MARITIME SEAFOOD AND GRILL

I was reading the paper this afternoon and in the Ticket section of the Bee I saw an add for Maritime on Fair Oaks Blvd. It is located in the old Century 21 building in a strip mall that houses Palm Street Pub and Grill a number of other shops. Maritime has only been open since last Wednesday. It is a number of small rooms with about 8 booths.. cream colored walls, hardwood floor, arched doorways(I was leaning over so the archway isn't very straight) and rectangular window like openings into each room. I think the lights over the table should have been a brighter color to give it some pop of color but it was a kind of gold color.

After we were seated and brought the menu and wine list we were brought a basket of bread and butter and an Amuse Busche: it was a small bite of Salmon Encroute with Smoked Mozzarella.. puff pastry with a piece of salmon with smoked mozzarella melted over. It wasn't anything great but a nice little bite to start with.

The menu is fairly short but varied consisting of Appetizers: Burgundy Poached Pear and Arugula salad, Baby Romain Hearts, Heirloom Tomatoes w/Fresh Mozzarella,Crispy Soft Shell Crab, Ahi Tuna Sampler. Entree: Grilled Alaskan Salmon,Herb Encrusted Grilled Swordfish, Pan Roasted Hamachi,Maple Seared Duck,Sonora lamb Shanks, Braised Rabbit,Black Squid Ink ( was going to ask about this dish as it was various seafood with a light Chardonnay Sauce..I don't know where the squid ink comes in..but forgot). The special of the night was Fillet Encroute.

I had the Crispy Soft Shell Crab W/ whole grain mustard and red bell pepper sauce. The half of crab was lightly battered and very fresh tasting. The whole grain mustard sauce was just whole grain mustard mixed with mayo. The red pepper sauce was good but didn't have a lot of the red pepper taste. I love soft shell crab so just the crab alone would have been fine.. sauteed in a little butter would have made it better. Charlie had the baby Romaine hearts which was basically a Ceasar salad. You can get white anchovy fillets to top the salad. Charlie said it was good and just the right size.

Charlie had the Grilled Alaskan Salmon which was topped with Salmon Caviar and a side of mashed potato, I had the special of the Fillet Encroute.. medium rare fillet w/demi glace wrapped in puff pastry shell accompanied with hericort verte. Both entrees were very good. The salmon was perfectly cooked, the fillet was cooked medium rare,very tender and flavorful.

Deserts consisted of:Raspberry Trio,Chocolate Mousse Cake,Chocolate Fondant Cake,Creme Brulee, Grand Marnier Souffle(needs to be ordered w/entree as it takes time to bake).

I had the Chocolate Fondant Cake(I don't know where the fondant was), a warm dark chocolate cake with chocolate sauce. It had a beautiful spun sugar decoration.. really pretty presentation.

Charlie had the Raspberry Trio.. Raspberry sorbet, raspberry creme brulee and something else that tasted just like the brulee.

The deserts looked a lot better than they tasted, I thought. Charlie liked his desert. Mine was just OK..

Maritime doesn't have a liquor license yet, and hopes to be granted one soon. They do have beer.. Stella Artois,Widmere Hefewizen, and Bud. They have 0ne or two of each type of wine listed for by the glass. Not a big choice. The by the bottle list is more varied.

All in all the meal was quite good. Hope fully they will pick up clientele as people learn about this place. Service was good and our server was very personable. I'd like to go back again in a couple of months to see if the food is still as good or even better as they find their niche.

Maritime Seafood and Grill

6440 Fair Oaks Blvd

Carmichael

916 489-8465