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Monday, January 26, 2009
Food / Queen's Feast / News Queen's Feast, restaurant No. 1
Posted By Priscilla Tsai on Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 3:27 PM
It's Charlotte Restaurant Week -- when restaurants offer 3-course (fixed menu) meals for $30. I've made it my mission to hit up at least 5 participating restaurants in 7 days. I hypothesize I will gain 20 pounds by the end of the week, but hey, it's all in the name of research. Here's goes...
Date: Saturday, Jan. 24
Restaurant: Oceanaire Seafood Room
What I ate:
- Appetizer: Calamari with a sweet chili sauce.
- Main: Lobster Thermador with Wilted Spinach, Forest Mushrooms & Sherry Cream
- Dessert: Key Lime Pie
Summary: Having never been to Oceanaire, we didn't know what to expect. Walking into the restaurant, my eating companion (aka. boyfriend) and I were greeted warmly and were seated promptly at a cozy booth. Every table at the restaurant was full, but the place didn't feel loud or crowded.
The pickled herring with an array of veggies and olives that were brought out with bread prior to the appetizer was a pleasant surprise. The appetizer of fried calamari served with a sweet chili sauce might have been best calamari dish I've had yet in Charlotte -- sweet and spicy, with a great crunch.
The 1/2 lobster I got was good, but a tad too creamy for my liking. I was happy with the size of the serving though. I was expecting a measly-sized lobster with little meat. (Oh yeah, and please note: a LOBSTER dinner for under $30! Great deal.)
Dessert was a honking huge slice of key lime pie. Super tart, just how key lime pie is supposed to be. It was of the non-bake variety, slightly wobbly like jell-o, but still good. Served with a dollop of whipped cream and a slice of lime for garnish, what more could you want? The boyfriend ordered the pumpkin pie for dessert. Instead of the slice of traditional pie we were expecting, they brought out an artsy deconstructed pumpkin pie -- a layer of baked pumpkin pie filling, a cloud of whipped cream over that, and a wedge of shortbread pie crust balanced on top. If you took a bite of all three at once, it tasted exactly like pumpkin pie. My only qualm with it was that the pumpkin layer was too thin.
Verdict: Considering a normal-priced entree is around $25+ at Oceanaire, to pay another $5 for the full 3-course meal is totally worth it. Charlotte Restaurant Week is the perfect time to try expensive restaurants that you normally wouldn't try.
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