This was yet another one of those restaurants we decided to try thanks to free gift certificates from Restaurant.com. RM Seafood has received good reviews for both lunch and dinner, and Jason and I thought it might nice to take Jon to a fishy lunch after our Grand Canyon tour since he apparently doesn't get to satisfy his seafood crave very often. Grimace has decided she doesn't like seafood ... which development pretty much blows my mind because I could swear she used to like it just fine; and I'd think with her heart condition that it would be a tasty, healthier protein option than red meat or pork or chicken or turkey or tofu. Ah well, that's a conversation for a different day so let's just leave it at that.
The restaurant opened for lunch at 11:30AM, which was 90 minutes earlier than the reservation I booked thanks to my complete miscalculation of just how long our Grand Canyon tour was going to last. Luckily the staff was very accommodating - since we arrived just as the doors opened, seating us ridiculously early was no problem.
Open already - we are famished!
Lunch began with some drinks: the 3 Seas for me (Pearl Cucumber Vodka, Fresh Cucumber, Cilantro, and Lemon Juice) and the En Fuego for Jason (Jalapeno-infused Karma Silver Tequila, Cherry Herring, Blood Orange Juice, Agave, and Fresh Lime). My drink was light and refreshing; the perfect way to start the afternoon after sucking down bubbly at the bottom of that big crevice in Arizona. Jason said that his drink was really good, delivered a nice kick, and was an inventive spin on a traditional blood orange margarita.
En Fuego and 3 Seas
I was tempted to order some sushi for the three of us to share but I decided to hold off since Jason and I were planning to dine at Shibuya later that evening and would get our fill there. And then the hubba surprised me by ordering the RM Seafood Escabeche for everyone to share instead. The portion was huge - much larger than either of us expected - and it was bursting with Calamari, Mussels, Shrimp, and King Crab tossed in a spicy vinaigrette with peppers and cilantro and greens. It tasted quite good and was more than big enough for three people; the serving was so generous that it would have been adequate even for a table of four.
Seafood Escabeche, View I
Seafood Escabeche, View II
Jon chose the Catfish Sloppy Joe for his meal, which is one of RM Seafood's signature lunch items - it included pickles, peppers, onions, and chips. I thought it looked disgusting but he said it tasted great and bore no resemblance to the Manwich that Grimace provides him with on sloppy joe night back home. Jon is a big catfish lover, and while it's in plentiful supply in Stinktown, it is difficult to find someone who prepares it any way other than fried, so I'm sure the unique presentation was something that enhanced his enjoyment of this dish.
Catfish Sloppy Joe
Jason selected the Fish Tacos, something he's developed a fondness for since first trying them in San Diego last year. These were served with Pico de Gallo, Shredded Cabbage, and Chipotle Cream. We shared them between us and I thought they tasted really good, although there was so much Pico de Gallo sauce that they became sloppy pretty fast. We both liked that they were served inside a firm taco shell and then a soft one, most likely to reduce the Pico de Gallo soggy factor.
Fish Tacos
And after much indecision and many questions for our server, I finally decided on the Maine Lobster Rolls which featured half-a-pound of lobster prepared "New England Style." I don't know what that meant, exactly, but I also assumed that since I've never been to New England there was less chance of my being disappointed by the preparation method. Many of you no doubt recall that I am not a huge fan of lobster but I must go on record here as stating that these were the best lobster rolls I've ever had the chance to eat. There were big chunks of sweet lobster lightly mixed with mayonnaise, onions, and celery served on two slightly crisped, buttery buns - in a word: yummy! Jason and I also shared these and he liked them just as much as I did. They were a bit expensive for lunch but definitely worth the splurge.
Lobstah Rolls
We thought about skipping dessert, but there had been so much buzz about the Fat Elvis that Jay and I decided to give it a try. How could we possibly go wrong with warm chocolate-banana-bacon spring rolls? More ways than you would think, it turns out. The reviews and pictures I had seen of this dessert had no similarity to that which we received. The presentation was sparse ... it seemed to me as though it was missing something ... and the rolls were over-cooked and rather greasy. As for taste, the banana overpowered everything else and did not pair well with the bacon at all. In those rare instances where the chocolate and the bacon came through together our tastebuds sang, but otherwise this dessert was an over-hyped disappointment of the first order.
This Fat Elvis looks nothing like Lance Berkman
Thank goodness I'm an over-researched foodie planner. As we were placing the dessert order I happened to ask our server about the Ice Cream tasting game. I had read about it somewhere and it seemed like one of those Vegas-type things you do for the sake of doing them because you can't anywhere else - it's not normally offered at lunch but I asked nicely and they made an exception. The game is a tasting of 16 flavors of in-house prepared ice creams and sorbets served blind - if your table gets them all right the dessert is free!
The three of us probably spent a good 30 minutes carefully tasting each sample and debating the flavor profiles before writing our guesses down on the sheet provided by the restaurant. It was a ton of fun and I can tell you right now that it's practically impossible for anyone to get this 100% correct. For example, we were sure that one ice cream was Habanero; turns out it was Sriracha. There was a sorbet that we pegged as Tangerine that ended up being Mai Tai. So while we were on the right track in terms of flavor, we rarely named the samples correctly. We did nail some of the "easier" ones like Chocolate Malt, Peanut Butter, and Banana but it's obviously designed to stump guests while providing an interactive and fun end to the meal.
Ice Cream Sampler Game
Choose Wisely and Pay Nothing!
So what did we think? Overall RM Seafood provided a great, relaxing lunch with good service and delicious food (Fat Elvis excepted). We were really pleased with our visit and would dine there again - maybe next time we will try RM for dinner and see if they can wow us for a different meal. And maybe we'll give that ice cream game another whirl, too!
1 comment:
Not sure if I would ever want to try that Elvis thing. The bacon and chocolate I could handle, pairing it with banana though, disgusting! And as always you never fail to make me want to be able to drink hard liquor! YUMMMM!
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