Entries Tagged as 'crab cakes'

Dinner at Marshside

July 15th, 2008 · No Comments


Marshside, East Dennis, Cape Cod


Michaela & Jessica :: Marshside, East Dennis, Cape Cod


Rachelle, Julie, Jessica :: Marshside, East Dennis, Cape Cod


Crab Cakes, Haddock, Clams Linguine, Scrod :: Marshside, East Dennis, Cape Cod

After going to Eden, Michaela came over to our house and we spent the day at the beach (what else is new!?). Then we went home and got ready and went out for dinner at Marshside in East Dennis. I heard that not too long ago they totally brought down the whole restaurant and rebuilt it. It’s really pretty. Big decks outside (too bad there wasn’t any outdoor seating) and inside was kind of a modern rustic, if such thing exists. There were many, many windows through which you could see the marsh, hence the name Marshside. All of the windows kind of made it so that the marsh was very much a part of the decor of the restaurant.

Michaela and I shared a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and Julie and Jess shared a red wine at the bar while we waited to be seated at a table. We shared dinner appetizers. I ordered the crab cakes (of course), Michaela got the Cesar salad, Jess got the clam chowder, and Julie got seafood stew. The crab cakes were so much better than I’d had a few days earlier at Skippy’s Pier 1. The clam chowder was really good. Definitely better than Skippy’s but we still favored The Skipper’s chowdah. In hindsight, we really did not enjoy Skippy’s, which is a shame because Jess’s aunt Mau, who we stayed with my last trip to the Cape, works there.. but she’s a bartender.. nothing to do with the food.

Jess and Michaela both got Scrod entrees, I got the haddock and Julie got clams linguine. To be honest, I found the dinner we had at Colombo’s to be more memorable as far as how the food tasted. I know haddock is kind of a bland fish, but the way this was prepared.. if you didn’t take a bite right on the sauce, there was no flavor at all. However, the mashed potatoes were delicious. Jess really enjoyed the scrod and we applauded her for ordering it. She had never really liked fish, but is trying to expand her horizons because a lot of it is mental. I think Michaela and Julie enjoyed their food, too.

[Read more →]

Tags:················

Matt & Molly’s Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

June 19th, 2008 · No Comments


Rehearsal Dinner :: Sharon Country Club, Sharon, CT


Dallas & Zach accidentally both wore off-white suits with pink shirts and striped ties. They thought they were Crockett & Tubbs.


Bill, Matt, Dallas, Ross :: Boathouse, Lakeville, CT


Colleen & Rachelle :: Boathouse, Lakeville, CT


Maureen & Nancy :: Boathouse, Lakeville, CT


Marinella with George & his wife :: Boathouse, Lakeville, CT


Ross :: Boathouse, Lakeville, CT


Tommy & Matt :: Boathouse, Lakeville, CT

Matt & Molly’s wedding rehearsal dinner was held at the Sharon Country Club in Sharon, CT. It was lovely. We had cocktails before dinner then we were all seated. A big delicious crab cake occupied the salad for the first course (and you know about my crab cake obsession). For an entree we were to choose chicken or halibut. I chose the fish and it was delicious. Dessert was strawberry shortcake.

The seating at the wedding was non-traditional. .. or maybe very old-school traditional? I’m not sure, but I’d never seen it before. We were all shuffled up. I sat at a table with 7 people I’d never met before. I thought it would be awkward, but it was actually kind of nice because then in the following days they were friendly faces for you to talk to. At each place setting there was a gift of Hilliard’s Chocolates. In addition the groomsmen each got a snazzy tie for a gift and the bridesmaids all got beautiful emerald necklaces and earrings. Of course the ties and jewelry were for them all to wear the next day, but then to keep forever.

