I believe that good food shouldn’t be saved for just special occasions, because every day should be a day to celebrate how wonderful life is. Which makes celebrating special occasions a little more difficult, but only because I need to figure out what the honoree would like best, rather than what I like best.  For my mom and dad’s anniversary (let’s say 30+) and my mom’s birthday combination dinner, we chose Westward for the following reasons:
–  middle eastern inspired, which my mom likes
– whole roasted trout – there’s nothing my dad enjoys more than a whole fish
– nominated as one of the top 10 restaurants by Bon Appetite magazine
– I’ve been there before, and it’s solid

grilled halloumi cheese – with arugula, cranberries, cashews; loved the combination of cheese with the tartness of cranberries, earthiness of nuts, spiciness of arugula, and tanginess of vinaigrette; you have to cut the cheese with a knife and it has a nice firm texture without being too rubbery

fried brussels sprouts – with feta and lemon; I don’t like Brussels sprouts, but I liked these; the crispy texture gives them a nice crunch and the lemon adds a refreshing pop

fried calamari and oysters – with funnel and pollen, the cornmeal breading give it an extra robust texture; the oysters and squid were both fresh and tender

squid ink risotto with scallops – perfectly seared sweet scallops, briny risotto (I believe they use Spanish risotto not the Italian kind as the grains were larger for a better toothy bite and not undercooked or overcooked), delicious!

whole trout – with mushrooms, the entire reason we came here as my dad loves whole fish, well cooked and quite large for a trout, didn’t really find the mushrooms and endives added much to the fish though, the waitress will debone it for you, so no worries if you’re worried about eating a whole fish – though I will caution you on the bones

loukoumades – fried poppy cake with a creamy lemon curd, not too sweet but a nice finish to the meal

books & bridges ginger ale – locally bottled underground, gingery and dry – not too sweet, my sister loved it (and she loves her ginger beer)

Westward -homage to Wes Andersen

Westward – Little Gull Oyster bar, sit here when the restaurant is full

Westward – beachfront

The only missing piece, is better training for the wait staff on how to properly debone a fish. Our waitress was barely looking at the poor fish when she sliced him in half to get underneath the bones and pull out the main spine, which resulted in her losing half the bones in the fish. And then she kind of mashed it with the fork and knife as if to break up the beautiful whole fish.  Needless to say, there were a lot of bones to watch out for. Now, I’m no stranger to eating whole fish with bones (we don’t normally debone a fish in Chinese culture), but I can’t imagine how others who have never encountered a whole fish might deal with the bones. Just eat them I suppose? The other waitress seemed to fair better with her fish as the spine came out mostly in tact. Still, the whole trout is worth trying and it’s decently sized, so plan on sharing it.

Westward does not disappoint with inventive takes on seafood in a fun setting. Where else can you sit on a beach with a fire pit with a drink and nosh in hand? Now, if only they had some sort of s’more with cardamom marshmallow for dessert… I digress. The care with which the dishes are prepared in the wood oven is commendable, considering how difficult it can be to control the temperature, and yet everything came out perfectly cooked.

SUMMARY
Overall: happily ever after
Highlights: fried squid, whole trout, loukamades
Footnotes: make a reservation in advance, otherwise you might be able to snag a seat at Little Gull’s oyster bar; go during the summer to experience the full effect of the beachfront