No. 9 Fishermen's Grotto

Location: San Francisco, CA
Cuisine type: fresh seafood
Atmosphere: cafe style seating (street-side terrace)
Meal: dinner
Price range: ~$25-$50 / entree
Overall grade: 8.6

Ben

One of the legendary restaurants in the famous Fisherman's Wharf, we came in with high expectations. It's very pleasant to sit outside and absorb the high activity in a beautiful area of the city, and there seemed to be a large variety of patrons, from foreign tourists to young townies. I loved all of the food that was placed in front of me - I ordered a fresh, locally caught full dungeness crab, which came with a creamy crab chowder served first.  The crab came cleaned and chopped, requiring minimal shell-cracking. I actually would have preferred to have received the full crab, rather than being pre-chopped, but I believe this could have been requested. The crab was light, flavorful, and hearty.The fresh bread was also fantastic. The beer menu was somewhat limited, featuring mostly well known national and international beers (I wish they had included a few local microbrews). Not surprisingly, the wine menu was much more extensive, with a good selection of fine and local wines. The food was great, but the only consideration to be made is whether to eat at this nice sit-down restaurant, or experience the more lively (and lower cost) adjacent fish markets. These markets go straight to the point: fresh caught crab and other seafood served over the counter on rolls, with a large crowd of people standing around, shuffling back and forth over a wooden counter, shells being cracked over paper plates.

Food:           9
Drinks:         8
Atmosphere: 9
Service:        8
Value:          8

Nina

This restaurant attracted us with the large neon signs on top advertising 75 years of history on the Fishermen's Wharf. If they've been around for that long, they must have something going for them, right?
We went for the obvious - fresh caught seafood, though they also offer an array of chicken and beef centered dishes. Their chowders are somewhat overpriced, though they deliver in taste. There are two options - Boston Clam Chowder (which is cream based), and Coney Island Clam Chowder (which is tomato based) so of course we ordered both and shared. The distinction between tomato based and cream based is somewhat misleading, since I am pretty sure the red chowder was also loaded on cream, but that's what makes it a chowder, after all. The fresh bread (sourdough, I believe) that they brought out with our drinks was freshly baked, with a delicious - but not too crunchy - crust which made it impossible to refuse seconds.
My entree choice was one of the daily specials, a combination seafood linguine. I've had many of these before, and at different restaurants, but none as rich in flavor and meat as this one. It consisted of an abundance of shrimp, clams, mussels and tender calamari bits, tossed in al dente pasta with a handful of perfectly cooked mushroom slices and a delicious, creamy tomato sauce - served, of course, with freshly grated parmesan in a side dish.

This place is great for a relaxed, somewhat fancy dinner in the heart of the San Francisco Pier 39 - Fishermen's Wharf area. We chose the outdoor seating option, where we had a small and cozy table with a view of the hustle and bustle of the wharf. If you prefer less people watching and more of a quiet dinner with a view of the pier with boats moored and, if you're lucky, the Golden Gate Bridge, then you can request a window table inside on the other end of the restaurant.
If you prefer a more casual, not as quiet and peaceful dinner or you are not eager to spend a lot on food, there are many seafood market shops right next to this restaurant in the same building. They feature the most basic crab and chowder selections in a very hands-on, standing serving style - the counter that the food comes out on doubles as eating surface, with silverware rare and in plastic form when present. The crab, however, the star of the show this time of year, is just as fresh and juicy in either case.

Food           9
Drinks         9
Atmosphere 8
Service        9
Value          8

Sam's Chowder House

Location: Half Moon Bay, CA
Cuisine type: New England Style Seafood
Atmosphere: bistro style seating, sweeping ocean views
Meal: dinner
Price range: ~$20-$30/entree
Overall grade: 8.8

Ben

A famous place near Half Moon Bay on the road to San Francisco, with a seemingly cult following and constantly packed crowds due to the heavy traffic and perfect beachside location. The restaurant does not disappoint – we found a table in the back of the restaurant next to a window of the coast – a beautiful view including beach, boats, and even a lighthouse. The menu features but does not emphasize chowders –actually only offering a few selections as starters. As we were called by some of the entrees and weren’t looking for a heavy appetizer, we went with raw oysters (served with cocktail, red wine vinaigrette, and garlic white wine sauces) instead – which were fantastic. I ordered the award-winning lobster roll – a generous portion of Maine lobster on fresh roll, which was incredibly soft and buttery, living up to the rolls we had in Portland, Maine. The sides were an afterthought of potato chips and a simple slaw, most of which were left on the plates when the waiter picked them up (every crumb of the lobster roll itself was thoroughly polished by all three people who ordered it). The desert (a chocolate crème brulee) was a great finish to the meal. The atmosphere is very relaxing and fun, everyone’s mood enhanced by the great view and food. The drink menu had a decent selection of beers and wines, and the service was fast and efficient.  In our first trip to Half Moon Bay, Sam’s Chowder House lived up to its reputation and has added a couple more loyal fans to its giant base (there is even a well stocked gift shop in the front selling Sam’s Chowder House memorabilia).

