We went out to New Years dinner at Rock Salt. One of our forever New Years resolutions is to do something different each New Years Eve. This year it was going to a new restaurant. It is situated on the shores of Lake Union, so we had a view of the water and the beautiful boats in the marina next to the restaurant. We arrived about 25 minutes early for our 8 o'clock reservation but we were shown to our seats right away. That helped make up for the disappointing atmosphere.
First impression when we walked in, dated. This place could really use a face lift. With a name like Rock Salt we were excepting something a little more chic than the place we found. It had a bit of a run down feel to it. The bathrooms looked more like a dive bar restroom than a restaurant serving lobster and prime-rib for dinner.
Our meal consisted of steamer clams for a starter, a wedge salad, prime-rib, lobster tail, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable side. The clams were fresh and sweet. We did not see the need for a ramekin of drawn butter on the side though since they came in their own creamy broth. The salad was very good. I enjoyed the blue cheese dressing with blue cheese crumbles sprinkled over the top. Though my boyfriend said the dressing was a bit on the tangy side for his tastes. The lobster tail for $25 extra was a bit under done on both our plates. Very disappointing. The prime-rib was tender and cooked perfectly but a bit cold once it made it to our table. The red mashed potatoes could have used some Yukon Golds mixed in to give them a bit of fluff, they were a bit on the "lump of starch" plopped on the plate side of things. The vegetable side was forgettable. It consisted of some peppers, onions and zucchini chopped up, slightly grilled and put on the plate. They needed a bit more seasoning and little more time on the grill. Both of us ended up taking home a dogie bag of our prime-rib. We wanted to save room for dessert of course!
For dessert we decided to split the brownie a la mode. It was the highlight of the meal. A warm, chocolaty brownie topped with vanilla ice cream. A good way to end an OK meal. With a glass of wine and a rum & coke for drinks the meal ran $140 total. Given the portion sizes the price point was not that bad but the lack of finishing touches to the whole meal made it so we wished we had spent that money elsewhere.
Overall the service was friendly. The only real mishap was when our server spilled the clam broth all over the table when they were clearing it. Easy to do when it is in a shallow bowl but they cleaned up fast enough.
Will we go back? Probably not. The overall experience was one we don't feel the need to repeat but you never know unless you try. So, here is to 2013 and another year of adventures in food, at home and on the town. Happy 2013!!
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