After our walking tour of Charleston we realized we’d skipped lunch and were starving. As it was too early for dinner, I did a little phone research and found a seafood place highly recommended by Southern Living magazine. They said the food was superb and to ignore the fact that the restaurant itself was a “dive”.
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Clearly their idea of “dive” and mine differ greatly because while admittedly this place wasn’t the Ritz Carlton, I’ve been in a helluva lot worse.
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Naturally my husband wanted to sit at the bar.
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I’ve never had a strawberry daiquiri served in a mason jar before, but maybe that’s part of their dive-y charm.
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The hushpuppies? Meh.
Not great, not awful.
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My she crab soup?
Mama mia! It may not have photographed well but it was thickest, richest, creamiest crab filled thing I’ve ever had.
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To be honest I was pretty full after just that, but I was on vacation in the low country and couldn’t pass up an opportunity for shrimp and grits.
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I couldn’t…. but I should have, because it was awful. Yes, the shrimp were large and flavorful but the rest was simply a big bowl of slop. Too much pasty gravy, too soupy a consistency… blech.
I ate the shrimp and left the rest.
The husband? He had some type of inferior fish which was dry as a bone.
So much for taking Southern Living’s advice.
Aside from the soup the only thing that made me smile at this place was the poster in the rest room.
Maine is a coastal state and has a rich fishing heritage. Lobsters are our mainstay but we also harvest scallops, crabs, oysters and numerous deep sea fish.
The men who work the ocean are a hardy bunch. Strong, stoic, and weatherbeaten. They also have a quirky sense of humor.
So when a local apparel outfitter started a big catch contest giveaway and asked fishermen to submit pictures, you know it was going to get interesting.
Here are a few of my favorite entries.
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This is the son of a friend…. with an extra large lobster roll.
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In case you ever wondered what scallop dragging looks like.
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And that is one monster scallop!
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I believe this is a Mahi…
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I have no idea what these are, but they’re definitely plentiful.
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This is your typical – man with fish – proud catch photo.
Every Thanksgiving I’m asked to bring my Crab Toasties appetizer. And since I rarely make them at home because my husband doesn’t like crabmeat… I’m happy to oblige.
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It’s a treat that takes a good chunk of 💰 seeing that fresh crabmeat is currently $30 a pound and I doubled the batch and needed two pounds, but holidays are made for splurging.
Use fresh crabmeat… do not, I repeat DO NOT! use canned… here’s the recipe.
It’s quick, easy to make and oh so yummy.
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** Crab Toasties **
1 pound cooked crabmeat 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 package Thomas English muffins
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Mix first 5 ingredients together
Quarter English muffins and arrange on cookie sheet.
Spread crab mixture on muffins heavily, sprinkle with paprika and parsley flakes if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
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Easy peasy, nice and cheesy.
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper for quick clean up.
On the way to the commissary in Bangor the other day we were disappointed to find our favorite little diner closed for lunch. This sent us searching far and wide for something quick other than the awful fast food chains. Pulling off the highway at the small town of Newport, we took a chance on a place called Anglers.
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Despite the name, (Newport is neither new… incorporated 1814… nor a port anywhere near the water) I didn’t hold out much hope for fresh seafood.
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The restaurant is a dressed up family diner but damned if they didn’t make a nice cocktail.
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An Absolute Citron deckhand lemonade. Quite refreshing.
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I went with the smaller ‘minnow’ portion of fried shrimp and was pleasantly surprised. Fresh, light and perfectly cooked. Husband had a nice clam chowder and broiled scallops which he said were equally good. But the thing that really rocked my world and made me do more than merely contemplate returning?
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.99 cent drafts. And my husband doesn’t drink Budweiser, this was a Maine craft beer called Allagash White which normally costs him $7 -8 a glass. We wondered if this was a serious senior discount, a special price for veterans, or the waitress just made a big mistake. On the way out we asked… and were told all drafts are .99 cents, all the time.
Needless to say this will now be our go to lunch destination before the monthly commissary run.
We had dinner plans with friends the night of my husband’s birthday, but on the way home from the antique barn we stopped at King Eider’s Pub in the coastal town of Damariscotta.
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It’s a quirky old place famous for their crab cakes and liberal pours.
