McCormack and Schmicks
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Image of McCormick and Schmick’s in Columbus, OH courtesy of Easton Town Center website. |
Yesterday, March 3rd, 2007, Katie and I went to McCormick and Schmick’s for dinner in light of the $25.00 gift card that is available when you make reservations online. So, we arrived promptly at 6:30PM and were immediately seated for dinner. I want to first say that the place has a fantastic atmosphere. The place is covered with nostalgic seafood ads and pictures and is very well lit. And if you get the right seat you will even have some curtains to close for a little added privacy during dinner. I’m the kind of guy that prefers a booth over a table but this I didn’t luck out in getting a booth. Maybe next time. Anyways, on to the food…
McCormick and Schmick’s Appetizers
Like many restaurants, McCormick and Schmick’s gives you a good slice of bread; theirs is of the sourdough persuasion. On the side was a small dipping style cup with a few pieces of butter. Bread is bread so I won’t go into detail on how great it was. You already know the awesomeness of sourdough. Next we were given our caeser salads which were also your run of the mill items. But again, they were good as well. Now, for the real appetizer we had fried oysters. It took Katie a little bit to convince me that I needed to try them since I’d never had oysters. After some discussion we eventually settled on them. It was my assumption that if I didn’t really care for them, the breaded and fried outside would at least soften the blow. Well, I tried it (without any sauces) and they were actually really good. The next two that I had - it was an order of six so we each go three - were accompanied by some tartar sauce, a condiment that’s dear to my heart. Altogether the fried oysters rocked it hard.
Bring On the Seafood
Fact #1: I love salmon. Fact #2: McCormick and Schmick’s is well known for their fresh seafood. Put these two facts together and you know that I got salmon. My dish was simply labeled as Atlantic Salmon on the menu. The result…fantastic. Just as suspected it would be. The salmon was stuffed with blue crab, shrimp, and brie cheese. On the side was mashed potatoes and green beans. While the salmon endlessly rocked, the mashed potatoes had to have been my favorite part. They were very well prepared and had a great taste. It’s not easy to find potatoes like these, that’s for sure.
A Trio of Desserts
To finish off the night our waitress brought out a dessert tray for us to select our dessert. So as to get sampling of a few of them, we decided to go with what was referred to as the Dessert Trio. The three mini desserts consisted of the bread pudding, crème brûlée, and one that was like a mixed berry cobbler; I don’t recall the exact term for the last one. To my surprise, all three turned out to be delicious. I say this because I had never tried bread pudding before. I’ve seen it made on the Food Network a number of times but had never tried it.
Summary: McCormick and Schmick’s is a restaurant with the freshest of seafood. They print their menu twice each day for crying out loud. Not many places I’ve been to do that. You probably won’t have an overly difficult time getting in without a reservation but it’s suggested to make one just for the sake of ensuring that you have a seat.
