Three and a half years have gone by since moving to San Diego and FINALLY, I partake in "Restaurant Week" (San Diego restaurants participate in offering a set 3-course meal for $20/$30/$40). I've been looking at SanDiegoRestaurantWeek.com all week, and since my friend Christina suggested I go to Oceanaire because of their amazing "Pang Xie Dan Gao" (aka crab cakes), Jon, Alice, and I made our reservations and went last night.
We parked a few blocks away in a structure near the OmniHotel (only $3 flat rate for the night), and by the time we got in, we were starving! Right off the bat, Oceanaire surprised us by having TONS of options for their restaurant week menu, and what I absolutely love about dining out with Jon is that
For our appetizers, we ordered a half dozen from the oyster bar and their infamous Chesapeake Bay Style Crab Cake. I haven't really had crab cakes outside of catered events before, so I don't have the credibility to say this but I will anyways. Those crab cakes were absolutely amazing! Each one was the size of a fist and was bursting at the seams with succulent quality crab meat. It was so good that I forgave the fact that the accompanying dipping sauce (mayo-based) was nothing special. The oysters (each of different origins) were extremely fresh, sweet, shucked perfectly, milky in taste+texture, and not too briny. They were served with lemon, cocktail sauce (w/ horseradish), a vinaigrette with onions, and tabasco. It's been way too long since I've had raw oysters, and I seriously was craving them for awhile.
For our main course, I ordered a Cajun Rubbed Local Mako Shark "Black & Bleu" served over a sweet onion confit and covered with a bleu cheese butter and fried onions:
Jon ordered the "Kid Dynamite" Blue Crab Crusted Baja Mahi Mahi served with crisp snap peas and a "screaming rooster sauce":
Have I ever eaten mako shark before? No, but Oceanaire opened my eyes to a world of seafood untouched by my palette. In fact, I want to try every sea creature at least once, even dolphins (jk...maybe :P). Anyways, the mako shark was a culinary marvel addressing all aspects of taste. The sweet onion confit contrasted with the fried onion strips and juxtaposed with the cajun spice rub and bleu cheese butter created a medley of flavors worthy of a standing ovation (I refrained being that I was in public). The meat itself was altogether a new experience. Mako shark is extremely flavorful even though it comes a lot less fatty than your normal fish, and since the dish is cooked to order, I highly recommend medium-rare; I ordered it medium and the texture was a little too tough for my taste (still very tender and moist though and was perfect when I got to the center of the cut). If all of this isn't enough to convince you to order it, look closely at the photo above. The portion size is no laughing matter; standing over two inches high, this dish is comparable to a massive steak or baked potato. Our waiter, Josh, mentioned something about all of Oceanaire's cuts of fish weighing at or over a whopping 10oz.
Jon's "Kid Dynamite" Mahi Mahi was very similar to your typical dynamite roll at a sushi join except that the quality was clearly better. Like every bit of seafood served that night, the piece of mahi mahi, cooked medium-rare, was absolutely delicious: fresh, juicy, and its flaky chunks of meat were easily separated by fork. The "dynamite" sauce baked over the fish added tremendous flavor to the dish, and although it wasn't too creamy or too spicy, the quality of the fish may have been a little masked. They could have served it with a store-brand tilapia and I would have been happy. That's how good the sauce was. Overall, you can't go wrong ordering the mahi mahi that's literally exploding with dynamite-y goodness (bleh, bad pun).
Lastly, for dessert,we ordered a White Chocolate Parfait, Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, and Key Lime Pie:
The parfait came with strawberries and granola and its light and fluffy consistency made me think of clouds LOL. Although there was the perfect amount of white chocolate flavor and offered a delicate end to my meal, the parfait was my least favorite of the three. The creme brulee was pretty good; the torched sugar layer and fruit toppings complemented the custard well. Although the custard could have had a bit more vanilla bean, it was still a great dessert. Last was the key lime pie; it was ZOMG so goooooood (yes, I said zomg, its not part of my normal vocabulary but I felt it applies here). What makes it even better is that we almost didn't order it. The creme brulee was our #1 choice and the apple raisin crisp almost replaced the key lime pie spot, but luckily, SUCCESS! I hit the confection jackpot. All the key characteristics of a spectacular key lime pie was spot-on with that little 2x2 square of limey goodness. The graham cracker crust was thin enough to let the filling dominate the taste, while the filling was cool and refreshing. Surprisingly, the texture was so rich, thick, and decadent that eating it was reminiscent of a cheesecake. These desserts literally put me over the top as I felt the food coma monster lurking over me.
Overall, I was so impressed with the fantastic experience I had at Oceanaire. For just $40 (not including tip/parking), I enjoyed the freshest and most intricate seafood dishes at considerable portions while taking in the luxury-cruise-like ambiance. The waiters explained everything graciously (including the culinary vernacular we were unsure of) and kept our bread/water supply up. For all you guys out there, Oceanaire will hands-down sweep any girl off her feet (there was no sweeping for me b/c I was thirdwheeling it but that's besides the point). Thank you so much for the recommendation, Christina; it was the perfect restaurant to spark this hero's savory quest for glory.
