(Originally posted on July 19, 2008)
Ahhh yes, the Anniversary Weekend in Half Moon Bay. Too bad we only have a weekend; otherwise, it would be further away. But we kicked off the foodie trail on this very special weekend with Sam's Chowder House on Cabrillo Hwy facing the ocean down in Half Moon Bay.
The atmosphere is casual - bar and grill kind of a place with a band singing in the background. It's good that those speakers were facing away from our table, because that would have been way too loud and uncomfortable.
The server was a bit rushed but still nice to us, explained the specials of the day and got us hooked on the fried lobster crepe appetizer. It's actually just like a spring roll, without the veggie spring but with all the lobster goodness! Try it if it is available next time you're there!
Rar got the "Jumbo Prawns Styffed with Dungeness Crab and wrapped in smoked bacon" served with creamy lemon scented risotto with broccolini. Although there are only 4 prawns, it is a divine construction, each densely packed with crab in the middle and a full strip of bacon on the outside. A savory taste greets you as you first bite into the bacon, but as soon as you break into the succulent but firm prawn and then the crab meat the seafood sensation hits. Fantastic stuff. The risotto was really good too. One downfall - way too buttery. The risotto was made with a lot of butter, and the prawn was fried with bacon.
I had the "Hawaiian Escolar" served with dijon mustard scneted Umbrian lentils with wilted baby spinach and a sweet and sour onion compote. It was served on a ginormous plate with the veggies and compote as a base and the big filet escolar was sitting right there in the middle. The base is actually really good because the lentils are tiny and tender/soft, the spinach is a bit more chewy, and the onion is more crisp - the concoction is quite a pleasantry to the palate when chewing. It's not a mush, it's not overcooked - it's a tangy mix of veggie goodness. Now the fish - tender, you can pull it apart into perfect sections with your fork. The grilled fish is marinated very well so the taste is there in every bit of the fish. Eat the fish with the veggie base and it is quite the spoonful of tastiness. No complaints for this dish.
We got 2 drinks: Rip Tide and a regular Colada - nice cleansing of the greasy palate.
Good place to try. Casual with good food!
http://www.samschowderhouse.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sams-chowder-house-half-moon-bay
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