with Lemon Tabasco Aioli. The oysters were decent, but two of them had really chewy portions that was so rubbery I thought I was chewing on an overcooked piece of clam instead of oysters. I did like the addition of tabasco with the aioli, but would have preferred a nicer presentation. It turns out, this was probably the best looking dish we had. The bed of spinach was great.

Portabella Mushroom Bruschetta with Herbed Goat Cheese Stuffing. If you're wondering, there's actually a thin piece of soggy crostini under each of the three piles. The big problem with this dish is that there's too much stuff going on - the tomato and garlic, portabella, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar are all competing and none of it is done well.

Side salads - we both had side salads with our mains. Both of our salads were pretty good with especially ripe cherry tomatoes and fresh greens. Tina had something in hers that tasted a little bitter, but she didn't identify what it was.

"Wild" Arctic Char Lightly Seasoned and Pan Seared. Served over Creamy Stone Ground Grits with a Wild Mushroom Gravy. I don't know why the word "wild" was in quotes on the menu - forgot to ask. The char was cooked so it was just flaking and had the perfect doneness and texture. The seasoning was truly light - so light it felt like nothing was there (which is an easy problem to fix with a little salt and pepper). The grits were inedible - instead of the chewy core of each corn meal particle we had severely undercooked corn meal - it tasted like raw starch (Tina said it was like someone ground up a leftover dried corn cob, boiled it, and then served it to her).

We asked for the grits to be replaced with risotto and they quickly replated the char on some risotto. The risotto was edible, but had the opposite problem - the rice was wet, soggy, and completely cooked through. It wasn't rich and creamy like risotto should be, instead it tasted like rice that had been overboiled in a light stock with white button mushrooms (the button mushroom flavor was pretty strong) with clumps of congealed parmesan cheese scattered through it.

Redfish Bronze Spiced over a Blue Crab Avocado Verde Sauce and Spanish Rice. In this case, the fish was overcooked and chewy. The first piece was overcooked to the point where it becomes mealy while chewing - my least favorite fish texture. Overall, I thought it was fairly bland (not as bland as the char though) even though it had cumin sprinkled all over the plate.

I do need to comment about the service, which was excellent. They responded to our comments concerning their food graciously and offered repeatedly to fix our order, replace the main with anything else on the menu, or provide dessert. The staff here really wanted us to be happy and have a good experience, so I have to emphasize how tremendously friendly they are here.

Lunch: I cooked up some fettuccine with speck, arugula, and green peas.