Food          9

Drinks       7
Atmosphere 10
Service      8
Value        8

Nina

From various announcements in local media, it sounded like the pumpkin festival in Half Moon Bay was a big deal, so we decided to check it out. It was a large street fair with various crafts and pumpkin-centered foods served throughout the downtown area. At the suggestions of some friends, we decided to have dinner with them at a well known place in this coastal area - Sam's Chowder House. From the highway it looked like an unassuming place, pretty modest building placed in a parking lot just off the road. What might have given it away as a special place was the abundance of cars overflowing from the parking lot and onto both sides of the road; what makes it even better is the breathtaking view of the ocean from the window tables inside and the outdoor patio seating. This restaurant is well known for its seafood dishes made with fresh catches both local and flown in from other parts of the country, and of course the chowder, as its name implies.

I opted for a single Oyster from Washington as an appetizer. It was quite possibly the most delicious oyster I've ever eaten - fresh, tender, juicy and light at the same time. A few drops of lemon juice and mignonette sauce really put it over the top.
For my entree, I had wild caught pacific salmon, grilled and served on top of a lentil and chanterelle mushroom stew. This dish did not disappoint - the salmon was perfectly cooked and moist, and the side complemented it very well. I don't often eat lentils, but these were cooked just right, a bit al dente but not undercooked, and paired with just the right amount of chanterelles and bacon to enhance the flavor profile without overwhelming the legumes.

Since the food was so good, I couldn't pass on the dessert, I just had to try what they had to offer. I went for a chocolate creme brulee served with a piece of biscotti and blackberries. It was delicious, of course (it had sugar and chocolate after all, how would I not like it?), though I would dare complain that for a creme brulee it was almost too rich, the flavor of the chocolate overwhelmed the delicate custard and detracted from the light texture that I like to see in this type of dessert.

Even though this place is famous enough on its own, I would still enthusiastically recommend it to anyone looking for fresh, delicious seafood and stunning views of the ocean and sunset in the Half Moon Bay Area.

Food          10

Drinks         9
Atmosphere 9
Service        9
Value          8

Mr Krab's Seafood Restaurant

Location: San Jose, CA
Cuisine type: Cajun, Seafood
Atmosphere: family style dive, playful themed decoration
Meal: dinner
Price range: ~$10/entree, $1.50-$4/side, more for shareable plates
Overall grade: 7.1

Ben

Most of the restaurant is two rows of tables with a server aisle in between with wooden tables draped with large sheets of paper. It is decorated with some sports memorabilia, Louisiana tributes, and cartoons of crawfish / shrimp. The menu consists of shrimp, crawfish, snow and king lobster. The shrimp and crawfish are boiled with heads and shells on, Louisiana style. We ordered the seafood platter, which came with about 30 crawfish, 15 shrimp, and lobster (we upgraded from snow to king) served in a big pot filled with broth. The broth was delicious, a red color with potatoes, onions, and garlic inside loaded with spicy pepper flavor. Despite a summer and a few trips in the south, we still never saw the huge appeal of crawfish (suck the head and crack through the body for a tiny morsel of meat), but for what it is, they were executed well and had a spicy sweet flavor. The shrimp was perfectly cooked with a soft and fresh flavor, with the drawback for some people (me included) of being cooked with head and shell on is that they are not deveined. The lobster was incredible served in the broth, the only complaint is that at the price we thought we would receive a full king lobster, though we only received about 4 chopped pieces of leg.  The side of sweet potato fries were freshly made and delicious, and the corn-on-the-cob served in a broth was not worth eating, severely overcooked and bland. The atmosphere was pretty fun, the paper table cloths and roll of paper towels on each table calling for food to be enjoyed without worrying about the mess. The drink menu was limited, at the time they weren’t selling beer or wine due to alcohol license issue. The place offers a great taste of cajun style cooking in the bay area, and they have mastered their broths and seafood preparation. The atmosphere is light, fun and informal, filled with groups of friends and couples.

Food           9

Drinks         5

Atmosphere 7

Service        8

Value          7

Nina

We left for Mr Krab's restaurant not sure what to expect. On one hand, so far any restaurant labeled "seafood restaurant" tended to be on the fancy side of the spectrum, especially when lobster is present in any form. On the other hand, the name of the place made me think of a Chuck E Cheese's type setting, which is anything but fancy. The actual place didn't match either expectation - the restaurant was small and unassuming, with a family friendly setting yet with nothing particularly tailored to be children-friendly. The content was also quite surprising - the manu was split between cajun style seafood and asian noodles. Since we came determined to eat seafood, we looked at the former for our choice of dinner.

