Restaurant Blog - Wildfish

Well... The road trip is over and the Porsche is in it's happy new
home. So now the plan is to evolve this into a food blog.
Mey and I both enjoy a good meal, and the first review is of a (relatively) new
restaurant at huebner and 1604 called Wildfish.

Ben was nice enough to treat Mey and I to dinner before taking off to Colorado, so we made reservations to avoid a long wait. I figured giving an hour's notice would be suitable for a random Tuesday evening, but the earliest reservation they had available was for about 2-1/2 hours from when I called. Perfectly reasonable for last-minute reservations, just a little unexpected.

When we arrived, the atomosphere was nice, with a large bar taking center stage. The place was fairly busy (as expected) and the vapid hostess quickly took us to our seats while managing to avoid any eye contact. The ambiance was nice, lying somewhere between Kona Grill and Silo with several nice architectural features including the large steel structure over the bar resembling a whale's ribcage. Tables were a little tightly packed for my taste, but it seems about on par with most places. And we had a booth, so it wasn't a problem for the three of us. The waiters were forced to dance around tables and chairs to perform simple tasks and whenever our waiter was at the table, he would end up blocking traffic for the others.

After the resounding welcome of the hostess, I expected an equally flat waiter but was pleasantly surprised. To be perfectly honest, the waiter seemed a bit out of character for the location because he appeared to have genuine enthusiasm for the food. That's a good thing, though, and he did a great job of reviewing the menu with us. We started with some oysters (pictured) which were quite good. In my opinion, Sandbar is the best local place for oysters, but these were certainly above the quality of...let's say...Pappadeaux's.

We moved on to the main course, and I had a Sauteed Halibut topped with Jonah Crab, but found that Ben's Shrimp dish looked enviable.

One personal rant: I hate the steakhouse style of ordering. Side dishes should be inclusive with a dish and chosen by the chef to complement the main dish. Anything less is culinary laziness. Why don't I just pick the ingredients myself? Or why not just man the grill while I'm at it....no thank you. We ordered a serving of steamed Spinach on the side and split it three ways with some to spare - just don't tell my mom that I skimped on my veggies.

The meal was filling and the fish was well-prepared and does fill an important position in San Antonio of providing important seafood. And it's all in one place. But if I'm craving oysters, ceviche, or bisque, then Sandbar is where I'll head. And for gluttonously over-buttered shrimp and other odds and ends, Paesanos fits the bill - for less coin, too. If I'm seeking asian fusion seafood with sushi then Kona might get the nod. For the price, I'd usually rather grab something at Le'Toile, Biga, or Cafe Paladar, which are all in the same ballpark.

So where does that leave Wildfish? I'd go back and pay for my own meal, but only
a) if I was craving a slab of well-prepared fish
or
b) for the ambiance and to down a bottle of chardonnay with some oysters on the northside

Not that I would finish the WHOLE bottle.......at least not without a DD :)

Most importantly - Thanks Ben for a great meal and interesting conversation!!!