1202 Sycamore Ave
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
I got a pretty big seafood craving over the break, so I asked the boys if they wanted to go closer to home or further. This is where we ended up, gleefully!
My sons were interested in the kids' menu, but we convinced them to split an order of lobster mac and cheese. They devoured it! My husband raved about his shrimp fajitas, and while I was nervous about the "small plate" of Pan Seared Scallops, it was the perfect size for my smaller appetite.
I liked the atmosphere of Woody's, and the food was interesting, different, and delicious!
Showing posts with label Seafood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seafood. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Scampi's Seafood Restaurant
198 W Main St
Somerville, NJ 08876
http://www.scampisseafood.com/
Scampi's has been on my mental list for a very long time, so I jumped when a Living Social deal there appeared. We ended up going with another couple and were very thankful for the deal because after everything we ordered, it was a very expensive meal!
My husband and I were hesitant to try here because so much of our dining is with our kids in tow, and I wasn't super certain that our kids (particularly the two year old) would do well here. With that said, there was another table that had two couples and six kids between them and they seemed to do just fine. With that said, it's more on the upscale side and while kids would surely be welcomed, it's probably only a place you'd take them in the very early evening so as to not disturb someone's romantic dinner. The restaurant has two areas, a dimly lit bar area with some tables (we walked through and I didn't really make much note of the area) and a more typical dining area that has better lighting; the whole place was very classy and felt sophisticated.
Our food was really good. As someone who loves variety, especially at a seafood restaurant, I went for the Fisherman's combo, which allowed me my beloved crab cakes as well as shrimp, tilapia, and scallops. It was very good and very fresh, if on the pricey side (though what else can one expect when one is going for good seafood). Our friends ordered an oyster plate appetizer and they enjoyed it very much, and everyone enjoyed their dinners.
We had a really great, if expensive, time at Scampi's.
Somerville, NJ 08876
http://www.scampisseafood.com/
Scampi's has been on my mental list for a very long time, so I jumped when a Living Social deal there appeared. We ended up going with another couple and were very thankful for the deal because after everything we ordered, it was a very expensive meal!
My husband and I were hesitant to try here because so much of our dining is with our kids in tow, and I wasn't super certain that our kids (particularly the two year old) would do well here. With that said, there was another table that had two couples and six kids between them and they seemed to do just fine. With that said, it's more on the upscale side and while kids would surely be welcomed, it's probably only a place you'd take them in the very early evening so as to not disturb someone's romantic dinner. The restaurant has two areas, a dimly lit bar area with some tables (we walked through and I didn't really make much note of the area) and a more typical dining area that has better lighting; the whole place was very classy and felt sophisticated.
Our food was really good. As someone who loves variety, especially at a seafood restaurant, I went for the Fisherman's combo, which allowed me my beloved crab cakes as well as shrimp, tilapia, and scallops. It was very good and very fresh, if on the pricey side (though what else can one expect when one is going for good seafood). Our friends ordered an oyster plate appetizer and they enjoyed it very much, and everyone enjoyed their dinners.
We had a really great, if expensive, time at Scampi's.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Shore Fresh Seafood Inc
703 Bridge Ave Ste 707 Map.7142063
Point Pleasant Boro, NJ 08742
I wanted to do something fun this afternoon, so we decided to take a ride to the boardwalk and get dinner before we got there. We chose this spot largely because of its high marks for being kid friendly, but also because it was off the beaten path.
What an excellent choice; this place rocks!
My husband and I started by sharing a bowl of Lobster Bisque. We both really enjoyed it; it had the right amount of spice and creaminess with big and small chunks of lobster throughout. Our boys split an adult size Shrimp and Chips; I tasted the shrimp and it was delicious. The fries were really good "boardwalk fries," which went perfectly with the malt vinegar on the table (this is not my preferred version of french fries, but they were really good nonetheless). My husband had a shrimp po' boy; I suspect it was good since he devoured it in probably 5 seconds. As for me, I tried a Mahi Mahi special. It was outrageously good; this french fry addict ate all the fish and only half the fries. I really enjoyed the fish; it was in a sweet sauce with a tiny bit of kick at the end.
As for atmosphere, it's BYOB and very kid friendly; there were families all over the patio, some of whom had arrived by bicycle. There are indoor seats, but it seemed to us that it was much nicer to sit outside and enjoy the great weather. There's a fairly busy street next to the restaurant, so not the world's best outdoor dining atmosphere, but we had a great time anyway.
