Restaurant Review - Bluecoast Seafood Grill

We had one truly amazing meal while we were on vacation, at a seafood restaurant called Bluecoast Seafood Grill. Everything on the menu sounded amazing and we had a tough time deciding, but the good news is we plan to go back every year when we're down there for vacation.

We shared the Flash Fried Buttermilk Calamari with lemon and warm tomato sauce, which was tender with a crispy coating:


We each got a salad. SP had the Caesar salad with Romaine, Butter Croutons, White Anchovies & Parmesan, which caused me serious plate envy. It was tangy, cold and crispy, with the option of whole anchovies on top:


I had the Spinach salad with Apple, Cranberries, Blue Cheese, Pistachios & Orange-Vanilla Vinaigrette, which was too sweet for my tastes. Thankfully a bite or two of SP's Caesar in between bites of my salad helped tame the sweetness:


As soon as I saw the Seared Scallops with Paremsan Grits, Crawfish Beer Jus & Zucchini Corn Salad on the menu I knew that would be my entree choice. The scallops were beautifully cooked, the grits were creamy and the corn salad provided a burst of summer. I would have drunk the jus if it was socially acceptable:


SP had his eye on the Lobster Cavatapi with Peas, Crisp Prosciutto, Parmesan & Lobster Vanilla Cream. He was practically drooling over the dish, which was full of large chunks of sweet lobster. This was an outstanding dish:


We got desserts, but they were a real disappointment after the incredible meal. I'd recommend skipping it and heading into town to one of the many ice cream stands instead.

The entire meal was wonderful, up until the desserts arrived. The restaurant gets very crowded, especially because they don't take reservations. We had come early because of that (and because of Baby Girl) but by the time we were ready to leave the place was packed. Right after our desserts arrived our waitress appeared, slapped the check down on the table and made it very clear that we should pay and get out. That 30 seconds ruined the other wonderful service we'd had up until that point. And it had been some of the best service I'd ever experienced. Dirty dishes were immediately removed from the table by any member of the wait staff who happened to be nearby. Drinks were refilled quickly and even Baby Girl was taken care of with her cavatappi with butter and cheese and incredible grilled green beans that SP and I couldn't stop eating.

Despite that one service issue I'd still heartily recommend Bluecoast and can't wait to go back next summer.

Summer Vacation 2010

A vacation tale, told in food photos. Enjoy!

This year's vacation was a little crazy, but we had a blast. We were supposed to spend a week in Maine, but our plans changed at the last minute. We did, however, drive from PA to Maine, and here's the lunch to prove it:


Whole belly fried clams from the Lobster Cooker in Freeport, just a few blocks from the L.L. Bean store. The clams were briny and delicious, perfect with the salty fries and tangy coleslaw.

Next up, clam chowder from Gilbert's Chowder House in Portland:


Rich and thick, perfect with oyster crackers. And speaking of oysters, here are some fried ones:


These were a disappointment. The cracker coating overwhelmed the brininess of the oysters. We still ate them all, though.

The remains of my lobster dinner, which was also a disappointment. Not GCH's fault, but the lobster had recently molted, which meant thin, watery meat (and not much of it).


SP tackled his corn first, leaving the lobster for last.


In my quest for more lobster I ordered a lobster "roll" at Persy's Place in Plymouth, MA.


Another disappointment. Notice how this is on a bun, not a roll? They also mixed the lobster meat with some kind of spicy mayo, which is just all wrong. I wish these details had been mentioned on the menu so I could have ordered breakfast, which is apparently Persy's specialty.

We ended up in West Yarmouth, MA for the remainder of our vacation and our first night we dined at Salty's. I started with the lobster and corn chowder, which was delicious:

...while SP got the shrimp cocktail, which surprised him by being an actual cocktail:

I think the waitress misheard him and gave him the Shrimp Cocktail Bloody Mary, which is one of their signature drinks. We also ordered two fried platters to share, whole belly clams:


... and more fried oysters. Both were served with both fries and onion rings.


