Aaron’s Kosher Eats: Fish Plate

Last sunday afternoon was a beautiful sunny winter day and I was in the mood for a light healthy lunch.  While there are an abundance of restaurants to choose from in my neighborhood, only a few have menus that include healthy dishes other than the typical salad or roasted veggies dish.  I decided to try a place called Fish Plate.  This was a perfect venue for a casual lunch.  Consonant with the seafood menu, the ambiance has a sort of Mediterranean/seaside feel with ocean blue and white décor. There is no waiter service, but rather one orders from the register and is called back to pick up the food as it is ready.  Seating is casual as well, with booths and small tables.  While it was too cold for us to eat outside, there is an outside seating option during warmer weather.   Fish Plate offers a wide range of grilled and fried fish, starters, pastas and salads well within an affordable budget.

We opted to start with the soup, and ordered both the Chesapeake Fish Chowder and the Spicy Vegetarian Chili Soup.  The Chesapeake Fish Chowder was creamy and delicious.  I am sure this soup contained butter and cream, which is not healthy, however, it was quite hearty as it contained a lot of fish and vegetables.  As a matter of fact, if I hadn’t skipped breakfast, this and a small salad could have been a meal on its own.  My wife ordered the Spicy Vegetarian Chili Soup, and I had a taste, but was not impressed.  It could be just a personal preference that I don’t like spicy foods, but honestly, my mouth was on fire and I couldn’t enjoy the soup at all.  On a positive note, if one could stand the spiciness, the soup did contain a lot of protein and vitamins, as it contained legumes and a bunch of veggies.

Next we ordered Fish Plate’s signature (mock) Crab Cakes.  I have always wanted to try crab cakes, but alas, crab is not kosher…   I was very happy to learn that Fish Plate was able to imitate the traditional dish by using imitation crab meat which is made from fish instead.   While, my understanding is that traditional crab cakes contain a ton of fillers, such as egg and bread crumbs, which increases the fat and calorie content, Fish Plate’s crab cakes contain the minimum amount of fillers necessary to the dish.  According to its menu, Fish Plate’s crab cakes are made using a minimal amount of handmade white bread crumbs and fresh parsley.  The subtle spices created a flavorful dish, which I would definitely order again.

For an entrée, I ordered the sea bass and my wife ordered the char grilled salmon fillet.   The Salmon and Sea Bass were cooked perfectly!  The portions of the entrées were a decent size for the price.  Both types of fish were fresh and cooked in a way to let the true flavors of the fish shine through.  I loved that they didn’t drown the food in butter or oil and kept the spices simple.  As a matter of fact, we cleaned our plates.  In addition, we ordered a Malibu salad to share, which contained romaine hearts, red onion, cucumber, craisins, and crispy tortilla strips, and  was served with Malibu ranch dressing and mango salsa on the side.  The salad was fresh, but the dressing and the salsa tasted suspiciously identical to those I buy at Costco.  Nothing much more to say there.

I don’t know why it took me so long to try Fish Plate, but going forward I am sure to make it a staple Sunday lunch venue.