Review of the Blackened Rock Fish Tacos at Anthony's Fish Bar on Pier 66

After a greatly appreciated sun filled bike ride with my husband through Seattle's beautiful Elliot Bay Trail, I was pretty famished. And because I recently had an anticlimactic experience with the fish tacos at the newly arrived Poquitos on Capitol Hill, I needed to remind myself how awesome fish tacos can be. Plus Anthony's Fish Bar, which is a smaller, cheaper and more focused version of Anthony's Restaurant, sits right along Seattle's water front at Pier 66 and has an outdoor seating area. So not only did we get to enjoy $5 beers and a $6 taco we were in the best location to take in the Puget Sound view, while soaking up some extra Seattle sun. (It comes out on occasion. Really it does) It was the best $11 I've spent in a long time. And if I were a tourist looking for a cheap meal at a place with a picturesque view? The fish bar is where I'd end up at.

Anthony's fish taco is a generous piece of fresh blackened rock fish on a flour tortilla, a modest portion of crisp cabbage, a simple mango salsa and their house-made salsa mayo. Every flavor comes together nicely and the salsa mayo is a various of spices with a subtle, yet complex garlic ending. But don't worry suffers of alluimphobia, I apparently had ninja like taste buds because I was told by the woman behind the counter that I was the first to call garlic out as one of the ingredients in the salsa mayo. Regardless, the salsa mayo is unique, fresh and the perfect addition to a perfect taco.

Being the food snob...I mean connesouir that I am and one who typically avoids touristy restaurants (unless of course my mom's visiting, she seems to can't get enough of this place) I have to really give Anthony's credit for appealing to mainly off the boat tourists, while representing the best and freshest food that Seattle is well-known for. I recently had a friend tell me that she made her decision to move to Seattle after an epic meal at the fish bar. I don't blame her...sitting among the well-fed sea gulls, happy tourists, drinking a cold beer and listening to the gentle lapping of the water...life can't hand you a better moment.

Anthony's Fish Bar is located south of the Olympic Sculpture Park at Pier 66 (2201 Alaskan Way) and is open daily at 11 a.m. for lunch and dinner.

Review of Poquitos on Capitol Hill

I recently had the chance to check out Capitol Hill's newest Mexican restaurant, Poquitos. What immediately stood out to me as my husband and I walked through the doors for the first time was the Spanish style decor and the generous natural light. What many nice restaurants on the hill do well, so does Poquitos. In a cloudy city with many days covered in diffused light, we Seattlites prefer places with floor to ceiling windows. And Poquitos is no exception. Throughout our meal we were basked in natural light.

Onto the food. We started with the ceviche - which was a simple, cabbage based version that had a slight garlicy flavor. It was fresh and delicious. It's the dish featured above. We devoured it, so I had high hopes for the carne de mole and fish tacos we ordered for our entrées. As a general rule of thumb, we tend to avoid places when they first open as the food is often safe (i.e bland) and overtime if the restaurant is to make it in the community, the food gets better. Poquitos, once again was no exception. My fish tacos lacked flavor and texture. The fish was cooked baja style (deep fried) and laid on a small tortilla with a simple mayo sauce, red cabbage and a sprig of cilantro. What generally makes a great fish taco is a fresh salsa, whether it's a fresh, house-made pico de gallo like Ohana's on 2nd Avenue; or like Anthony's Fish Bar's (on Pier 66) mango style salsa; or Capitol Hill's own Elysian's Thai peanut sauce.  White fish which is typically used for fish tacos is too bland to stand on its on; however, when backed up with an excellent, flavorful salsa and/or sauce fish tacos can be the tacos of all tacos. (Minus a street taco in Mexico City, of course.) My husband's carne de mole was a little better. The steak was from a PNW co-op free range farm and you know what that typically means...excelllent, quality meat, unfortunately the thick mole sauce that ironically had little to no complexity overpowered the meat. If you're going to serve quality meat, there is no reason to cover it up with heavy sauces. That is why tacos in Mexico City have the god status in our household: simple flavors that compliment quality carne.

The Service was Capitol Hill style: accommodating, yet not overly friendly.

I suspect that the food quality will improve over time. I will keep Poquitos on my list of places to revisit as I loved the ambiance, the abundance of natural light, and the fact that they serve and focus on organic, free range meat.

Poquitos is located at 1000 East Pike Street (across from Quinns), serves daily lunch 11:30-3 pm, happy hour 3-5 pm and dinner 5-11 pm. And is open late 11-1 a.m. for drinks.