Barking Frog

I have been driving past Barking Frog every single morning for the past few weeks now. It was one of those restaurants that was on my to-try list but never found the right opportunity. With Restaurant Week going on in Seattle, I figured there’s no better time than now! We managed to squeeze in a reservation at 8:45 this past Wednesday and our table was available promptly at that time. As the hostess was walking us to our table, one can’t help but notice this large size table with a fire-pit in the center. People at that particular table were having their meals like normal, and I can’t help but wonder if they’ll get to toast some marshmallows after their dinners!

As we took our seats at our table, I felt a bit awkward with the extra cushion that protruded to my back, but as the evening went on, I noticed it actually served its purpose nicely by providing a firm support for ones back! We selected our courses from the restaurant-week menu and decided to get the wine pairing as well to go along with our meal.

The soup was just delicious! It was creamy and flavourful which got my taste buds going and asking for more! I didn’t taste much of a difference after blending in the blue cheese whipped cream (the blue cheese must have been really mild), but the almond crumbs did add a nice touch to the bisque by providing the soup with more texture. I did find the soup a tad on the salty side though, but my husband (after I finally agreed to relinquish the bowl for him to try) thought it was perfect. Guess I have been cooking with less sodium these days and have become more sensitive to it.

Perhaps I should have tried this dish the moment it arrived, but I did not like the batter that was used to wrap the scallop one bit. It reminded me of the batter on those deep fried chicken balls that I don’t really like. The scallop underneath the relatively thick and mushy batter was cooked to perfection though! There was no fishy taste to the scallop, and it had a creamy texture to it. I finished the rest of the scallop batter-less!

The name of this dish was simply “pork cheeks” and boy, were the pork cheeks tasty! I wonder how long it takes to slow cook something such that the meat will just fall off the way it did (definitely something I’ll be exploring in my own kitchen) but it was so tender and juicy that it really didn’t need any of the sides and garnishes to boost its taste. To be honest, the pork cheeks with the demi glace would be just fine cause the mustard greens were overcooked and the bacon fried smashed potatoes were just ok!

This was by far the biggest surprise of the night! The entire dish was just excellent. The steelhead was seared such that the inside of the steak was moist and juicy, while the outer crust (including the skin) was deliciously crusty. As you eat your way closer to the center, there was even a touch of rawness in the middle which made the meat even better! The fried skin on top was dry and crispy, not oily. The grits cake was interesting and tasty, especially when you soak it into tomato beurre blanc sauce. The sautéed spinach and mushrooms were fresh, which definitely added to the overall taste of the dish!

The best part about this particular dessert was not the dark rich chocolate crème but the banana sorbet that was sitting on top of it. The sorbet had a very strong banana taste which mixed in very well with the dark chocolate. I did not find the crème too sweet especially when I mixed it with the cookie crumbs on the side!

Saving the worst for last, good thing the other dessert was turned out nicely! This particular cake did not trigger my taste buds at all! Although the appearance was quite attractive, the cake was just hard and overly sweet with no pineapple taste at all.

Barking Frog
14580 NE 145th St
Woodinville, WA 98072
(425) 424-2999
http://www.willowslodge.com/wine_dine/barking_frog.html