America Seafood Corp. [CLOSED]

Before trying Obrycki's, we searched our local area for some good seafood. Alexandria just does not have a quality seafood restaurant (unless you really do like the Warehouse...), at least not any we have yet found.  So somehow via the power of the internet(s), L came across this little shack just northwest of Wilson Blvd., beyond I-66.

You can easily miss it.  It's behind a block of shops, each nicely shaded by their own primary-colored awning.  The shack hides behind these shops...over the hill.  It looks like the shelter for a parking lot attendant, but slightly bigger.  Okay, okay -- M, it does look like a Key West beach shack, but the sand here is asphalt pebbles.  Fortunately, it has a sign to assure you it's there.

It's not just a fish shack but also a fish market for your seafood purchasing needs.

So on to the important part, the food.

The food  (why not start with dessert first?)

Key Lime Pie - Made by Key West people, with Key West limes, from a recipe obtained while working the fish shacks in south Florida.  L noticed some newspaper articles posted inside that talked about how sour/bitter (pucker-your-lips tart) their pie was  While M was relieved to actually have a true authentic slide of key lime pie. The tartness was the way it should have been, contrasted with a very sweet flavor.  It's supposed to be sweet-tart and it was.  I suspect the reviewers had never had an authentic Key Lime pie before.  (And the owners know many Virginians have not either, so they brought their best effort to NoVA.)  Nor was the pie overly tart or overly sweet like most imposters.  Can't wait to have another slice.


Fried shrimp po boy -- this was on the recommendation of the several online users.  Moist, tender, beautifully de-veined, the shrimp were fresh, fresh, fresh and fried, fried, fried -- a bit greasy.  Loved it when the owner took a giant beefsteak tomato off the front counter, in the middle of the "great tomato crisis of 2011" and cut some hefty slices and put it in the po boy.  Made the sandwich.

Fried grouper sandwich -- I think you get the theme.  Fried fish.  The sandwich was tasty, but had one flaw.  It was the flaw of the entire trip -- OLD BAY.

Minuses
Yes, minuses first, because it was the prevailing issue.  EVERYTHING had Old Bay.  The fish, the shrimp, the FRIES had Old Bay on them.  For the grouper, it completely detracted from the taste, turning tasty fresh fish into a fresh-fish-and-sour sandwich. We know people love it.  We have used it.  We know how to use it.  Moderation.

Cost
$$ (M says almost $$$) -- This was a more expensive trip than we expected reading the reviews.  It's seafood.  What were we thinking?  But you look, and the sandwiches are $7...  the bill came out at $30.

Pros
Deveined shrimp
Fish market
Neighborhood place
Owners know their clientele

Mom-n-pop business/not a chain - You know, see, and are served by the people whose pockets your money's going into
Fresh (at least when we went)


Minuses
Oh, there are more.  The drinks.  Only bottled or canned drinks (mostly HFCS choices), and they ain't cheap.  You may as well bring your own.  Remember, they're in a shack.  Propriety went out the window when you pulled in.
I feel them sprinkling Old Bay on this review
Grunting (see service)
Only five counter seats -- one right above the garbage.  Healthy.

Service
Was okay.  Except the grunting.  So we're standing, waiting for our orders, looking at the fish in the glass freezers.  Taking in all 25 x 20 space that is the majority of the business.  And then L hears a grunt.  And a second.  And who knows how many before that because he doesn't really listen for people grunting AT him.  Yes, he was being grunted at.  By the co-owner/husband.  The translation of the grunt is, "Your order is ready.  Enjoy!"  M says her translations was "Take your f'n food, you dum@#@#. I got your money.  We're done."  Here is this man, plate of shrimp po boy in hand, grunting to one of his patrons.  Same with the grouper sandwich which came out seconds later.  *grunt*  Peter Boyle was more articulate.

It's not like the man cannot talk.  He was having a wonderful conversation with his wife and another patron while we were eating.  How anyone is supposed to expect that A) a grunt is an "order up" call for seafood, or B) that any owner will grunt at his patrons?  Maybe I'm being a tad bit suburban.  Maybe.  Doubtful.  *grunt*

I accept his version of the story will be, "These jackass suburbanites are off in their own worlds like everything revolves around them.  I'm not yelling in my own place that their order is ready."  I get it.  Give order numbers.  Something.  *grunt*

Cleanliness
Clean, but did you read the part of sitting over a garbage bin?  If you live close by, take it home.  Otherwise, you know what you're getting into.  The cooking area seemed clean.

Overall value
Two parts -- In general, not worth going out of the way for, unless you're really really wanting fresh seafood.  For key lime pie, well worth it.  If you like grunting, this is the place.

Dishes of India (Centreville) [CLOSED]

Already closed.  Didn't last a year.  Too bad as the buffet was good.

