Enjoying 18 Seaboard – Raleigh, NC

The duller the name, the better the restaurant. NC Seafood Restaurant serves exactly what it says, and it does a darn good job of it. Irregardless Café is a name of excitement and mystery, but the F in their Food stands for f’ed up. Sweet Onion isn’t all that creative, but their trout turned out pretty sweet. If the naming of North Carolina restaurants is any indication, a restaurant named for its street address should be pretty phenomenal.

The Amuse Bouche, some sort of pureed asparagus with a dab of goat cheese, really whetted the appetite on a sticky summer day. A lot of thought went into this cheesy-green little bite, and it seems a lot of thought went into the big bites too because this restaurant/street address definitely didn’t disappoint.

I don’t know how much thought it took to come up with the Sea Island Red Pea Hummus. I’m not sure I could ever think of it. Compared to chick pea hummus, the red pea is a little more grainy and a little more gritty, with a stronger, more hard-hitting flavor burst. Hummus is so smooth you barely notice you’re eating it, but one taste of red pea will knock your socks off. And the contrast of the grainy, heavier hummus with a smooth, cool cucumber was absolutely amazing. The red pea hummus couldn’t have been more different than the hummus you’d expect every time you open a container of Sabra, but I hope whoever thought of this keeps thinking because this was one brilliant idea.

I usually avoid walking the plank, but if my dull-name theory works, the wood plank entrees were clearly the way to go. My Atlantic Salmon melted in my mouth at a perfectly-cooked medium, and although my side sauce of Champagne Tarragon Butter was an herbalicious addition, I would stick to just dipping some bread or fries in it. When the salmon lingers so lusciously, what’s the point of swallowing sauce? The side of Blue Crab Hoppin’ John didn’t have me hopping for joy…or for anything, really. It’s a just more polished Campbell’s chicken and stars soup where the congealed nastiness is replaced with clear broth and crab. A little bit bland, but I approve the substitution.

I heard Mint Chocolate Chip Crème Brulee and thought I had to try it. Sometimes my thoughts are very wrong. Almost as wrong as this creamy-yet-chocolatey, sugary-yet-bitter-fresh, more-confused-than-a-teenager-with-an-identity-crisis concoction. It didn’t taste bad, but crème brulee plus mint is weird.

Instead of the traditional pat on the back, 18 Seaboard gave me a congratulatory pound. As if those incredible, individually-wrapped, grocery-store slices next to the Twinkies weren’t good enough, their moist little Pound Cake topped with a icy congratulations was even better than the lemon loafs I treat myself to after a good day at Starbucks. Sure it’s just pound cake, but then again, Seaboard is just a street.

What is in a name? Just an address if you’re at 18 Seaboard. No fancy nomenclature, no twisted taxonomy, no confusing classifications. Everything is named for what it is and its most recent mailing address (i.e. Florida gulf swordfish). So give 18 Seaboard a chance and don’t be fooled by a dullish name. Because food this good doesn’t need a name to hide behind.