I hadn’t had lunch with my buddy Jim Harris for a while. I called him after checking my calendar. He had to be back home at 1:30, so I suggested Duke’s on Ruston Way next to the old fireboat and only a mile or so away from Jim’s home and perhaps only two miles from mine. We both have views of Puget Sound, so the scenery from inside the restaurant offered no allure, but Jim did check the tide as we entered.

I love a good chowder, but had not really enjoyed their chowder before. We asked for a table with a view. There was only one left. Once we sat down I realized why there was one left. The view was limited and we were sitting next to a gas fed fireplace. Our server, Connor, cut the heat for us and made some suggestions for our order.

The sourdough bread ball with a tiny, tiny cube of butter, was excellent. More butter would be better

I had a dinghy of North by Northwest Seafood Chowder. The $4.40 dinghy of chowder means a taste in a fancy, tiny bowl perhaps an inch deep.

For the Ragin’ Cajun Chicken Corn Chowder I asked for he Small Bowl @ $13.40. Although I enjoyed the Ragin’ Cajun, but there was little “Ragin’ Cajun” going on. I was expecting some kind of flavor kick.

With a nice “Sprite”-like Seattle lemony soda, and the tip, I got away from lunch with a good tip for $40.00 Jim had coffee, so he paid about five dollars more.

I would have been deeply disappointed in the lunch, had it not been for the server Connor, and one other item: “Maple Bacon Seafood Bites” with its
Nitrite-free bacon wrapped Wild Mexican Pacific Prawn & Alaska Weathervane Scallop with an herb maple butter sauce. The scallop was not as big around as my thumb, but the taste combination was fantastic. The sourdough dipped into the sauce was excellent, too.

Visit the Dukes Seafood website – dukesseafood.com/

Source: The Suburban Times