This weekend, Emily asked me, “Is your job going to make you fat?”  I think we all know the answer to that one.  I accept my fate with open arms.  Stumpy, chubby arms.

Last Friday, McKenna’s on the Bay invited us over to sample some of their extraordinary seafood.  If you haven’t been to McKenna’s in awhile – and even if you have – do yourself a favor and go see how much creative thought and effort Chef Arthur Gonzalez has obviously put into the menu and the beautiful ambiance of the restaurant.  Inside, it’s classy and dark, with a raw bar right in front.  McKenna’s is at the end of the marina, so we sat outside where we could watch the sailboats as Chef brought us plate after unbelievable plate.

First up was a Dungeness crab cake, with a smokey choron sauce and corn remoulade.  Absolutely the best crab cake I’ve ever had.  So good, I forgot to take a picture.  Sorry.  (I know!  Do I have to tattoo a note on my fork hand?  “Picture first.  Then eat.”)

Then came the tomato bisque with Laughing Bird Shrimp, fried heirloom tomatoes, and fried brioche.  The shrimp are farm-raised in Belize, small and flavorful, but it was the tomatoes that made it for me: just the right amount of sweetness.

Then, three excellent dishes using some exceptional farm-raised fish from Scotland and Australia.  The Loch Duart Atlantic Salmon, of course, glazed with honey-dijon, with farm fresh vegetables and tossed with boursin cheese.  I would have been in gustatory heaven right there, but of course the train to flavor country was only just leaving the station.Next up, a porcini-dusted barramundi with a robust mushroom spaetzle sauce.  This was by far the most tender fish, and it paired surprisingly well with the hearty spaetzle.  If it weren’t such a fine restaurant, Andrew would have been licking the plate.  He may have been while I wasn’t looking.  It was suspiciously clean afterwards.Crispy skinned suzuki, served with a house-made curry and fresh vegetables.  I am not a big fan of curry, but I would have fought Andrew for the last piece of this dish.  And I don’t mean fake wire-fighting; I mean, like Indian wrestling.  This suzuki is actually a type of drum or croaker, like redfish or white seabass, but it happens to be from Australia.  If you like firm, big white flakey fish, this is the one for you.Just in case we weren’t about to slip into food comas already, the chef brought out a dessert sampler of peach creme brulee, champagne sorbet, cinnamon bread pudding, house-made marshmallow, and peanut butter cake covered with house-made ganache.  Do I have to spell out the lesson here?  Leave room for dessert when you go to McKenna’s.  This is a restaurant you should not miss, especially since you can take the Aquabus or the Aqualink ferry from the Aquarium side or the Queen Mary.  I definitely be back as long as I can still waddle through the door.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 12:19 am and is filed under Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.