Obrycki's (Baltimore - near Fells Point) [CLOSED]

"Longtime crab house Obrycki's will close its Pratt Street doors in [Nov/Dec 2011], ending a six-decade run of serving seafood" - Baltimore Sun, December 7, 2010

Crab houses are not well rated in Baltimore, and this was supposed to be one of the better ones.  Half tourist-trap, half-destination that is was a feature in one of the early Homicide episodes made it a place to at least try.  It's one of the "1000 places to see before you die" according to Patricia Schultz, and "Influential New York Times critic Craig Claiborne was particularly fond of Obrycki's, writing in a 1983 travel piece, 'Olde Obrycki's [is] to my mind one of the greatest crab houses in America, which is to say the world.'"  The world!  And it's closing after this season ("'for quality of life' reasons" says the Sun, and good for them if that's true, especially in the Crime City "Charm City").  So we had to try it...and we were not disappointed.

Tucked in a lot between the row houses and anonymous businesses along the Pratt St stretch south of the Inner Harbor, this place doesn't look like much from the outside.  Parking is in a $10 pay lot (5 w/restaurant validation) catty-corner from the restaurant.  But inside is a more welcoming look in a pretty spacious restaurant with (at least) two rooms split by the waiting area/bar.

The food:

Being with our visiting good friend T,  M suggested we get in-shell crab as an appetizer so that way everyone gets a "crack" at fresh crab before going off into the world of broiled and fried crab cakes.  It was a good idea.

Dungeoness crab (1 lb) – Tasty.  Light on meat (surprisingly) but good nonetheless.  (The blue crab season had not started (April-Nov) and the dungeoness is still in season (Nov-June), though on the tail end of it. Dungeoness was the best choice at this time according to the good people at Monterey Bay - Pittsburgh.)

Crab Imperial – "Jumbo lump and backfin crab meat in a rich sauce accented with sherry and broiled".  Good, almost very good. L did not like the “rich sauce” as much as M did ("it was a nice change of pace [to the broiled crab cake]").  Would have liked bigger lumps instead of a finer shredding.

Crab duet – Two fried crab cakes - one regular and one deviled.  Very good.  M liked that it was lightly fried with just enough breading and egg to hold it together.  Not greasy or heavy and seasoned well.  L preferred these over the imperial because of the nice seasoning to them.

All meals (except the dungeoness) came with asparagus and potatoes.  The asparagus was really good by all eaters.  Firm (not wimpy), clean, fresh, with a slightly detectable marinade that brought out its flavor -- it was a highlight in a meal full of good eats.  Baked potatoes were really good (not Yukon golds, dirty, or overly salted) and not so mushy as to essentially be mashed potatoes in skin.

Except possibly the crab imperial (as noted above), the cakes had a creaminess that was just enough without overdoing it.

And the portions were great.  Each of us (unfortunately) had food left.  It was just too much!

Cost
$$$ (seafood + tourist area + actually being good...what would you expect?)

Cleanliness
Clean

Service
All things considered, it was okay.  It wasn't very welcoming but it wasn't off-putting and we weren't ignored.  We were relatively left alone, given space.  It felt like very "northern", very "Baltimore".  You're not going to be coddled but you're not going to get bad/rude service (it's not Dick's).  Guarded is the best word.

Pluses 

The crab cakes.  The asparagus.

They don't use Old Bay.

They don't feel compelled to overly season EVERYTHING.  Still left everything flavorful.

Minuses
The prices are high, even for seafood.  Add 10% to everything you'd expect to pay.
This location will close by 2012.

Overall value

Good and we'll like go back during blue crab season to make a day of the Inner Harbor and tasty crab.

There's a BWI location and, really, they're going to just relocate to a smaller lot in Arundel Mills.  In addition to likely lower rent, that "quality of life..." statement may be excluding a key part of the thought: "...in the heart of Baltimore".

Lobster Truck (DC food truck)

So this is crazy but I feel extremely compelled.  Here goes...

The Lobster Truck roams downtown DC, like many other food trucks.  However, somehow this truck is an experience unlike many other things regarding food and eating.  Emblazoned with "Maine Lobster" on one side, this truck sell lobster rolls, bisque and also whoopie pies and flavored sodas (free refills!) plus a few other items, but really, it's about the rolls.

So it's good.  Why write a story around this?  Because people will wait in a line 40 people deep for these lobster rolls.  When we got to the location, the truck wasn't yet there, but already about 15 or so people were waiting in line.  We joined it.  Minutes went by.  The line grew.  More time goes by.  More people.  It's the closest thing to waiting in line for concert tickets when that was actually a thing to do.  And most, if not all, of these people are standing here, waiting, during their lunch hour.  For a lobster truck with $15 lobster rolls.

I got excited.

