Halibut's

Posted By Michael Stern on January 31, 2007 10:56 AM

When we walked into Halibut's, owner Dave Mackay was at the left side of the restaurant behind the counter where the row of fry kettles is, proclaiming aloud the beauty of a particular side of salmon as he prepared to cut it into pieces that would be served within hours. It was an appetizing sight: vivid pink with dense, heavy flesh fairly dripping fatty savor. It came from the Copper River, of course (Alaska's coldest), and while broiling or grilling it would be grand, this restaurant's deep-fry skills are equally brilliant, encasing the kingly meat in a thin, fragile crust that is amazingly grease-free and only enhances the essential taste of the fish within.

All kinds of fish are fried here. The halibut comes as four heavy blocks that are moist and sweet, big white hunks flaking off with pieces of crust still clinging when you hoist them from the basket that also contains superb, crunch-crusted French fries. Also of note on the menu are Dungeness crab cakes, which come as a sheaf of four flat ones, very crabby and nicely spiced with a red-gold crust. And the chowder is not to be missed. It is ridiculously thick with clams and potatoes and a surfeit of rich pig meat, available plain in a bowl or with Alaskan bay shrimp added.

The restaurant is a casual bar setting with raucous blues playing on the speakers (or performed live weekend nights). Tables are bare wood. Decor is an eclectic assortment of nautical items and images of rock stars and movie stars. Overhead fans spin above the dining room, which is pretty much arranged around an impressively stocked bar. There is a happy hour menu and a long list of such whoop-de-doo cocktails as The Ultimate Margarita, a Mai Tai, and an insouciant Lemon Drop, made with fresh-squeezed lemons, Absolut Citron, Triple Sec, Bacardi Limon, sweet and sour and sugar and served in a goofy-stemmed martini glass.