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One Winter Paloma in, I agreed whole heartedly. It may have been pink, but it tasted like straight tequila. Our plan was just to duck in for a quick appetizer that would hold us till dinner. And then my husband ordered the mussels.
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Cooked in white wine, butter and garlic… the picture isn’t a good representation of quantity. The husband ate. And ate. And ate. And didn’t seem to put a dent in the bowl.
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On his second bowl of empty shells he decided to count exactly how many mussels he received for $16.99. Care to hazard a guess?
30? 40?
How about 72. We were both dumb founded. Granted, this time of year they’re small. But when’s the last time you had that much seafood for under $20.
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It made my delicious but small and similarly priced crab cakes seem positively non existent.
And in answer to your question, yes. The husband ate every single last mussel in the bowl… though it took him nearly an hour. It was at this point the man next to us at the bar struck up a conversation and bought us a round… that to be honest, we didn’t want but also didn’t refuse. While chatting he told us his favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption, was filmed right down the road from his home. And considering it was actually filmed in Mansfield, Ohio I’d say he either had one very large lawn or an overactive imagination. Bar stories, ya gotta love ‘em.
We floated out of the pub stuffed with seafood, feeling no pain and saw this sign on the way to the parking lot.
My girlfriend and I went shopping last week and were excited to discover a new Cajun seafood restaurant had opened in South Portland. Mouth watering for shrimp ettouffe or crawfish gumbo, we entered The Shaking Crab.
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Why was the crab shaking? I have no idea. But the place being nearly empty at the height of the lunch hour should have been our first clue something wasn’t quite right.
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Six dollar drinks went a long way to calm our suspicions…
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Though the Cajuns I’ve known wouldn’t be caught dead drinking a watermelon-tini.
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Giant plastic crabs were everywhere. As were plastic starfish and randomly placed hanging plastic water bubbles.
All the waitstaff were Asian. 9/10ths of the customers were Asian. The scent of the room was reminiscent of an Asian kitchen. The menu? Not an ettouffe, Boudin, or jambalaya in sight.
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Though you could order “coleslow” and “braccoli ”. (These appeared twice, spelled incorrectly both times.) I didn’t bother taking pictures of our meals, they were just typical fried seafood baskets as the only other choices were giant plates of steamed things in a plastic wrap bubble you had to crack, and we didn’t feel like making a mess. I did try to catch a shot of one being delivered to another table, but missed.
Imagine a giant Jiffy Pop balloon encircling a metal dish, only its clear plastic instead of foil. It was an absolutely bizarre presentation of what I’m assuming was meant to be a crawfish boil.
I lived down south. I had Cajun friends and neighbors. I’ve sucked heads. Whatever The Shaking Crab meant to be? It sure as hell wasn’t Cajun.
It was time for a long over due visit to our absolutely favorite place to eat… The Boat House Bistro. Contrary to its name, it doesn’t sit on the water. And while that might put some visitors off, you don’t go there for the view.
Even at 2:45 on a Saturday afternoon, on a late November day devoid of tourists, the place was packed. First floor dining was full so we climbed up to the bar on the second. (Third floor is only open for outdoor seating in the summer)
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Happily sipping a Cosmo in front of the wine taps (there are two of them, with a total of 8 wines available) I perused the menu and was overjoyed to find my two favorites were still there.
This place has fresh seafood down to an art and I have never had a bad meal.
My appetizer? Spicy Cajun shrimp on cheesy grits with garlic, scallions, tomato and smoky bacon.
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All my life I thought I hated grits. I lived down south for 18 years and never cooked nor ordered them. We moved back to Maine, discovered the Bistro and wham! I’m eating grits and am tempted to lick the bowl. Who knew?
To be honest that appetizer could serve as a meal, it’s pretty rich. But I will never pass up the chance to eat this:
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Perfectly pan seared giant sea scallops on a bed of creamy mushroom risotto with arugula, truffle oil and shaved Parmesan.
I hate to disappoint my husband, but damn.
It’s almost better than sex.
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And speaking of husbands, he ordered a lovely seafood scampi which was bursting with shrimp, sea scallops and lobster.
Meals here aren’t cheap (almost $200 including tip) but you get your money’s worth and I have yet to leave unsatisfied or without a doggie bag.
River's world..... 