When the truck did arrive, it was like the President himself walked down the street.  In fact, had Mr. President been walking down the street, he likely would have been ignored, especially if it's your turn to order.  I didn't time it, but I honestly think I waited (with others) in line over 30 minutes.  And keep in mind, the line ended up at least 40 people deep.  For lobster rolls.  In DC.


So how was it?  Good!  The meat was plentiful.  And it was fresh.  So much so I even had a small bit of clawshell left on a bit of meat.  That gave me comfort, as a natural concern for any food truck is "how fresh is this?"

Over-priced?  If you're in Maine or have a good source.  But this truly is one of the few places that you can get a bonafide good lobster roll (fresh lobster meat on a split-top hot dog bun) in the DC area.

Is it perfect?  No.  Minuses are that there is some filler, but honestly, places in Maine rook you worse than this place does.  And not while you eat it, the rolls must have a bit of saltiness to them, because a colleague and I both noted we were thirsty a bit more during the day.  Small sacrifices.

Cost
$$ -- $15/roll; $7/bisque

Cleanliness
Seems clean...for a food truck.  I'd go back.

Service
*** - Actually pretty nice guys

Pluses 
The food, the line.

Minuses
The line.  $15/roll (necessary evil)

Overall value
Worthwhile...worth the wait

Oriental Cafe (Rosehill) [CLOSED]

Big Note: Fish flavor everywhere.  Tragic really. We have no Chinese place to go now...


Prior Review
These are the types of postings we may end up hating.  The go-to places that are terrific, but then people catch wind of the best kept secret, and it becomes a shell of what it once was.  But we'll take the risk.

This place has good, cheap Chinese food.  Americanized, yes, but it really hits the spot when we're craving fried rice, especially because of their Thai dishes.  Good for lunch or dinner.  Large portion, as they should be.

Common dishes we like:  Thai basil, Szechuan chicken, veggie fried rice, chicken fried rice
Notable dishes:  Thai fried rice (with lime is unexpectedly good), Jade chicken (fried)
Latest new dish:  Beef tenderloin w/house sauce.  Served on a hot plate.  Ask for half the sauce next time.

Cost -- $$
Service -- Good.  They know us and are always friendly.
Cleanliness -- Clean

Pluses:
1) Wide range of food types - "traditional", thai, and hong-kong style (though we wonder about its authenticity)
2) Fantastic potstickers
3) They always have coupons

Minuses:
1) Generally not spicy enough on non-Szechuan entrees

Overall -- Great!
Expecting many return visits.  However, if we were not so close by, it likely would not be worth driving long distances to eat here.

The Warehouse Bar & Grill (Old Town Alexandria)

Steak and seafood place in the middle of Old Town, white tablecloth, yadayada (pricy).  The tables are tightly packed.  Mostly steak or seafood fare.  Bottom line:  This place is NOT a destination point...

Caesar salad -- bland bland bland.  Leafy, but no tang or zest. Adding table pepper just made it a black pepper salad...
Baby Spinach, Gorgonzola & Spicy Glazed Pecans salad -- probably the highlight of the night.  Slices of Granny Smith apples made nice sweet and sour contrast, though sweeter apples may have been more appropriate (or have both).

Surf-n-turf -- Medium rare filet top sirloin came out medium well, dry, dry, dry.  Crab cakes were good enough, though likely a Cisco special.
New York Strip -- Medium was medium(-ish).  14 oz. "cab" strip with cracked black peppercorn bordelaise and creamy potatoes ---  More like cracked black peppercorn on a bed of steak and hardened potato dome with negligible creaminess (though, the potatoes were a'ight because of their "potatoyness").

To remember:

• Either the cook doesn't know how to cook steaks or else the server does not want to bother with clarifying if the order was "medium rare" or "medium WELL" like confusing the two is not a problem...
• Everything is in a sauce!
• And the sauce was like thickened drippings (to use an actual culinary term would validate it).  The research chefs at Cisco would be proud.

Cost
$$$ > $50 WITH a free entree...

Cleanliness
Not notable...though, the better half said it best: "It felt like there was 'secret dinge'."

Service
** - Notably sub-par
It is unacceptable at a fine dining restaurant like this one that the server who brings water would not only reach over the food while pouring (heaven forbid he use his other hand to pick up the glass...it's not THAT fancy of a place by any means), he didn't care when his pitcher was millimeters from the food. 

That neither steak were cooked "to order" either goes on the server or the cook, but I give the benefit of the doubt to neither.  Both were sub-par.




Pluses 
Crab cakes were edible enough, but there are much options elsewhere.  The pecan salad was very tasty.

Minuses
Nearly everything else.

Overall value
A bargain at twice the price...  Ugh!

The Carlyle is much more consistent, with better service, spacing and much better steak-n-cakes(TM) (<< I've claimed this!).  Old Ebbitt's crab cakes blow these out of the water.  Grace (Ft. Worth, TX) is on a whole 'nother level in terms of...well...everything.  The Carlyle is much better at the same price point.