235 Park Avenue South
(corner of 19th Street)
Great place to have a birthday celebration dinner;
especially if you like seafood! And the restaurant is not subtle about it being
a shellfish-lovers’ haven, either, as customers are greeted with a lobster
hovering over their heads as they enter the establishment!
And it also doesn’t hurt if you have a City Crab birthday
coupon (which offers a free entrée up to $40), as it can by pricey with an
average appetizer costing around $15 and entrees at around $30.
Service was excellent. We had two servers as the restaurant
was just switching from their Sunday brunch service to dinner. Both of our servers’
recommendations were thoughtful and honest.
We started off with ordering a bottle of wine. We knew we
wanted a white or a rosé and we didn’t want something dry. Our server was kind
enough to let us have a tasting of three types of wine. We also especially
appreciated that she did not guide us to the most expensive items on the wine
list.
We knew from one sip that the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling
from Washington that she had us sample was the clear and easy choice. It had a
smooth buttery peach taste. Absolutely four stars!!!
When our official server arrived, we were not sure of what
to order for our appetizer. We initially ordered shrimp wonton, but then were
informed by the host that it was a misprint and that it was not available for
dinner. (He kindly offered us a free coffee/dessert for the error. We ended up
going for the coffee, no dessert.) Once the new correct menus were printed, we
hemmed and hawed over what to order. Our server was spot on with pushing us
toward the Ahi Tuna “Tostada,” which was ahi tuna mixed with avocado, grilled
corn, and black bean mango salsa over a tostada. As our server had promised, it
was a delicious mix of complex flavors, and the grilled corn was perfection. It
tasted like spring/early summer.
For our entrées, we ordered the 2-pound Maine lobster
stuffed with crab cake, the shrimp scampi, and a side of lobster mashed
potatoes.
The lobster was beautiful and meaty. Definitely worth all
the hard work of all the crackin’ to get at the last piece of meat!!
The lobster mashed potatoes were rather lumpy and cold by
the time we got to truly eating it as we were so focused on our mains.
The shrimp scampi came with a half-dozen jumbo-sized shrimp,
along with a head-on prawn, chili, leeks, tomato, over herb-crunch linguini.
Delicious and surprisingly spicy! So good that it’s definitely a dish I would
order every time I come back.
Pros:
The food.
The wine.
The servers.
Cons:
Do not go on a Sunday night for dinner, as they were out of
many menu items. Not only were we not able to go with our original appetizer
order, we also had initially wanted the Lobster Bake entrée and they were also
out of that dish.
Pricing is steep.
They do not offer wet wipes, unless you request them (and
then the busboy only gives you two per person, which is not enough when eating
two (2!) pounds of lobster. Luckily when we spoke to our server, he actually
gave us warm towels at the end of our meal.
Final Thoughts
Overall, unbelievably good food and will return next year
for another birthday celebration!
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