On New Year's Day, I had no idea where to take my parents for lunch. Not knowing what was open, I went on Opentable.com and typed in a table for three fro 12:00 to see what came up. I randomly selected Sam's Chowder House and basically chose it based on this picture:
Beautiful isn't it? Well, apparently, they have really good chowder and seafood as well. So we went there. The view and atmosphere was perfect. We (even the dog!) sat outside on the patio where it wasn't too hot, too cold, too windy or too sunny. Perfect day. We had the chowder to start out with. I have to say that the chowder was pretty good. It wasn't as thick as I am used to but still very very good. After chowder, we all shared an order of fried calamari (a little bland but fried well), the salmon burger and the lobster roll. The lobster roll was rated one of the best sandwiches in America. I think it's a little overrated. The bun was probably better than the lobster that was in side. The lobster was a little cold and just didn't stick out. Blah. Esp for 20 bucks. Blah. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the Salmon Burger. Now that was good. It wasn't in the normal tight burger patty form. It was a little mushier but definitely packing in flavor. Along with the perfectly toasted bun, it was definitely worth the 14.95.
In the end, I think I give this place a 3.5 with an additional .5 stars (for the view) out of 5. It was so pretty and mellow, it totally added to the experience.
Here's the link if you are interested: http://www.samschowderhouse.com/
Last night was date night with Anne and we went to Dosa on Fillmore. I've been wanting to try Dosa for ages. Dosa on Valencia is the original location and that place is always packed, even on the weekday night. And they don't take reservations. However, Dosa on Fillmore had an open reservation last night at 8:15 so I snagged it.
First of all, the Dosa on Fillmore is a bit different from the one on Valencia. The one of Fillmore is much bigger and it is a lot more trendier in terms of atmosphere and interior design. The design was very crisp and clean and the scene was pretty young. I dig.
When we got there, we ended up having to wait for a little more than 1/2 hour for out table. A little annoying but we ended up with a big table. I didn't mind sitting next to the fire extinguisher either. Anne and I decided to try the four course tasting menu for $39 per person. I think that price is fair since you will likely end up spending that amount if you order separately. Anywho, we ended getting the following (each person got to select a dish):
Starters:
Mung Sprouts (very good, very different)
Cochin Calamari (spicy and very good)
Mini Dosa: (Our dosa was huge. I wonder what the regular dosas look like)
Chutney Masala Dosa (yummy and huge)
Paneer and Peas Dosa (I loved this dish. But it might just be because paneer is my favorite)
Curry:
Mango Jumbo Prawns (yummy. However, I wish they would take off the tails. I am lazy)
Tamil Lamb Curry (my favorite of the night. The lamb was perfectly cooked. Not too dry and the curry was spicy)
Dessert:
Rasmalai (I really really loved this dessert. The cheese patty had this wonderful consistency that was chewly yet soft. It was even better slathered with the cream.)
Indian Ice Cream (Cream flavored and went well with the Rasmalai)
I really really enjoyed my time at Dosa. Our table was perfect and the service was great. The food was excellent and lived up to its hype. I would definately go there again. No hesitatation. I give this place a 4.5 out of 5. The .5 because we had to wait for our table.
I love food.
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