What To Have

This is my first visit to wild ginger. It recently opened in the progress energy building a few store fronts down from Fins. Their menu includes japanese, thai, sushi and a few other cuisines. I have to admit, i wasnt looking for much from a place that serves general’s chicken and sushi. I’ll admit, i was impressed. I had a roll (crazy tuna) or something and it was very good. The sushi was also fresh and nicely sized. One of the best parts about this place was that they delivered the food as it was prepared. So nothing was waiting on a line somewhere for the entire order to be finished.
I’ll have to go back and try some other items. The other outstanding factor for Wild Ginger was that everything was very moderately priced.

–Matt

Dinner at Fins again. I cant get enough of this place. This experience was exceptional as well, with one notable suprise. I started with the hot and cold seafood indulgence. I’ve had this before, but i think i called it hot and cold fishes.

After the seafood.. i moved on to the sashimi plate. Literally some of the best sashimi i’ve ever had. I would match this against anything in town. An extra treat was the blue fin toro. All of the fish on the sashimi plate was amazing, the addition of the blue fin took this to another level. The toro tasted like it literally melted when you ate it. It’s hard to desribe, but if you’ve ever had really good, really high quality toro you know what i mean.

I wasn’t sure i could eat more after these two. Honestly I didnt want to turn an amazing meal into something just ok, so i didnt know if i wanted anything else. I took a chance and got the beef lamb kefta burgers. WOW. Gourmet Sliders is the only way i can think to explain these. They start with three small patties, hand made with fresh meats. They’re topped with a fresh made salsa and a small portion of cheese, then placed in lightly toasted buns. Three of these are served with some wilted greens. Amazing, just plain amazing.

–Matt

Fins is now open for lunch. A large group of us from the office wen there today and I was thoroughly impressed. The service was great (even with 12 people) and the food was exceptional.

We started with chicken satay’s. These were large chicken skewers served atop a fresh peanut sauce. The sauce was very tasty, the chef added small peppers to give it a little kick.

Next up was what they said was one of their most popular dishes, their daily hot pot. This is a large bowl, meant to be shared by 2-3. Although if you’re having it with a meal, it can easliy serve 3-5. Today’s hot pot was a creamy mushroom soup. Starting with chicken stock, the chef mixed coconut milk, spices and tons of different mushrooms. It had a hint of curry taste (because coconut milk is used so often in curry) but that taste didnt over power. My favorite part was the ample amount of mushrooms. Everything from shitake to oyster mushrooms filled the bowl and added texture and taste to the soup.

My main dish was their burger. It’s prepared to order (i had medium) and it tastes that way. In NC you can have ground meat prepared how you’d like as long as the meat is ground in house. They make their own burgers at Fins, therefore the ability to have it medium. I was not disappointed. The bread was fresh and toppings were exceptional. I would classify this as a gourmet burger, time was taken in the preparation and presention of this traditionally quick dish. I’ll have this again.

–Matt

Fins Restaurant downtown is finally open! I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. You may remember Fins from their old location off Lead Mine. I never made it out there but everyone I know that’s been there has raved. I heard last week they were doing test dinners so I knew they’d be open soon. I headed down there Wednesday to try it out.

Let me just say, the impression I got throughout the whole meal was excitement. Fins is unlike any other restaurant in the area, and this adds yet another spectacular option for downtown Raleigh dining. They specialize in different fishes, I believe fish represented 8 of the 12 entrée items.

The start was a dish called something like hot and cold fishes, you’ll have to forgive me for the names in this review, I had so many different things it’s impossible to recall all the exact names. Anyway, this starter consisted of 6 samples of dishes on the menu. It included marinated mushrooms, sliced Japanese cucumber, tuna roll, scallop ceviche on plantains, crab salad and seared salmon. The menu name of each of these is far more complex, but I’m sure you’d be able to pick it out. ANY of these items would make a great appetizer or meal by themselves. The tuna roll pieces were large and carefully prepared. The seared salmon was crusted with sesame seeds and served atop a bed of seaweed salad. I don’t like cooked salmon, and I couldn’t get enough. I would order each of these items again without a second thought. Yes, they were that good.

My main course was Tai Snapper this fish was seared crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. It was topped with wok’d mushrooms (cremini slices I believe) and crispy spinach. The whole thing sat in a sauce that was both spicy, garlicky and sweet. It looked almost like red chili oil, but nothing overpowered. With a bite of each you got a little spiciness that led to lite sweetness. The crunchy seared outside of the fish gave way to a flaky middle that matched with the mushrooms and made the entire experience enjoyable.

Finally, dessert was a chocolate soufflé. The menu asks you to allow 25 minutes for preparation, of course I’m willing to do just that for anything that is going to made to order. The soufflé is just as you’d expect chocolate decadence. It’s light, fluffy and not too overpowering. The soufflé is plated with a chocolate truffle drizzle (yes, apparently it’s possible). A scoop of vanilla almond (not 100% on this one) is served on the side. Absolutely worth the wait!!

Fins new place downtown is a welcome addition. I could write 2 or 3 more pages about the tastes and subtleties in these dishes, instead I’ll let you give it a try. I know I can’t wait to go back and start trying everything on the menu.

–Matt

Grabbed a bite at the duck and dumpling tonight, and as usual I was pleasantly surprised. I started with Wonton Soup. I usually go for the hot and sour soup but I decided to give this a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. It was an unusually cold April evening and this soup worked just right. It contained 3 dumplings floating in a smooth beefy broth. The dumplings were of course some of David’s famous. I would certainly rate this as excellent.

I didn’t know what I was in the mood for so I asked for some suggestions. The response was “enough said”, my menu was removed and I continued with my wine. I was informed that I would be receiving one of their new lunch menu items. Pad Thai. Anyone that loves spicy Asian food has had pad thai, and there are many versions out there. I will whole-heartedly say this was the best. It contained the regular ingredients, noodles, vegetables, meat and seafood, but the quality of the ingredients is second to none. The beef was thin sliced filet that falls apart in your mouth. The shrimp were large and juicy. The best part about the dish is what I didn’t get. There is not too much oil in the meal. The sauce in many pad thai’s is very heavy on the oil, it can almost over power the dish. Not the case here, I wont say it was lite, but the flavor with noodles and other ingredient is the focus. If you’re around downtown Raleigh during lunch, I would absolutely give this a try.

–Matt