EVERETT — Snohomish County diners are fortunate to have a fair selection of waterfront restaurants. When stumped for dinner conversation topics, you can always look out the window for inspiration. Commenting on the odds of a nice sunset has broken many a momentary silence.
Emory’s on Silver Lake distinguishes itself from its fellow waterfront restaurants in the area by its location on a lake, rather than on saltwater, and its sushi bar.
Open since 1994 on property that was once the private Silver Beach Resort in the ’30s, the restaurant offers a lengthy menu of seafood, steaks and pasta with nods to Mediterranean and Asian cooking.
The restaurant’s decor plays to the resort past with the expected look of a Northwest fishing lodge. Not too exciting, but then you’re attention is probably on your companion or the view.
On recent visits, my wife and I put both surf and turf to the test.
For an appetizer on our first visit we ordered the Thai lettuce wraps ($8.95), ginger and sesame marinated bites of chicken, bean spouts and onion, served with leaves of cool lettuce that you fill, fold and consume. Tasty, but go easy on the salty soy and sesame sauce served on the side.
A maple pear salad ($6.95) with Gorgonzola cheese offered a nice mix of sweet and salty flavors from fresh Bartlett pears, candied pecans and the Gorgonzola. I could have been more adventurous and ordered something other than a Caesar salad ($5.95), but it’s a standby I enjoy and it was what it should have been.
A recent soup selection was a red pepper and tomato soup that offered bright sunny flavors on a winter night.
On a following, visit we ordered an unagi roll from the menu of sushi, sashimi and nigiri. I won’t try to convert those who can’t abide sushi, but for those who do enjoy it, the unagi (freshwater eel) was fresh and well-flavored with or without the wasabi-spiked soy sauce.
Good sushi and sashimi isn’t too hard to find in the county, but it’s an attractive option at a waterfront restaurant and a feature that will tip the scale toward Emory’s on nights when wasabi calls.
As for the turf options, my wife really enjoyed the cider-brined pork chop ($19.95). The chop was moist and served on a mound of polenta, the earthy harvest notes a nice match for the pork. If I had my way, I’d substitute polenta for the potatoes served with most meat dishes.
A Kobe bistro beef steak ($19.95) was served with a baked potato (of course) and a red wine sauce. While the meat itself was fine, the steak had been ordered medium rare but came to the table without the reddish-pink flesh it should have had.
Seafood didn’t disappoint on a later visit. A spring greens salad with grilled salmon ($17.50) offered a well prepared fillet atop greens and was served with a raspberry vinaigrette, glazed walnuts and more of the Gorgonzola.
A seafood pad Thai ($19.95) offered mixed results but got the seafood right. The rice noodles were overcooked and were mostly mush, although the tomato and coconut sauce was flavorful and had enough spice to leave lips tingling. At least four scallops, along with shrimp, calamari and chunks of salmon were cooked correctly and made up for the noodles.
Emory’s offers a good list of Northwest and California wines and microbrews as well as domestic and imported beer.
The dessert menu was unremarkable with the standard selection, creme brulee, chocolate cake.
For diners on a budget, Emory’s does offer a three-course special, offering a selection of soup or salad, entrees and dessert for $26, or $21 if you’re seated before 5:30 p.m. And, if you can swing the early seating, at this time of year, you might actually catch a sunset worthy of conversation.
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