This place is fantastic; we will definitely return again. Prices were pretty reasonable; we fed our family of four for slightly less than $50.
Point Pleasant Boro, NJ 08742
I wanted to do something fun this afternoon, so we decided to take a ride to the boardwalk and get dinner before we got there. We chose this spot largely because of its high marks for being kid friendly, but also because it was off the beaten path.
What an excellent choice; this place rocks!
My husband and I started by sharing a bowl of Lobster Bisque. We both really enjoyed it; it had the right amount of spice and creaminess with big and small chunks of lobster throughout. Our boys split an adult size Shrimp and Chips; I tasted the shrimp and it was delicious. The fries were really good "boardwalk fries," which went perfectly with the malt vinegar on the table (this is not my preferred version of french fries, but they were really good nonetheless). My husband had a shrimp po' boy; I suspect it was good since he devoured it in probably 5 seconds. As for me, I tried a Mahi Mahi special. It was outrageously good; this french fry addict ate all the fish and only half the fries. I really enjoyed the fish; it was in a sweet sauce with a tiny bit of kick at the end.
As for atmosphere, it's BYOB and very kid friendly; there were families all over the patio, some of whom had arrived by bicycle. There are indoor seats, but it seemed to us that it was much nicer to sit outside and enjoy the great weather. There's a fairly busy street next to the restaurant, so not the world's best outdoor dining atmosphere, but we had a great time anyway.
This place is fantastic; we will definitely return again. Prices were pretty reasonable; we fed our family of four for slightly less than $50.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Joe's Crab Shack
4901 Stelton Road - Hadley Center
South Plainfield, NJ 07080
I don't think I have ever before complained to a manager about the service at a restaurant.
My expectations for the new Joe's Crab Shack were high--we LOVED the Joe's in Lawrenceville, and I've been trying to persuade my husband to make the 45 minute drive... pretty much since we moved from 25 minutes away to 45.
This location has been jamming fairly constantly since it opened a few weeks ago. As a result, I called before we left the house to see if there was a wait, and if there was, to put our name on the list. I was told there was no wait.... sweet! Away we went. Ten minutes later, we arrived to a fairly full parking lot and people standing outside. Any number of variables for those two, so in we went. We were told there was a 20-30 minute wait. Um, ok... not sure how, in ten minutes, they went from no wait to 20-30, but ok.
I sat and waited for our table (this location has more waiting area seating than the Lawrenceville one, which is a big plus) while the boys went to check out the playground area in the back. My husband texted me that there were tons of empty tables...weird, but ok.
Thirty five minutes later and we were seated. Hooray! (We ended up being seated at one of the empty tables my husband had seen 10 minutes before)
We waited a good give minutes before anyone said, "I'll be right with you," and then another good five minutes before she came again to take our drink order (we also placed our food order at that time). It probably took 10 minutes from there to get our drinks, none of which came from the bar. She came back to tell us they did not have milk as she said they did, and that the kid's meal comes with a side... about 10 minutes after taking our order. To her credit, somewhere in there, she had to do a dance.
Luckily for us, our two year old was in great spirits, was enthralled by the dancing, and was entertained by a shark that came with one of our fellow diners' drink.
When our food arrived, it looked really good. We had no silverware, and waited for it for several minutes. Ahh, the food was outstanding! The Boy DEVOURED his mac and cheese--clearly, someone was hungry.
As my husband finished his bucket of crabs, I asked for the check. Again, a really long wait.
Every step of the service took an extraordinarily long time. We finally left the restaurant 2 hours after arriving. I'm not saying I expect the food to be McDonald's fast, but am hour and a half of sitting at a table, for two fast eaters and a hungry little boy, is pretty long. There's no doubt about it--the food at Joe's Crab Shack is very good. It's not, however, so good to be worth the poor service as they're working out the new restaurant kinks.
So, our trip to Joe's was disappointing, although perhaps it was just a one off...maybe they were understaffed (although it appeared that they had bus people as well as runners, so the servers' responsibilities seemed to be drinks, orders, bills, and performing the dances) or it was just a bad night. But, we probably won't be going back to Joe's until it's clear the lines have died down a LOT.
South Plainfield, NJ 07080
I don't think I have ever before complained to a manager about the service at a restaurant.
My expectations for the new Joe's Crab Shack were high--we LOVED the Joe's in Lawrenceville, and I've been trying to persuade my husband to make the 45 minute drive... pretty much since we moved from 25 minutes away to 45.
