The Admiral opened in 2007 in a modest building that used to be a bar for cab drivers with a maritime theme – thus the name.  It’s a small interior with low ceiling, lowered lighting, vintage music in the background, bare blond-wood tables, and an open kitchen.  There is a full bar with a few seats in front of it as well as a plastic-enclosed patio section and a fully outdoor patio section.  It felt very cozy and inviting and the service was friendly to match that cool relaxed vibe.  They had installed plastic partitions above the backs of the booths which not only provided more privacy but also allowed conversations without yelling.  It looks like a dive from the outside and is not in the ‘hot’ section of town but that makes street parking a lot easier.  We decided to go with the flow and order a very traditional meal.   It was mixed on the food but the place was so fun I’d go back if I was in the area.

Set up

 

Food

We enjoyed a martini as we contemplated the menu choices.  The staff did not rush us but was close by when we were ready to order.

 

We started by splitting the Arugula Salad which also included Granny Smith apples, hazelnuts, and Humboldt Fog cheese and then was dressed with a maple-sherry vinaigrette.  The apples were cut into thin sticks to mix in with the peppery arugula.  Lots of toasted hazelnuts added even more crunch to the mix.  The cheese came in a wedge and was mild but really added something nice to the mix.  It was good and plenty for 2.

 

The Ribeye steak was a 16 oz. prime cut for a market price of $55.  It came with potato pave, carrots and beef jus.  It came cooked rare as ordered with a good sear on the outside of the very tender meat.  The jus had just enough salt to accent the nice piece of meat.  The carrots were perfectly cooked and enhanced by some parsley leaves.  The potatoes are where it fell apart as the outside was nicely browned and crisped but the inside had not been cooked.  It had the distinct flavor of raw potato.  The server offered to replace it but there was plenty of food without it, it was just sad that the kitchen had not tasted it before it was served.

 

We thought we’d bring some redemption with a dessert and the server suggested the pumpkin cake with candied pecans and rum syrup was very good and they’d like to comp it for the raw potatoes.  She was wrong.  It was really dry and flavorless.  The rum syrup was completely absorbed and it still couldn’t make the cake moist.  It was free but a sorry offering.