A few weeks back, I saw a sign on the old Plaza Azteca Mexican Restaurant in the Seminole Square Shopping Center advising that a new seafood restaurant was on the way. Charlottesville really needs a traditional seafood restaurant. My suspicions were that this would be another of the Low Country Boil restaurants that are springing up everywhere. I prefer my fresh seafood either fried or broiled, not cooked in water. I glanced at their menu on-line and I was right – it was Frogmore Stew-type restaurant, but they did offer Fried Fish Baskets, Shrimp Baskets and Oyster Baskets. Now you’re talking! I made a reservation for 6:30 PM and we crossed our fingers.
We ordered cocktails, and they didn’t offer ginger ale as a mixer. Every bar in town has ginger ale, but I had to settle for Sprite.
For an appetizer we went with Fried Calamari and that’s what we got. It was heavily breaded calamari rings, deep fried and in a plain bowl with a small paper cup of red sauce that likely came from a jar. Calamari is a chef’s opportunity to show his stuff. This was greasy and tasteless. We ate it because we were hungry, but I wouldn’t order it again in a million years.
With the Fish, Oyster and Shrimp Baskets you get one side, not two. So, Nancy went with the house salad, and I ordered French Fries.
Her salad came in what appeared to be a child’s cereal bowl. It had a few large chunks of tomato along with some chopped lettuce and a small cup of dressing. That’s it. It was pitiful. My Fries were okay, but it’s hard to screw up French Fries. We ordered a Basket of Oysters and a Basket of Shrimp, and the Oysters were gross. Obviously frozen and who knows when. We left half on the plate. The Fried Shrimp were plump and juicy, but they were greasy. The breading fell off when you touched them. They simply don’t know how to fry seafood.
Their specialty, obviously, was the boiled menu and they offer a “Build Your Own Boil” of Lobster Tails, Scallops, Dungeness Crab, Snow Crabs Legs, Shrimp, Mussels, Crawfish and Clams. I think most patrons were ordering that – and that may have been good. I’ll never know because I’ll never go again.
As far as I’m concerned, Charlottesville is still in need of a good seafood restaurant.
