Uni, Butterfish Tapas Style Goodness!!

Once we had our fill of wine in Sonoma Valley, CA, we headed into downtown Healdsburg in search of dinner.  We decided on Willi's Seafood & Raw Bars.  The restaurant has a tapas style menu, great wine selection (duh!) and plenty of raw items for the choosing.  Since we were looking to soak up some of the wine for the drive back to the hotel, we decided on a few small plates instead of diving into the raw bar.  The first thing we ordered was a lobster roll.  The roll didn't have too much spice or mayo to cover the fresh lobster taste.  We even bought three lobsters to make into rolls this weekend.

Warm Maine Lobster with Garlic Butter & Fennel

Next up, we have the uni mac & cheese.  Nope, that's not a typo.  This mac & cheese dish has noodles, scallops, an uni cheese sauce, and bread crumbs on top.  I died.  I think we could have put down three more orders of this surprising take on a comfort food dish.

Uni “Mac & Cheese” with Chives & Sweet Bay Scallops

Moving on, we ordered a lump crab cake.  It was good enough to mention, but not the best "all meat" crab cake I've ever had.  My favorite crab cake is served at Splendido in Beaver Creek, CO.  We enjoy heading to Colorado to escape the Texas heat.

Dungeness Crab Cake

Last up is caramelized butterfish.  I've never even heard of this light fish.  I felt like I was eating an entire filet of toro.  The butterfish was airy, like little cloud pillows.  It was heaven! The oyster mushrooms were a great touch.

Caramelized Butterfish with Miso Vinaigrette & Exotic Mushroom

I'm sure we'll make it back by Willi's on our next trip to Sonoma.  Do you like seafood?  I'd love to hear about any recipe or restaurant recommendations!!