Twisted Cork Bistro

Twisted Cork Bistro

 www.twistedcorkbistro.com

10730 Pacific Street

(402) 932-1300

On a recent occasion generally celebrated as romantic, my beau took me to a charming little place called Twisted Cork Bistro.  I do mean little- they couldn’t have had more than a dozen tables.  I do mean charming- the staff was friendly and knowledgeable and the owner checked on all the tables and bussed them himself.

Living in the Midwest, I have lamented before about being able to find decent seafood.  TCB focuses on local food, but their Seattle influence is obvious.  The menu is concise and 70% seafood.  Plus, I have to love a place where the wine list is longer than the menu.  (Don’t be intimidated by that.  The staff knows their stuff.  Get a recommendation.)

On this particular Hallmark Holiday night out my beau and I both ordered the Northwest Salad.  Pears are my favorite and I rarely pass up a chance to have a pear salad.  Mixed with pistachios, white cheddar, craisins and apple vinaigrette on a bed of mixed greens, the salad was a generous portion for a starter.  Thankfully, it was not overdressed.  Twisted Cork also offers a salad of greens, red onion, Kalamata Olives, goat cheese, and a basil balsamic vinaigrette or a choice of corn chowder, mulligatawny, or fire roasted tomato soup, all for $5. 

Reading over the entrées, the descriptions hint at not only the Pacific Northwest, but also the Pacific Islands.  There seems to be a bit of Hawaiian influence as well, evidenced by the use of macadamia nuts, coconut, mango, ginger and miso in some dishes.  I ordered the Shell Fish Duet: wild jumbo sea scallops & shrimp, mango-curry, coconut, cream, carrot, jasmine rice.  The seafood was well prepared and my first two scallops were perfect in doneness and texture.  My third scallop was slightly undercooked.  Surprisingly, the shrimp were just a bit overcooked, but I’m really nit-picking here.  They were plump and delicious.  They were generous with the mango and the curry provided a nice bite.  I wish there had been a little more of the curry to cut the sweetness of the dish but that didn’t stop me from gobbling it all up.  The scallops had a lovely sear and the rice had great texture.  Being able to execute a dish well is something I don’t take for granted.  The meal was wonderful. 

My beau ordered the Sockeye Salmon which came crusted with ginger and served over Jasmine Rice with corn, miso-sesame vinaigrette, and basil oil.  Again, the salmon was perfectly prepared, well seasoned and the flavors of the dish were balanced.  I enjoyed the combination of basil with ginger and miso flavors, something I wouldn’t have expected.

The dinner was really quite fantastic.  The entrées alone would have been enough to recommend this restaurant.  Then, we had dessert.  The balance of ingredients, bursts of flavor and just overall experience was even better than the meals.  It has been some time since I’ve had a dessert that good.  I ordered the spice cake.  I am not afraid of strong flavors and you shouldn’t be either if you order this.  It was strongly spiced and topped with candied ginger.  It was fantastic.  And when paired with the rich vanilla ice cream topped with orange zest… even better!  The rest of the world ceased to exist while I ate that cake.  When I came to, and remembered I had a boyfriend sitting across from me, I tasted his chocolate cheesecake sitting on a pool of ganache and topped with sugared raspberries.  Pretty freaking good also.

If you are a fan of seafood and interesting flavor combinations, make a reservation for the little restaurant right away.  If you prefer beef, they serve a couple beef and chicken entrées, not the least of which is the Twisted Cork Burger, chosen by Food Network Magazine as the #1 Burger in Nebraska for their 50 States, 50 Burgers selection.