Don't Back Down

My first exposure to Upstream was a few years ago at one of those "taste of" events, when all sorts of places from around town bring samples of their wares, and for a few bucks you can buy a little plate with something on it. We had teriyaki salmon, and it was just awesome. Ever since, we've been meaning to go by and try their real food.

So we went. I'd have to agree with a lot of others in that the atmosphere is just a little to stuffy for my own personal taste. It's a nice place, and you really don't have to dress up - we went in jeans - but it's just so "pretty". The staff is nice, they are relatively attentive and all, but it just seems so wrong. I'd much rather go somewhere that's a little grizzled.

In any case the menus were delivered and we decided to try the spring roll appetizers, and they were actually quite good. I liked that there were two of us, and they split the appetizer onto two plates. That's a nice touch. Most places give you one plate and you're left to do it yourself. Another nice thing is that the bread comes with melted butter. That's cool.

I ordered the sea bass, on the suggestion of the server, who said it is "far and away" the best thing on the menu, while my wife had a sirloin. The flavor of the fish was good, but it was just so sponge-like I had a difficult time eating it. The texture was just strange. The steak, meanwhile, was really good. Odd, at a seafood place.

Overall, it was decent, but it wasn't cheap by any means. I think we'd rather go to the more fun and much better McCormick and Schmick's, as it's just more our style, and the food is typically better (and it's cheaper to boot).