Before and during dinner there were many speeches and well-wishes and toasts by the parents and wedding party. Dallas was asked to make one and I was worried that he would stand up from his seat and say congrats and sit back down. I didn’t know what to expect, but he actually did a really great job up in front of everyone. He thanked Matt’s family for their kindness and hospitality. When Dallas lived in Boston he was far from his family and friends and Matt’s parents and brothers were somewhat of an adopted family for him where he could hang out and spend holidays. Seriously, though, Martin and Luanne are the nicest ever. At the end of Dallas’ speech he spoke about his Hawaiian upbringing and his Japanese heritage and had everyone do a Kanpai toast. People were coming up to him all weekend telling him how great his toast was, which made me really proud. There was also a beautiful slide show set to music of Molly & Matt’s lives and how they’ve come together. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room after that aired.

After dinner we went to the Boathouse in Lakeville, CT where we met up with more friends who were getting into town and had some drinks with them for a few hours.

[Read more →]

Tags:·····················

Crabcakes

April 19th, 2008 · 2 Comments


Crab Cakes, Bourbon House, French Quarter, New Orleans

You probably don’t know this, but I love crab cakes. Louisiana has fabulous crab cakes, so I try to order them whenever I can while visiting. So far of the trips I’ve been down there, my most memorable crabcakes have been:

  • Red Fish Grill where I had some delicious Louisiana blue crabmeat cakes
  • Mr. B’s Bistro – A pan sauteed jumbo lump crabcake served with our classic ravigote sauce
  • Bourbon House – deviled crab cakes served with creole ravigote and marinated crab claws (pictured above)

Mr. B’s and Bourbon House are both part of the Brennan’s empire. I wonder if that’s why they both serve their crabcakes with ravigote. In any case, the New Orleans is not stingy with the crabmeat like other places I’ve been where the crabcake is mostly cake and not crab. YUM!

[Read more →]

Tags:·····

Red Fish Grill

December 14th, 2006 · 2 Comments

2006_12_red_fish_grill_oysters.jpg
Raw Oysters on the Half Shell :: P&J oysters plucked fresh from Louisiana waters and shucked to order. Served with cocktail sauce, horseradish and crackers

2006_12_red_fish_grill_crabcake.jpg
Louisiana Blue Crab Cakes :: Jumbo lump Louisiana crabmeat cakes seared and served with a corn-jalapeno purée and pickled red onions

2006_12_red_fish_grill_red_fish.jpg
Hickory Grilled Redfish :: Fillet of fresh redfish, grilled over hickory, served with smoked pork pontalba potatoes, wild mushrooms, and topped with Louisiana crabmeat and lemon butter sauce

2006_12_red_fish_grill_special.jpg
I can’t remember exactly what this daily special was. I think it was Gulf fish. And the shrimp from the gulf. When was the last time you had a really plump, juicy, fresh shrimp?

2006_12_red_fish_grill_deco.jpg
Red Fish Grill, French Quarter, New Orleans

We arrived in New Orleans in the evening and were pretty hungry so I called down to the concierge for some recommendations for casual restaurants that were near our hotel. She recommended Acme Oyster, Bourbon House and Red Fish Grill. Acme and Red Fish both had more than an hour waits to get a table and Bourbon House was fancier (and pricier) than we wanted to spend just then, so we just ended up wandering around and finding a different place.

The next day I had time to look around and get a reservation somewhere and I chose Red Fish Grill. We were really happy with the atmosphere, the service and the food. I love love love fresh seafood, though. I could have eaten those crabcakes all night long. Also, it’s interesting to note that the first time I had oysters I was really drunk and don’t remember that much. The second time I really did not like them at all. This time I thought they were pretty good. Maybe because they were so fresh?

The following day I was out and thought I only had an hour to eat lunch and get to the spot where Dallas was picking me up. I tried to figure out where to do and then just decided to go back to Red Fish Grill to play it safe and not waste all my time looking for a place to eat and then not have time to enjoy it. The hostess recognized me from when I made the reservation the day before and thanked me for coming back. To show their appreciation they hooked me up with the deviled egg for free.