The entrees were basically all either deep fried or seafood boils, all you had to do was choose the type of seafood, spice levels and sides. We went for a combo platter, since it was shareable and would give us an opportunity to try out most of their menu offerings in one dish; spice level - medium, since I decided to play it safe (this was cajun style, after all); finally, we didn't order any sides until later when we saw corn on the cob being presented to a nearby table and felt a tinge of melancholy for this Midwest staple. It was pretty disappointing that their advertised drink menu was reduced to only water and soda, since they had not renewed their liquor license and had no estimated date when they would get it again.

Our platter came with a lot of crawfish (which I always find difficult to eat, certainly too much labor put in for too small of a reward), quite a bit of whole shrimp, clams and king crab legs, all in a spicy broth whose flavor penetrated all of the components. I was certainly glad we ordered the medium spiciness, it had enough of a kick to make the food more exciting, while not overwhelming the delicate flavor of seafood to the point where all you could taste was spice. For how expensive of an addition the crab legs were, we didn't get too much of that on our plate, so that was a little disappointing, though in flavor they really shined. The corn on the cob was disappointing, to soggy, not sweet enough, and didn't taste too fresh either. It was a good thing that the sweet potato fries were crispy and delicious to make up for it.

Overall, this place doesn't stand out in particular, though it offers good flavorful seafood boil. I would think that crawfish fans might enjoy this place much more than me, I have yet to find good reason to pick these over shrimp or crab legs.

Food             8

Drinks          4
Atmosphere  6
Service          7
Value            7

Fish Story

Location: Napa, CA (Napa Valley)
Cuisine type: Seafood, American
Atmosphere: Romantic (indoors, dinner patio), mood lighting
Meal: happy hour snacking
Price range: $5/appetizer
Overall grade: 7

Ben


We stopped in for a quick snack in downtown Napa during happy hour and got a cabernet sauvignon and a rose wine. We also ordered some appetizers – raw oyster shots and a potato-fish cake sandwich. The oyster shots were served in an unpleasantly spicy V8 tasting sauce, but when taken as a full shot with the oyster it actually was OK. The other appetizer was also OK, though neither dish I would have paid for at non-happy hour prices. The location is pretty nice and the atmosphere was pretty romantic inside. The service was decent though seemingly impatient with happy hour orders despite the restaurant being empty.


Food          6   
Drinks        7
Atmosphere 7
Service       6
Value         7




Nina


Lured by the promise of a festival in downtown Napa (which turned out to be a mistaken date on the online calendar), we took a walk along the Napa river to enjoy the views of this wonderful valley before heading back home. A restaurant along this river walkway called our attention with mentions of Happy Hour on every patio table. Happy Hour? Yes, please!


We asked for a table and had to wait around until the staff had their pre-dinner meeting at 5, just to find out that we didn't really have to wait if we just wanted happy hour, though we were never asked whether we were there for the happy hour specials or dinner. I would think this shouldn't really make a difference in service, but oh boy, was I wrong! While the restaurant had a very nice atmosphere with dim lights and artsy decorations inside, and the patio we had seen had a wonderful view and elegant decor, happy hour customers had a choice between the bar and the crammed patio by the main entrance - with tall hedges and no view. The wait staff also seemed a bit short, though nice nonetheless, almost as though just stopping by for happy hour snacks didn't really make us worthy to take up their time.


I picked a minty fresh raspberry and club soda drink, which is a little like a mojito sans rum. It was delicious and the freshness of the raspberries was pleasantly surprising, though I confess I would have been even happier had they been lighter on the syrup. For snacks, I ordered an oyster shooter and a potato-fish cake slider. The shooter, consisted of a skewered raw oyster hung over an extremely spicy tomato sauce, served in a shot glass. The sauce was too spicy to entice me into taking it as an actual shooter, I was afraid I would end up in a coughing fit. What I ended up doing was slowly sip half of it (alternating with drinks of water to tone it down), then taking the proper shot with the remaining half of the sauce and the oyster in it. It was surprisingly delicious. I say surprising because after braving through the first half of the liquid I didn't expect much of the combination, but the mellow and salty flavor of the oyster actually balanced out the bite of the tomato juice and went together great - I still maintain that the full amount of sauce would have drowned out the oyster, so the dish missed the mark in finding the right proportion between the components. The fish potato cake slider was a little bland, with very little fish flavor coming through and leaving the impression in each bite that I was eating a hash brown sandwich, not the most enticing afternoon indulgence.


Even though the Happy Hour experience was not entirely positive, I would be tempted to try this place for dinner sometime, the dish lineup and the setup and atmosphere in the main part of the restaurant looked very attractive and the numbers of people streaming in by the time we left suggested that it was a popular destination in the city.

Food          7 
Drinks        8
Atmosphere 9
Service       6
Value         8