This location has been jamming fairly constantly since it opened a few weeks ago. As a result, I called before we left the house to see if there was a wait, and if there was, to put our name on the list. I was told there was no wait.... sweet! Away we went. Ten minutes later, we arrived to a fairly full parking lot and people standing outside. Any number of variables for those two, so in we went. We were told there was a 20-30 minute wait. Um, ok... not sure how, in ten minutes, they went from no wait to 20-30, but ok.
I sat and waited for our table (this location has more waiting area seating than the Lawrenceville one, which is a big plus) while the boys went to check out the playground area in the back. My husband texted me that there were tons of empty tables...weird, but ok.
Thirty five minutes later and we were seated. Hooray! (We ended up being seated at one of the empty tables my husband had seen 10 minutes before)
We waited a good give minutes before anyone said, "I'll be right with you," and then another good five minutes before she came again to take our drink order (we also placed our food order at that time). It probably took 10 minutes from there to get our drinks, none of which came from the bar. She came back to tell us they did not have milk as she said they did, and that the kid's meal comes with a side... about 10 minutes after taking our order. To her credit, somewhere in there, she had to do a dance.
Luckily for us, our two year old was in great spirits, was enthralled by the dancing, and was entertained by a shark that came with one of our fellow diners' drink.
When our food arrived, it looked really good. We had no silverware, and waited for it for several minutes. Ahh, the food was outstanding! The Boy DEVOURED his mac and cheese--clearly, someone was hungry.
As my husband finished his bucket of crabs, I asked for the check. Again, a really long wait.
Every step of the service took an extraordinarily long time. We finally left the restaurant 2 hours after arriving. I'm not saying I expect the food to be McDonald's fast, but am hour and a half of sitting at a table, for two fast eaters and a hungry little boy, is pretty long. There's no doubt about it--the food at Joe's Crab Shack is very good. It's not, however, so good to be worth the poor service as they're working out the new restaurant kinks.
So, our trip to Joe's was disappointing, although perhaps it was just a one off...maybe they were understaffed (although it appeared that they had bus people as well as runners, so the servers' responsibilities seemed to be drinks, orders, bills, and performing the dances) or it was just a bad night. But, we probably won't be going back to Joe's until it's clear the lines have died down a LOT.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Villa Madrid
615 Ringwood Ave
Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442
(973) 616-0005
http://www.villamadridrestaurant.com/
This spot has been a troubled one... we went a few years ago to Monster Sushi, which was in the spot. It didn't last long. We believe, however, that Villa Madrid will stay for a long time.
Our party of 6 started with a round of appetizers that we all shared. Everything was excellent, from the lobster and crab ravioli, the octopus, the seafood and crab cakes, the seafood stuffed mushrooms, the chorizo and shrimp with garlic, all the way to the shrimp and mushrooms with garlic. Everything was perfect.
We waited to see if we would need entrees after the appetizers, and most of us did. A friend and I chose to get another order of the crab cakes, two others got the skirt steak, and my husband got the paella. Everything I tried was wonderful, and the entrees we got were LARGE... it's rare for my husband to take leftovers, and he might even have done so had we not gotten the appetizers. Their entrees also came with a really good cream of mushroom soup.
Finally, our friends shared flan, which was pretty good. It was flavorful, but cold... I didn't think flan was supposed to be so chilled.
I did feel like the pricing was on the high side, particularly for a BYOB, but it was definitely a nice treat to go here.
Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442
(973) 616-0005
http://www.villamadridrestaurant.com/
This spot has been a troubled one... we went a few years ago to Monster Sushi, which was in the spot. It didn't last long. We believe, however, that Villa Madrid will stay for a long time.
Our party of 6 started with a round of appetizers that we all shared. Everything was excellent, from the lobster and crab ravioli, the octopus, the seafood and crab cakes, the seafood stuffed mushrooms, the chorizo and shrimp with garlic, all the way to the shrimp and mushrooms with garlic. Everything was perfect.
We waited to see if we would need entrees after the appetizers, and most of us did. A friend and I chose to get another order of the crab cakes, two others got the skirt steak, and my husband got the paella. Everything I tried was wonderful, and the entrees we got were LARGE... it's rare for my husband to take leftovers, and he might even have done so had we not gotten the appetizers. Their entrees also came with a really good cream of mushroom soup.
Finally, our friends shared flan, which was pretty good. It was flavorful, but cold... I didn't think flan was supposed to be so chilled.
I did feel like the pricing was on the high side, particularly for a BYOB, but it was definitely a nice treat to go here.
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