2006_12_red_fish_grill_devilled_egg.jpg
Deviled Egg with Shrimp Remoulade Sauce

2006_12_shrimp_poboy.jpg
BBQ Shrimp Po-Boy :: Crispy fried Louisiana shrimp tossed in a peppery butter sauce. Served on a po-boy loaf with lettuce, hot house tomatoes and red onion with Creole potato salad

2006_12_red_fish_grill_interior.jpg
Red Fish Grill, French Quarter, New Orleans

[Read more →]

Tags:····

A Day in San Francisco

August 2nd, 2006 · 5 Comments

marina_view.jpg
Laurel’s Living Room View, The Marina, San Francisco

ernie.jpg
Ernie the Coonhound, The Marina, San Francisco

Saturday evening Traci and I took a bus (it’s free! and the chattiest driver ever told us how easy her job is and how well she’s paid!) from San Jose to Santa Clara (I think?) and then got on the CalTrain to San Francisco. Here’s a tip: They never checked our tickets so we’re wondering if you ever really have to pay to get on CalTrain. Traci said they never checked on her ride down from SF earlier in the day either. If you do have to pay, it’s only like $6 each way, but still. Save ya $6.

ernie_ball.jpg
Ernie Fetching, The Marina, San Francisco

dog_beach.jpg
Dog Beach, The Marina, San Francisco

In SF we stayed with Traci’s friend Laurel who is like the nicest, most welcoming person on earth. She made me feel right at home in her apartment even though I’d never even met her before crashing there. Her apartment is in the neighborhood called “The Marina,” and more specifically, she’s right across the street from the marina. The view from her place is fantastic: the bay, the mountains, sailboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

traci_laurel_ernie.jpg
Traci, Laurel & Ernie, The Marina, San Francisco

On Saturday night we had drinks (note to self: Attitude white wine is good) and snacks and then went out for sushi at Ace Wasabi, where we had a good time snarking on a bachelorette party there. This was the most stereotypical thing you’ve ever seen. Wasted waif-like blond girls with feather boas sipping way too many drinks through penis straws, making a scene and grabbing guys at neighboring tables to take photos with them. Later I learned that these were Marina Girls out in the wild!

golden_gate_couple.jpg
Golden Gate Bridge, The Marina, San Francisco

golden_gate.jpg
Golden Gate Bridge, The Marina, San Francisco

Sunday was a relaxing, sunny day. In the morning Laurel made coffee for us and coffee cake for all of us as well as all of her friends in the building (told you she was the nicest, ever!). We sat around with our 3 laptops on her dining room table and were the biggest nerds ever. Later on we went to brunch at Squat & Gobble, where I couldn’t resist getting even more seafood while I was on the West Coast and ordered the crabcake eggs Benedict. Not the healthiest selection, but delicious nonetheless. Laurel has a coonhound (like a beagle on stilts) named Ernie and maybe, just maybe, we walked some of those brunch calories off when we took for a long walk all the way from Laurel’s apartment to the Golden Gate Bridge (about 4 miles roundtrip, according to Google Maps Pedometer). One thing that struck me was how much I missed the smell of the sea air. This was my first trip to California since I lived there (not counting transfers through airports) and I got really homesick for the ocean. No matter if it’s a bit fishy or slimy, there is nothing like walking on the beach and breathing it in. Nothing.

sf_streetwriting.jpg
Street Writing, The Marina, San Francisco

Later on we took Ernie home, did some work and then walked around Chestnut street, which has a lot of little shops and restaurants and stuff. We had a snack at Lettus, an organic cafe, then it was off to the airport.

palm.jpg
Palm Tree, The Marina, San Francisco

When I was first planning my trip for BlogHer, I was this close to just flying back from San Jose on Saturday night, but I’m really glad I didn’t. I’m glad that I took the extra day to enjoy San Francisco and that it wasn’t awkward one bit to be staying with a coworker who I’ve only known for a few months and a friend that I hadn’t met before. Awesome.

[Read more →]

Tags:·························