Seattle is not a large city by any means.  Yet summoning the desire to seek out restaurants beyond the confines of my Fremont neighborhood is not always the easiest for me to do.  We all tend to gravitate around our own little urban communities and I am no exception.  This is not a bad thing except when you are reviewing restaurants for an online audience.  With this in mind I have made it my goal over the next two weeks to review restaurants in neighborhoods in which I’ve passed through yet have seldom spent much time.  One evening this week found me on Capitol Hill at Coastal Kitchen.

An interesting place, Coastal Kitchen has all the interior charm of a restaurant that has been in business in the same location for decades.  Cast iron pillar tables with wooden tops, worn wooden booths and old style schoolhouse lighting fixtures add a late ’30s, early ’40s feel.  Jazz and swing plays overhead in this warm open space though I did find it a bit dark with the rain beginning to fall just outside.

The service was quick and friendly, almost as if one were a regular.  I had decided on Aquitaine Steak (18.25) for dinner as I wanted something substantial to keep me warm as I visited the shops on 15th Avenue after dinner.  The steak arrived quickly and had a decent sear on the outside but not as charred as it could have been.  The little hint of smokiness went well with the juiciness of the medium-rare meat though.  Topping the steak was a small pile of blue cheese.  I’m not sure exactly what it was but there was something seriously off.  Instead of a tangy, salty pile of cheese crumbles I got what can only be described as chemical nuggets.  The taste of plastic first came to mind but it was something more, I can’t quite put my finger on it.  So I scraped the blue cheese off and was satisfied enough with just the steak.  Though there was a small puddle of red wine, demiglace reduction it did little as there was a distinct lack of flavor to it.  The potatoes were passable but the braised kale was bitter and buttery just as it should be, though there was far less of it than I would have liked.

When all is said and done Coastal Kitchen is a decent neighborhood restaurant, though the prices may be a little higher than one would want to pay on a daily basis.  As for my meal I would suggest to anyone ordering the same, and I’m sure I’ll hear jeers on this, get the steak sans cheese or at the very least on the side.