I figured it was time for another restaurant review since work has kept me from really keeping this up to date. I dine at McCormick & Schmick's very frequently in Austin. I first tried this chain in 2008, when I visited Boca Raton, Florida where they have a restaurant on Glades Road just outside the campus of Florida Atlantic University. McCormick's is a seafood restaurant, although they do offer other fare, but they clearly know how to do seafood. I did brunch today, the last Saturday of June and the first Saturday of Summer in this part of the country, but you wouldn't know it since we've had 100 (+) degree weather here for a few months already.
Entering the restaurant as a lone diner always makes the diner feel a bit uncomfortable, but you are often greeted by the Maitre D' as you enter the restaurant. They're always very accommodating of requests for booths and if desired, they also have a small number of private booths available for no extra charge. These booths are secluded behind green velvet curtains and are great for quiet family dinners or for an elegant date night as well.
So, I was here for brunch today, arriving immediately upon the opening at 11 AM. The only thing I don't like about arriving at this time is that the staff has a tendency to mill around the front door and chatter about their personal relationships, which is really OK with me, but I'm not really clear on whether that looks very professional, given the restaurant's obvious intention to come across as an elegant, but low key dining experience in a high-end shopping center. I was seated at the rear of the empty restaurant, which was appreciated for a single diner, since it's nice to have the peace and quiet of a distant table to yourself when you're dining alone.
The table was nicely appointed with a folded white cloth napkin, clean silverware and bread plate. Unfortunately, the place mat used at the table was stained and had the remnants of the previous diner's meal still stuck to the top right corner. I made a point to smear the "goo" on the place mat so the waitress would see it more clearly on the adjoining table top next to my membership card, but she didn't seem to notice the "stuff" placed there. Not exactly a good start. The waitress was obviously new to the role and it was refreshing to have her wait on the table because you could tell she was really trying hard to make the meal enjoyable.
If you go to McCormick & Schmick's you can become a "member" for a one-time, $25 fee, which entitles you to a $25 gift certificate (making the membership free), and an interesting amuse bouche (appetizer) served to everyone in your party with your meal, every time you come in. One thing the chain does NOT make clear is how you convey to your waiter that you are a member. I have noticed, if I come in and respond to the "Have you dined with us before?" question with, "Yes, I am a member.", then they don't seem to recognize you as a member and you do not receive an amuse bouche. One of the longer-term waiters had told me a few visits later that it's best to just lay your membership card on the table so they can "confirm" you are a member and this has resulted in an amuse bouche every time. So, now this is much clearer, although it's asking the diner to be a little more forward than they should have to be and it's more reminiscent of placing a coupon on the table at the start of a meal in a restaurant that should have pictures of the food on the menu, if you catch my drift here. They should really state this in their membership brochure, or perhaps come up with a better, more graceful method of noting someone's membership status.
My amuse bouche on this occasion was a bruschetta, served with a spinach & artichoke dip and a balsamic vinegar reduction. The sweet tanginess of the sauce mixed very well with the cheesy, saltiness of the dip. It was an excellent combination. The amuse bouche is one of my favorite things to try at this restaurant because it's always something different and unique. It encourages me to think of flavors "outside the box" and try some unusual combinations.
On this visit, I ordered the Kobe Beef Carpaccio, which is not always served the same way each time. Consistency is the word here. The carpaccio was served with capers, radish sprouts, and a light mustard vinaigrette with ground black pepper, on top of about 6 slices of carpaccio and some garlic bruschetta served on the side. The beef is always tender and melts in your mouth. The flavors of garlic, vinegar, mustard, are all very subtle and play well together in this presentation. I have had this dish almost every time I come in, but sometimes it has red-leaf lettuce salad greens with the sprouts, sometimes, no sprouts and only salad, sometimes no capers, sometimes red onions, sometimes no onions. Again, consistency should be the operative word here. The carpaccio, however is excellent. I would suggest, to make the service one step more elegant....every piece of Kobe beef is sent to a restaurant with a certificate that shows the proof that the beef is truly from Kobe Japan and even contains the "name" of the cow that the beef came from, and sometimes a photo of that cow. It would be nice if even a photocopy of that certificate was presented with the plate to the diner. Some may find this a little cruel in a tree-hugging city such as Austin, but if someone is ordering beef, and RAW beef at that...you shouldn't be running any risk of scaring away your dinner guest!
My second course was the usual dozen oysters. McCormick & Schmick's usually serves 4 different types of oysters from different regions of the US and Canada and they each have unique qualities to them. So many people go for the big oysters that they are passing up on some of the more truly tasty smaller oysters from places such as Washington State. Today, I had a dozen mixed 50:50 between the big & meaty Connecticut Blue Points and the smaller, but more flavorful, Canadian Tamagouche oysters. They are served on ice with malt vinegar, lemon, and horesradish on top of cocktail sauce. You can request crackers and Tabasco, if desired, but I find that these tend to disguise the flavor of the oysters, which is really the reason for ordering them in the first place! The oysters are always very fresh and delicious. The Tamagouche oysters have a unique clean, salty, and bright flavor, while the Blue Points have a stronger aquatic, "oystery" flavor to them.
There are only 2 concerns that I have with McCormick & Schmick's service of these. First, among the 12 oysters, they tend to serve an occasional oyster or two that I would not choose to serve to my guests....one that may contain hardly any oyster meat at all, and they'll serve it as if it should be included as one of the dozen you ordered. If it was me serving, I would serve only reasonably "full" oysters. Second, the chef needs to learn how to properly serve them. It's clear that he is simply opening the oyster and laying it on the tray. That is certainly one method, but they are skipping one important step for the true oyster-lover. The chef should also cut the oyster from the shell so it sits loosely in the shell as a "cup". This allows the true oyster aficionado to consume them the way a seafood enthusiast does. There is NO need for an oyster fork...the true oyster lover will put cocktail sauce on the shell with lemon, and "drink" the oyster directly from the shell with the salt water (AKA: oyster liquor) that was inside the shell.
I didn't order anything else, but I would like to give an honorable mention to a dish that I also have from time to time called, Ahi Tuna Tartare. This dish is mixed at your table by the waiter and consists of individual ceramic Chinese spoons each containing the following ingredients: chopped egg, capers, chopped onion, chopped raw ahi tuna, radish sprouts, and a mustard vinaigrette. These are tossed by the waiter at the table and served with garlic bruschetta. If you're OK with raw tuna, this is awesome!
Another honorable mention goes to the Crab Bisque, also mixed at the table by the waiter. It is served in a large white bowl with a small tower of crab and rice in the middle of the bowl and a balsamic vinegar reduction drizzled around the bowl. The bisque (heavy cream soup) component is served hot, surrounding the tower of crab and rice. Another excellent choice, but quite heavy, so I don't recommend it unless you're also eating a light meal. If you're good for soup & salad, definitely make this the soup!
As my brunch came to a close, it was entertaining to watch as I noticed the rookie waitress was doing "loops" around the dining room. She didn't seem to know what to do when she wasn't busy, so she walked counterclockwise around the restaurant's perimeter. You could tell she was being very conscientious, paying attention even to other waiter's tables to ensure every guest was taken care of. It was a little strange, but entertaining to watch as she walked, and walked, and walked.
So, an iced tea, a dozen oysters and kobe beef carpaccio came to a total of $43 with the tip included. Was it worth it? Yes, it certainly was, although there are also certainly a few things that need to be improved, mainly with the way the restaurant does business, but the food was well worth the price.