Our favorite restaurant on the Cape turned out to be DiParma. We ate here twice and we were only on the Cape for four nights. I ordered the same thing both nights, the shrimp scampi:


... which was ridiculously, craveably delicious. I still think about this dish and it's been over a month since we we ate here. SP ordered one of the combination dinners that included chicken parm, two meatballs and fettuccine alfredo. He asked them to include sliced sausage with his alfredo.


One of our day trips was into Provincetown, where we ate at Pepe's Wharf. The view was almost as good as the food. I started with (what else) clam chowder:


... and finally succeeded in enjoying a lobster roll. They use a special Portuguese roll from a local baker and it was divine.


SP ordered a special, haddock almondine with rice pilaf and green beans. The sauce with the fish was drinkably good.


We can't wait to go back to DiParma's and try some of the other restaurants on the Cape. There certainly are a lot to choose from!

Trip to New York City

SP loves going into the city and since our vacation was coming to an end we decided to head in on Saturday. We like to drive in since we can park at the Port Authority and not have to worry about train schedules. We made good time until we got to the Lincoln Tunnel. As we were sitting in traffic I took a few pictures of the skyline:




We got into the city and made a quick pitstop. I've always liked this artwork outside the bathrooms and I finally had my camera with me to take a picture:


We wandered around Greenwich Village for awhile before deciding on a place to have a late lunch/early dinner. We'd walked by Paul's a few times and in the end, their claim to make the best burger in the city lured us in. We immediately liked the feel of the place, with the old-fashioned signs on the wall, small tables and a simple menu. We knew we wanted burgers, but first we ordered a root beer for me and SP had an iced tea. We asked for pickles when we ordered and were given a huge bowl of half-sour slices. They were addictive. SP is a huge mushroom fan, so he got the Saint Mark's burger deluxe (burger with Alpine Swiss cheese, mushrooms and fried onions) with fries and a side of mayo:


Look at how many mushrooms are on this burger! We were amazed when the plates were put in front of us. I decided to keep it simple so I ordered a cheeseburger deluxe (burger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and raw onion) with fries and a side of mayo:


This was one fantastic burger. It was juicy and incredibly flavorful. The American cheese was perfectly melted, the toppings were very fresh and tasty and the fries were extra crispy, just the way we like them. The bun couldn't quite hold up to the juciness, but it was still one of the best burgers I've ever tasted. Here's an inside shot:


SP all but licked his plate clean. We both felt very satisfied, full but not overly stuffed, and all for less than $30 including tax and tip. That's amazing for a meal in NYC, especially one this good. I couldn't wait to come home and see what other people thought of Paul's and we were shocked to see so many negative reviews like this one, this one and this one. I guess it just goes to show that different tastes abound on the Internet. I'm glad we didn't read these before we went because we might not have stopped at Paul's. Regardless of what other people think, we had a fantastic meal there and would definitely go back again.

UPDATE: I went onto A Hamburger Today to see if they'd ever featured Paul's and low and behold, they just did a write-up today! How funny. Sadly it was another negative. Bummer. I wonder if our visit was a fluke or if our tastes really vary that much from other burger lovers.

Mrs. Home Cook Goes to Washington

I'm sorry for my brief disappearance; I had to go on a last minute business trip to our nation's capitol. It was a long couple of days but the highlights were the two dinners I had earlier this week. The first was a perfectly cooked hamburger topped with cheddar, bacon, jalapenos and tomato with a nice slathering of mayo. The fries were crispy on the outside just the way I like them. Yum! The second was an amazing Monte Cristo sandwich. I've never ordered this diner favorite of turkey, ham and Swiss cheese on white bread coated and cooked like French toast and served with maple syrup because I'm not that into sweets. But this version (served at an Irish pub no less) was served with Hollandaise sauce instead of the maple syrup, transforming it into something savory. It was out of this world, but what wouldn't be when the sandwich is cooked in butter and served with a butter-based sauce. And the cottage fries that came with it...heavenly. Perfectly crisp and fresh, they were even better dipped in some of the Hollandaise.

Now it's back to home life and since we hadn't gone grocery shopping due to the trip we had to scrounge up something for dinner. Spaghetti carbonara is always easy to make and tasty to eat: