My wife and I went to Captain's Quarters tonight for the first time. We had been meaning to go for a while ever since we heard of Rick Adams' arrival. However, I must say that we didn't really have a good first impression.
Let's start with the positive: The atmosphere is really great. We were told the wait would be 30-45 minutes, so we took our pager and walked to the water. We found a bench and watched the boats go by on this peaceful summer evening. After about 20 minutes, our table was ready. We were seated on the third tier of the creek deck with a good view of the river. Service was fine, if a bit rushed. Our server looked as if she had too many tables, constantly running from one tier of the deck to another. We got our drinks and food in a timely manner.
We ordered calamari as an appetizer; fried rings with both marinara sauce and a sweet chili sauce. It all looked very good, but the breading on the calamari was on the mushy side. They tasted OK, however, and we managed to finish them. The Caesar salads that were included with the main courses were straightforward, but forgettable. We were hoping that the main courses would make up for the prior disappointments, but they again fell short of our expectations.
I ordered the Bison Rib-eye medium-rare. It came to the table somewhere close to medium-well. I would expect that from Outback on a $13 steak, but not the $25 steak I had in front of me. I'm usually not one to complain, but I felt I needed to speak up. The server was apologetic (I assured her that I understood that it wasn't her fault) and offered to take it back. I decided to keep the one I had, and she offered a complimentary dessert to make up for the misstep, which we gratefully accepted. Also, the Worcestershire demi-glace that covered the steak was quite salty. The piece of meat was good despite the flaws in preparation.
My wife ordered the seared scallops. Five or six large scallops were served in contrasting purees of red and yellow bell pepper, which looked alarmingly like ketchup and mustard. The scallops were fine, but the puree didn't add much to the dish.
We decided on the molten-lava sundae for dessert. It was OK, but it looked and tasted like the lava cake was pre-made, perhaps frozen, and just heated up before serving.
The entire night consisted of food that that was fine, but nothing worth remembering. For the money we spent ($60-$70), I was expecting a little more. Maybe it was an off night, or perhaps it was the fact that there were nearly 300 people there. It must be difficult to serve that many people and keep the quality up. I will probably go back, but maybe this time I will try the lighter fare. I won't get as upset if they mess up a $9 fish sandwich.
My wife and I are going to Seviche tomorrow for a joint birthday dinner. I'm giddy just thinking about it. I'll report on it tomorrow, but I doubt any praise I give will be news to anyone. Anthony, don't let me down!!! (I doubt you will.)
