Monday, January 12, 2009

Big Fish Grill

We re-visited Delaware's Big Fish Grill and while the food's still good, there's one major problem with this eatery that will keep us away from now on.

And a look into those local Delaware races, including son of Senator Joe Biden's bid for Attorney General against the Thomas Capano prosecutor.

Beau Biden has NEVER prosecuted a criminal case; his main qualification for the office would seem is being the son of a loud-mouthed Senator.

And you'll never guess who's endorsing Beau Biden.


Pic of the Day
Sleepy Puppy and Contentment



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Delaware’s Big Fish Grill-A Re-visit and A Vow to NOT Re-visit again

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This is a second review of this Rehoboth Beach, Delaware famous eatery. Original review HERE

Although I’m not sure that “famous” is the correct adjective here in that I certainly never heard of this eatery before moving to the swamps of Delaware. Yet go there on a Saturday night, and this AFTER Labor Day, and you’ll have an hour and a half wait, easily. Somebody’s obviously heard of this place.

It was time for a mother-in-law visit and as I stated in the first review in the link above, she does adore the Merryland crab cakes made from lump backfin crab meat and broiled to perfection.

But is it worth the hour and a half wait?

As a group, husband, myself and mother-in-law, we decided it was not.

Which is not to say there isn’t fine food offered at the Big Fish Grill, including fresh fish perfectly prepared. The restaurant also has a busy carry-out section and if looking for fresh seafood to prepare for dinner, one can’t go wrong here.

On this most recent visit I had two “whale” sized soft crabs and as a native Merrylander (not that I’m necessarily proud of this fact) I consider soft crabs God’s gift to the weary earth.

Soft crabs are, however, a tricky thing to make but I was confident Big Fish Grill would do a good job. And they did.

Those soft crabs were huge and fried to crispy perfection. My mother-in-law was amazed that people even eat such things. Just for effect, I pulled off the claws of the soft crab one by one and munched on each joyfully as if potato chips.

Soft crabs are usually blue crabs caught during the act of molting off their old shell and right before a newer, harder shell replaces it. The crab is cleaned of what Merrylanders call “the devil”, really the crab’s lungs, and the eyeballs are removed for aesthetic purposes. Although I’d eat the eyeballs, no problem. Beyond that, the soft crab is then simply dipped in seasoned flour and fried quickly to a precise crispness. That’s all there is to it. The entire soft crab is served, complete with legs and the now crispy outside shell. The legs, if eaten correctly, are removed one by one and eaten right on down. The body of the soft crab can then be cut with a knife or torn apart by hand and again, sent down to a happy stomach.

The soft crabs were indeed “whale” sized and I could only eat one that night of the visit. The other made a delicious lunch later in the week.

Husband had a barbecued shrimp appetizer and a fried flounder for his dinner. Mother-in-law had her signature crab cakes and it’s a treat she’s come to enjoy on her annual visits.

Big Fish Grill serves above-average side dishes with their seafood offerings. Their mashed potatoes rates an A+. I had a side of stewed tomatoes, a side dish not offered nearly often enough. All entrees usually include the Grill’s cole slaw, a good side with large shreds of regular and red cabbage, lightly dressed.

Husband’s barbecued shrimp appeared to really be barbecued in that black grill marks on the skewered shrimp indicated they’d actually been cooked on some sort of grill affair. The flounder was perfectly prepared as would be expected from this restaurant’s specialty.

Beyond the very good food, and make no mistake Big Fish Grill does their seafood job well, there’s no way that long wait is worth it. At some point a diner has to decide and these diners decided that the wait is simply too long. We have lives out here in la-la land and whiling away hours waiting to eat is a waste of a busy life. And no, we didn’t get to the front of the line in honor of our name…FISH. Heh.

In addition, the Big Fish Grill is so crowded and noisy that we couldn’t talk to each other without strain as we enjoyed our meal.

Nope. Just not worth the bother. Perhaps a weeknight visit or in the dead of winter, maybe. Unfortunately mother-in-law visits revolve around a weekend. She specifically arrives after Labor Day in the resort area just to avoid the crowds.

Next year we intend to avoid the crowds at the Big Fish Grill. Too bad. They really do serve excellent seafood.

Big Fish Grill web site.

Below some selections from the Big Fish Grill’s menu:
Seafood Offerings

FRESH ½ LB PEEL & EAT SHRIMP “SERVED COLD” W/ COCKTAIL & OLD BAY

FRESH BAKED MUSSELS W/ GORGONZOLA & LIGHT LOBSTER SAUCE

FRESH FIELD GREENS W/MANDARIN ORANGES, PINE NUTS, GORGONZOLA, & HONEY DIJON

FRESH SMOKED SALMON NAPOLEON W/ FRIED WONTONS, WASABI & HAWAIIAN BBQ GLAZE

FRESH HAND ROLLED SHRIMP&VEGETABLE SPRING ROLLS W/HAWAIIAN DIPPING SAUCE

FRESH PRIME 14OZ VEAL CHOP OVER MASHERS W/ GORGONZOLA & PORT WINE DEMI

Appetizers
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Chopped Salad
Romaine, carrots, tomatoes, corn and cucumbers tossed in our buttermilk garlic dressing

Caesar Salad
Homemade recipe using pasteurized eggs

Grilled Charcoal Shrimp
Served with melted butter

Fried Grouper Fingers
Served with homemade tartar sauce

House Smoked Fish Dip
available for take out

Homemade Garlic Bread
Soup of the Day

Other
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Big Sirloin
A 10oz. sirloin over mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy and your choice of one sides

Big Chops
Twin center-cut chops served over mashed potatoes, homemade gravy and baked spiced apples

Steak and Shrimp
A petite filet and our grilled charcoal shrimp

Big Shrimp
Twelve large shrimp sprinkled with our famous char-seasoning served over saffron rice

Big Chicken
A juicy 10oz breast served over mashed potatoes

Mom's Meatloaf
Served with mashed potatoes and gravy

Big Chicken Sandwich
Grilled 10oz. breast topped with cheddar and bacon served with fries and a pickle

Fried Grouper Sandwich
Hand-Breaded "Farm Raised" Grouper filets served with fries and tartar sauce

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