Whenever I am traveling and looking for a new place to eat, I tend to look for a restaurant with good seafood. During my search, this place popped up. It was close to my hotel, and seemed like they had high ratings, so I decided to give them a try.
As soon as I stepped inside, it was filled with fancy atmosphere. The hostess counter was few steps below, and an interesting sculpture of a big fish was greeting the customers. I could see the dining area beyond the fish, it looked like they had plenty to tables available at early dinner time.
When I told the hostess that I don’t have a reservation, she checked on the floor quickly. She came back and told me apologetically that even though they have several open tables, with the number of servers that they had at the moment, it was considered “full.” I asked her if I could sit at the bar, and she told me “sure” so there I went.
Their dining area was loosely separated into two sections. The front part was brighter with large windows facing the street, creating energetic vibe. The back side was dimmed intentionally for more relaxing atmosphere. Both sections were elegant and classy, with white table cloths and chandeliers. The back section near the bar, they had a live band playing mellow, jazz-y music with a female singer. Very nice!
The bar was a pretty good size, with a few TV screens for sports fans. They were hanged in the way that you see it if you are sitting at the bar, not to distract other customers sitting at the table nearby. It certainly was a fully stocked bar, and they had good drink menu.
I wanted an interesting cocktail, so when I saw “Bananas Foster Martini” I thought this is IT! To be honest, I didn’t really pay attention to the cocktail menu. When I saw Bananas Foster Martini, I just simply went with it, without even looking at the ingredients. So, Bananas Foster Martini ($12) is made with rum, banana liqueur, brown sugar and cream. When the bartender brought the glass out and lit it on fire, I was super surprised!!! He poured semi-frozen drink into the glass still lit, until the fire died down and the drink was done.
It had few small bits of banana slices in it, and the drink was creamy and frosty. It was really, super sweet. A bit too sweet for me, so I had to have water to wash it down… It was like a glass full of sugar… The taste itself (other than the sweetness) was great though. Really nice banana flavor, and with it being lit up, it had caramel flavor to it too.
For appetizer, I ordered Point Judith Calamari ($17). It is made Kung Pao style with roasted cashews and crisp noodles. I thought it was a bit pricey, but that was before I saw the size of this thing. It was humongous!!! If I had knows it was going to be this big, I wouldn’t have ordered anything else… It was tasty though, mountain of tangy calamari, on a bed of crispy noodles. It was addictive, but then the more I ate, the more the sauce felt too strong and heavy. It would have been perfect if I had someone to share it with…downside of eating a dinner alone during the business trip… I didn’t get to finish the plate, maybe half of it done, and that was it for me. I was full, and this is before my main course arrived…oh no!
For the main, even though I came here for seafood, I decided to get something lighter. So, I went with Miso Marinated Tofu ($25). It comes with fried rice, baby bok choy, mixed vegetables, and cashews. I apologize for not having a photo of the entire plate, I am not sure what happened there… They had one large square of tofu, thick and filling. I wished it had more miso flavor than it had on it, as it was kind of tasteless on its own.
Fried rice with veggies and cashews did had strong miso flavor, it was great with the tofu. Bok choy was fresh and still had its crispness to it, very refreshing in the dish that is very rich in flavor. Altogether with tofu, fried rice and bok choy worked perfectly together to create a tasty dish. I was sad that I was pretty full when I started with this dish…
My server was the bartender since I was sitting at the bar. He was polite, friendly and took a good care of me. I see that this restaurant has many locations, if I find another one while I am traveling again in a future, I would definitely want to try them again. Sure the price tag is a bit high, but you get your money’s worth with the great portion! I hope I will have someone to share the food with the next time…
Eddie V’s Prime Seafood – 501 Grant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15219