Passionate About Food
January 21, 2011
Hello Restaurant Week! It’s that time of year yet again. Cheap(er(ish(sometimes))) food, packed restaurants, crap service, and ice storms. Ice storms? Well, at least this time around. D and I decided to take advantage of restaurant week this year since it has crept into the ‘burbs around DC. We had our sights on a few locations, but first up was lunch at PassionFish in Reston. I had yet to eat there previously so I was definitely excited (I’m from the gulf coast so seafood ALWAYS gets me excited).
Though I’m no huge fan of ice storms, the one we suffered through at the start of the week seemingly kept the crowd a bit lighter at PassionFish for lunch and helped us get a parking spot at Reston Town Center. The staff was very excited to see us since we were seemingly the first to arrive for the day! I hate the storm hurt business, but I didn’t mind the excellent service we received as a result.
Whereas most restaurant week participants have a prix fixe menu, PassionFish allows you to choose from their entire regular menu selection. As such, D and I decided to make sure we tried as many things as possible. I was impressed with the menu selection. The entrees really cover the entire eastern seaboard and the gulf coast well so it was difficult choosing exactly what to get. Of course, it was also difficult to go wrong.
Her lineup: Butternut Squash Lobster Bisque, Crabcake Sandwich, & Apple Crisp w/ Vanilla Ice Cream
My lineup: Crab & Corn Chowder, Shrimp & Grits, Caramel Creme Brulee.
Starting with the soup, it was spot on amazing. There was plenty of crab and it blended well with the corn chowder. Hers was also very well balanced as well and not overwhelmed with the squash. I think her crab cake sandwich was very good, but it wasn’t a step above the rest by any means. However, my shrimp & grits were the best I’ve had outside of the deep south. The grits were creamy, the shrimp were very well seasoned, and my only complaint was they were just slightly overcooked. Of course, I should mention these were GULF shrimp, not Thai shrimp, so I was able to easily overlook this slight error on their end. Finally, the creme brulee was outstanding. I definitely enjoyed the caramel twist and had to fight off D the entire time!
Overall, this was a great place to grab some good food. I was impressed with the decor, the service, and the food so we’ll definitely be going back.
Up next on restaurant week for us? I fucked up.
