Foodie Friday: Dinner at Oceanaire

 As previously mentioned, we went to Oceanaire last Friday evening for Restaurant Week. It was a stressful drive there due to traffic and road construction. Plus, it's in a hotel and the attached parking ramp was packed and expensive ($7 for 2 hours at night?).

By the time we got there, we were 10 minutes late and in desperate need of a drink. A grossly overpriced drink. Their cheapest glass of prosecco was $12, so I splurged and got a peach Bellini for $14. It was wonderful. Adam's dirty martini was "cheap" at $9. Ridiculous.

Moving on, the food at Oceanaire was fantastic and it came out very quickly. The service on the other hand, wasn't the greatest. I felt you were treated differently if you ordered off the Restaurant Week menu (as almost everyone there did); as if you were less valuable of a customer. No warm damp towel for you Mr. Restaurant Week diner, we save these for our high rollers at the table next to you.
Oh, I would sweep the crumbs off your tablecloth with my crumber, but eh, you're not worth my time.
Rude.

Our server also mixed up our main courses so we had to switch hot plates. Not a big deal, but annoying nevertheless. I much preferred our experience at Meritage even if the food took FOREVER to come out.

Don't get me wrong, we ended up having a great time at Oceanaire, and the food was great. I don't know if I'd go back for Restaurant Week though just because it is such a pain to get there and the service wasn't as attentive. It was a pretty good deal for there though.

Moving on..... here's what we had with apologies in advance for the poor photo quality (I didn't want to use the flash).

 

Starter:
Stef: Maryland Style Mini Crab Cake Appetizer with Mustard Mayonnaise

 The crab cake was excellent even if it was a little on the small side. It had great flavor. I was trying to decide between this and the Caesar Salad. I noticed another table had the Caesar, and it was a huge plateful. This was plenty for me though.

Adam: East Coast - West Coast Oyster Sampler with Sauce Mignonette

Adam said these were good, he just wished there were more! He only got 2 here, whereas Meritage gave 3.



Main:

Stef: Cranberry Glazed Hawaiian Blue Marlin with Roasted Brussel Sprouts 

 This was awesome. I was a little skeptical, but the cranberry glaze added some nice tang and flavor without being too sweet. The Brussels Sprouts were good, and the marlin was excellent. the green onions on top added some nice flavor as well. It was a great choice for me. Adam had some and really enjoyed it as well.


Adam: Pan-Seared Mahi-Mahi with Crushed Red Grape Vinaigrette and Grilled Belgian Endive

I had a few bites of Mahi-Mahi and it was excellent. I however, was not a fan of the grilled belgian endive. I didn't like the bitter flavor or the wilted texture. Adam thoroughly enjoyed his meal.

Dessert:

Stef: Pumpkin Pound Cake with Bourbon Glaze and Pumpkin Ice Cream

I very much enjoyed the pumpkin ice cream and the pound cake. Adam didn't like it, but then again, he doesn't like pumpkin and it wasn't his dessert anyway. I was definitely feeling full after this hearty dessert.

Adam: Caramel Apple Sundae with Toasted Granola

This dessert reminded me of a deconstructed caramel apple. Mr. "I don't like sweets" let me have a small bite of this making sure I didn't take much of the precious granola. It was pretty good, just not my thing. He really enjoyed it though which is what matters. Adam especially liked the shoe string apple slices.