Kincaid Grill was in a strip mall location, a short ride from downtown. It was made up of 2 good sized rooms filled with widely spaced white draped tables and a bar with some seating. Lights were lowered and there was a hum of crowd noise, but conversation was easy. Windows were on several walls so natural light came in but the view was minimal. However, once inside you forgot you were in a strip shopping center. It offered a tasting menu in the winter but was only a la carte in the summer. They also had a couple specials for the evening featuring rockfish or halibut. Service was efficient and friendly, in fact we connected with the server and later in our trip visited her sausage stand.
We started with a glass of Cremont de Loire while we considered our options. Bread arrived, which was not housemade (made in Seattle) but was finished on site so it came out soft and moist with lots of air pockets. They offered Greek olive and potato rosemary and both were acceptable, but I would have appreciated a non-flavored option. It was served with a tasty butter that was soft but not whipped.
For appetizers we tried the Fresh Alaskan Oysters served with a tabasco granita and lemon. They were a very tasty oysters and the granita did have a bit of a kick. Some of the larger ones had a little pastiness to the texture but the taste was fine.
The Roasted Alaskan Oysters “Casino” were baked with Holy Trinity, Parmesan and applewood smoked bacon. They were great. The bacon and parmesan were excellent and worked together to put them on another level of tasty. This was definitely my favorite of the 3 appetizers we tried.
The King Crab Cakes were made with corn relish, serrano-lime aioli and baby arugula. The spicy aioli was wonderful and was a perfect accompaniment for the crab and arugula. The corn relish was another good addition. The crab cakes were made with a shredded variety of crab meat rather than lump. The breading was light and nicely fried and crispy. Another really tasty dish.
The Halibut was pan seared and topped with a peach sauce and served with bacon herb crusted smashed red potatoes, brocolini and frisee with pancetta. The potatoes were good and the frisee with bacon vinaigrette was excellent. The halibut was a smaller flake fish and was cooked nicely. It was a good dish.
The Rockfish special came with an Heirloom tomato sauce, topped with garlic scapes tendril butter and served aside a truffle polenta cake, asparagus and a variety of mushrooms (chanterelles, oyster, king and shitake). The large flake fish benefitted from the lovely tomato sauce but some of the mushrooms in it were tough. The polenta cake was very nice and the topping of garlic scapes gave the fish good flavor. The asparagus were fine.
For dessert the Chocolate Bourbon Soufflé was served with vanilla bean creme anglaise. It took 15 minutes but that went by quickly. The sauce was served on the side and was a perfect mix with the rich chocolate. The strawberry gave the plate color but was too tart to eat. This is a pretty classic dessert and they had a nice rendition of it – a wonderful sweet ending to a nice meal.
