Sorority parent’s weekend means one thing: time to explore the best of Ann Arbor’s restaurants. Although I had been to Pacific Rim once before, my previous meal was so great that I knew it was worth sacrificing trying a new place. This article may be a month or two overdue, but my dining experience was too great to forego the opportunity to write about it.
Located at 114 W. Liberty Street, Pacific Rim offers an exotic, yet appealing menu that combines Asian and American flavors. My favorite part about dining at Pacific Rim is the depth of knowledge the servers have about all the food. Nothing frustrates me more than asking a waiter for their opinion on a dish I’m interested in ordering, only to receive a very unhelpful “it’s good…from what I understand” response. Not only will the waiters provide you with their opinion on the dish, they will tell you how each component of the dish is prepared, where the ingredients are from and what drink is best to pair with the meal.
The only downside of eating there? There are too many great options to choose between. The first time I ate at Pacific Rim, I ordered the Japanese-Style Sablefish and while the dish was impeccably prepared, I knew that I needed to further explore the menu.
So here’s how we did Pacific Rim:
Appetizers:
Again, sadly no pictures were taken of the appetizers but of all that we ordered, I’d suggest getting the Pork Confit Mu Shu Tacos. The Mu Shu pancakes were thicker than what would usually be served at a regular Chinese restaurant, but they nicely complimented the very flavorful pork confit.
Entrées:
Seared Big Eye Tuna
Beautiful big eye tuna lightly seared, served with a ginger-miso sauce, wasabi oil, julienned jicama salad and crispy sushi rice.
Black Sesame-Crusted Rack of Lamb
Natural-fed Hannewald Farm rack of lamb with a spicy Thai peanut sauce, bok choy and a taro-polenta cake.
Korean Marinated Ribeye
Thin Slices of grilled certified angus ribeye, with sesame crispy rice, sautéed julienned vegetables, jicama kim chi, quail egg and a Korean chili sauce.
Best dish? Not being partial to my dish….but I’d have to say it takes the cake in both presentation and taste. If you’re a fish lover and want to know what tuna tastes like when it’s prepared correctly, I’d highly advise ordering the Seared Big Eye Tuna. The sauces were an excellent addition to the dish and were great with both the fish and side of crispy sushi rice.
Atmosphere? Dimly lit, relaxing and modern. Pacific Rim is a great place to go to with family or on a date – there’s also a full service bar. Large groups beware, the restaurant seems to have limited room to accommodate to groups of over 8.
Cost? Definitely not an everyday place, but great for a special occasion. Most appetizers are around $9 and entrées average $26-29.
If you want to check out the menu for yourself before heading over:
No comments:
Post a Comment