We here at the Food Snob – all two of us – have differing tastes from time to time. For the most part we both love everything, but every once in a while we discover that we do indeed have different ideas of what’s tasty.
Take seafood, for example. The other Food Snob doesn’t care much for it – he’ll dabble with scallops from time to time, but that’s basically it.
This one, on the other hand, can’t get enough of the stuff. That’s why I decided to spend lunch last Tuesday at Newick’s Lobster House on Loudon Road – a place never featured in these pages.
I wanted everything on the menu, but with a limited budget I had to pick one thing. I went with the Seafood Medley – bay scallops, gulf shrimp and North Atlantic haddock baked in a rich Newburg sauce and topped with Ritz cracker crumb stuffing. It came with two sides, so I got red bliss mashed potatoes with a side of gravy and the classic seafood side: coleslaw.
The seafood medley was everything I had hoped it would be, and then some. The crispy Ritz crust reminded me of the baked stuffed scallops my grandmother used to make when I was a kid, so there was a nostalgia factor in play right from the get-go.
Bay scallops are the little ones, so I was able to eat several at once, which was nice. They were tender and juicy and full of that briney seafood flavor. The shrimp, also on the small side, was plump and provided some nice pop. The bits of haddock were big and very flaky – just the way I like it. I had never heard of Newburg sauce before, but I’m glad this dish came with it because it was excellent. It reminded me of lobster bisque, even though I’ve never had that before.
On top of it all, literally, that Ritz crust delivered a crucial crunch to break up the soft textures of the seafood.
The potatoes were worth writing home about. They were smooth except for the good-sized bits of red skin in there, which I love, and there was some seasoning that added a little kick. The gravy, though fairly light in color, was robust in taste. I couldn’t tell whether it was the work of turkey or chicken, but it was good either way.
The coleslaw was made the way I like it – thin, finely shredded strands with minimal mayo. It made for a perfect complement to the otherwise pretty heavy seafood meal.
If you like fish and shellfish, you need to try the Seafood Medley.
