This weekend I found myself on an impromptu girl date with fellow foodie Brooke W. She graciously let me choose the venue and since I've only heard her rave about this place say, 15,000 times, I definitely wanted my first time to be with her (hehehe). Without a reservation, we were promptly seated at a cozy two-top by the front door. While the tables are packed to the rafters, I still felt a sense of privacy.
I relinquished all ordering rights to Brooke and didn't even glance at the menu. I did notice, however, that one of my all-time favorite wines - Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc - was on the menu and snatched that up right away. Out of the gates strong. First to be delivered was a small plate of asparagus with a sesame sauce. I don't normally go out of my way for asparagus, but found myself reaching back for more and more of these. The waitress then brought out the two appetizers: a Crab Cake and eel with avocado sushi rice. Where do I find the words to describe?? First, the crab cake is not a cake - it is a tower. A tower shaped like a large bell. The bell shape lends itself to a perfectly fried exterior AND a generous serving of moist crab meat in the middle. In my experience, most crab cake bites are 75% fried edge and 25% crab meat; not so at House. Best crab cake I've ever had.
I was getting a little flustered between the bites of Crab Cake and the the eel sitting next to it. The eel itself doesn't stand out too much in my mind but the avocado sushi rice it rested on will be etched in my memory forever. Creamy avocado rice - savory and sweet. Moist with a little crunch. Heaven.
At this point I actually thought we were done and was declaring Top 5 All Time candidacy. And. then. waitress. brought. sea. bass. This sea bass is a close-your-eyes, the world-stops hunk of fish. How a fish can taste this buttery is beyond me, but just a gentle poke of the fork and it divides like a warm stick of butter. It's complimented with a garlic-ginger soy sauce and a side of thick noodles. I remember the noodles being different (thick and non-pasta-y) but was so entranced by the fish I forgot to finish them. Or because I had just blacked out from food happiness.
The service, ambiance, noise-level, company, etc could have been terrible and I'd still recommend this place. But, you guessed it, all the accouterments only enhanced the happiness in my stomach. As you're mulling your New Year's Resolutions, I beg you to add The House to the list.
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