I have a Passion for Fish

We live in Reston and often walk our dogs around Reston Town Center. It is a great place to people watch on Friday and Saturday nights as people pour out of the patio at Jackson's and hang out near the fountain. There is plenty of al fresco dining options and the recent nice weather put me in the mood to eat outside.

I went to PassionFish for lunch with a girlfriend shortly after moving to Reston. We had a really great lunch and I knew it was a place I wanted to take Patrick. Someone near us had ordered the Oyster Po Boy and I knew it was a sandwich Patrick would love. We often walk our dogs by there and try to keep them from peeing near the patrons. It felt a bit odd being on the other side of their patio.

It was Friday evening and the place was packed. We were told 30 minutes for a table outside and waited in the crowded bar. The interior of the restaurant is very clean and modern with great paintings of fish. I love fish, love to eat them, look at them, even feed them or swim with them. Lady luck was with us and we got seated outside in no time. This was a relief as the crowded bar had started to frustrate me and Patrick was very hungry.

We had a nice table outside with a great breeze to enjoy. Patrick had a beer and I indulged in a glass of Cava. One glass of Cava is enough to get me buzzed and not give me a migraine the next day. I asked our server if the grilled baby octopus was breaded and was happy to hear that is was not. He asked if I had a wheat allergy and I said yes which is easier then explaining that I avoid wheat because I have arthritis and wheat is inflammatory and when I eat wheat my joints hurt worse than they already do. He said they would be happy to cook my food separate to avoid any possible contamination. Wow!!! I have never had such wonderful gluten free service before.

We ordered our food and shortly our server returned to tell me that the blue crab and corn chowder was roux based and did have wheat if I wanted to ordered something else. I guess their computer ordering system has space for food allergies and if something conflicts it will come up on the screen and notify the server. Gotta love technology!



We started with the Grilled Baby Octopus with Greek Salad, Grilled Halloumi and Tzatsiki. I love Halloumi and last weekend I did a Halloumi demonstration at work which I will blog about later. The octopus was wonderful, tender, well seasoned with a taste of char from the grill and was complimented by the salty Halloumi cheese. The Greek salad and tzatsiki sauce was fresh and made me wish I ate wheat to sop up its goodness.



Patrick ordered the Beet Salad with Farm Fresh Goat Cheese, Greens and Spiced Pecan Vinaigrette. It was a nice salad, the cheese was tangy and fresh and the pecans were really nice but it was light on the beets. I had never seen beet carpacio before and wondered if the price of beets had suddenly sky rocketed or maybe they were running low on beets. It was a nice salad but not quite 9$ nice.



Patrick asked our server what the Big Daddy was for $69 and we were told it was 8 oysters, 8 clams, 8 shrimp, lobster, and crab and maybe some other stuff, I forget. The server told us they also offer the Little Dingy which is half a Big Daddy for half the price. Patrick was overwhelmed by a crazy week at work and too many great choices on the menu and went for the Little Dingy. It was a fresh and delicious monstrosity. It was served with 3 sauces which seemed to be a classic red sauce, a creamy white horseradish, and an overly sweet vinaigrette. The horseradish was the best of the 3 but the sea food did not require much sauce. The lobster tail however was very chewy and overcooked.



I got the Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut with a Green Papaya Salad and Passion Fruit Panang. This item is usually breaded with yummy yummy Panko but the fish is breaded to order and they could do it without the Panko. I was so happy to hear this and enjoyed the dish. It may not have been crusted exactly but the flavors were wonderful. The Panag was really delicious and I was tempted to lick my plate but controlled myself.

Our server came with the dessert menus and the bad news that the only gluten free dessert was the Caramel Creme Brulee. They offered sorbet but they add a gluten stabilizer which was disappointing but I was happy that he was so knowledgeable about the menu. We skipped dessert and I had made Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream the day before and was looking forward to eating it when we got home.

This was a wonderful meal which made me feel special. PassionFish has a great atmosphere, wonderful food, and a great staff. They are very accommodating which was proven when they tried to arrange the patio furniture for a party of six and after many configurations took a table inside. But it showed that the staff was willing to do whatever it takes to make their patrons happy. I highly recommend this restaurant and recently Washingtonian Magazine said they had the best clams casino.

Wheat Hates Me

Wheat, oh how I love the things you can do with flour. Bread is such a staple of life. Crusty baguette with cheese, croissant, bagel, muffin, cookie, and even sweeter, cake, pie, tarts, brownies, then there is breakfast, toast with butter and jam, waffles, pancakes, strata, and breakfast for dinner was always a special night. And how about dinner, pasta, pizza, anything breaded, and for lunch there is no sandwich without two slices of bread and there are so many sandwiches and very few substitutes for them. How I have been craving a sandwich. Crisp golden crust that crumbles to flake when you bite it and the center is so soft and chewy.

I used to live a block away from two of the best bakeries in South Philadelphia, a French boulangerie that did a wonderful baguette and a version with chocolate, as well as cheesy bread and croissants and the other was a wood fired Italian bakery. We could stand in our tiny bricked backyard or even just standing in the kitchen and smell burning wood and baking bread. But bringing any of these things into the house was just asking for it. Hot fresh bread, how could I stop myself from consuming all of it? It would be eaten way quicker than a loaf of sandwich bread would ever go.

When I was backpacking through Europe for four and a half months I lost a fair amount of weight. My mother was so shocked when she laid eyes on me upon my arrival home. Eventually I gained it all back by eating bagels. I find bread and carbs to be so comforting and delicious. I was never into the Atkins low-carb crazy. Honestly, I am a wheat junkie. I shouldn’t touch the stuff but it’s all I ever want and if I get some I only want more. And there is no substitute for flour. I have tried many imitators but I want the real thing. How can it be so bad for me?

Well how bad is it? I have arthritis everywhere and wheat is inflammatory so it causes my already painful joints to feel even worse. There is a magazine for Celiac disease called Living Without. How sad is that? So please do not tempt, offer, or give me wheat. There will be a few occasions between now and 1/2/10 when I will indulge but after that so much will be a no.

At least I do not need crackers when it comes to cheese but it does make eating some soft cheeses easier. And yes that includes beer. But I shouldn’t be drinking alcohol anyway which is also on the chopping block. My last meal would be fresh hot bread basket with butter and jelly and can I also have a sandwich with cheese or a grilled cheese or a Panini. Oh to dream…