In a tremendous feat, somehow we managed to get the whole family under one roof this summer! We staggered our arrivals and departures so it was not too crazy but, before my younger sister moved back to school, my older siblings and I managed to take our vacations on surrounding dates. We had a new family member to meet after all. He had to be introduced to our craziness. My stay started off with some home-cooked family favorites. My first night in, my dad welcomed me with a cheeseburger that did not disappoint, and the next night my mom had her turn with a scrumptious spicy sausage lasagne. The joys of coming home. One night my mom made a mouthwatering chicken with broccoli and rice pilaf and, as simple as it was, it was exactly the kind of meal I needed. The company did not hurt.
We did eat out a few times though, so I would like to turn your attentions to those excursions.
Dinner at The Yacht Club
While I was down the shore, we had to hit up a Wing Night at the Yacht Club. My family had a table on the back deck overlooking a gorgeous sunset, with friends surrounding us, so the night was off to a pretty good start.
Gorgeous sunlight on these tomatoes - I had to take a video to catch how that light bounced.
Of course, I have written about the Yacht Club before, so you can read a full review at this link. Things have changed though. There is a new chef in the kitchen. How would that affect the meal? I think Chef Devon is doing a wonderful job. The menu has a good variety of handhelds, salads, starters and main plates. The wing specials are creative. The presentations of the dishes are lovely. For my visit, I had not considered getting an appetizer until everybody else at my table ordered one and the waiter gently asked if I did not want to be left out of the course. Now, that's a good salesman. Burrata is such an irresistible item, so I quickly added a tomato burrata salad to my order. It tasted just as gorgeous as it looked. Fresh Jersey tomato glazed with a tangy balsamic, sturdy greens alongside - it was a perfect palate opener. Also, as you poked your butter knife into the cheese, it oozed creamy white goodness everywhere. The burrata tasted soft and silky on the tongue, and its sweetness with the balsamic made for a heavenly match. I also had a bite of my dad's ahi tuna and the fish itself was done so excellently, plus the creamy drizzle on top had just the right mix of soy and sesame to elevate the flavor dimensions of the dish. I need to get back to the shore so I can order that appetizer - I hope it stays on the menu! My dad's pork and my mom's shrimp caesar salad looked gorgeous. The Scorpios (my older brother and younger sister are ten years and five days apart) did not let me take pictures of their dinner, and I can respect that. I will report though that Conor was very satisfied with the German beer cheese he ordered - and even told us how he makes his own - and his burger. Reilly also got the burrata salad, which she followed up with the love of her life - the pasta entrée. The Yacht Club knows how to cook their pasta, so no complaints there. Thank God, honestly. It occurs to me that some people have no Italian influence, concept of al dente or clue how to cook pasta properly. It is curious to think about because there is so much Italian culture where I am from that I am like how can you mess up pasta? It is the best, easiest dish. Horrifyingly, perhaps there are individuals who can indeed mess up pasta. We must protect Reilly from them at all costs. It would be devastating for her. Meanwhile, I had to take full advantage of the salt air that surrounded me. I ordered the lobster roll, which everyone confirmed was a good choice. I can get very indecisive when it comes to ordering, usually torn between two or three dishes that have nothing in common, and when the server comes around it is all I can do not to squeeze my eyes shut and blurt something out in a heart-racing panic. This was one of those lovely incidents. Given that, everyone's reassurance really meant a lot. Thank you, guys. I am pleased to report that they were not playing me. The lobster was delicious in its simplicity. Light on the mayo, with just a sprinkling of seasoning, red onion and celery, the fresh lobster got to speak for itself. It was of such a quality that it deserved that attention. Overall, a delicious dinner.
Scola
So this was our big weekend night out during my visit. At this point, both my older siblings had returned to their respective cities, so we were down to four. I understood Scola to be a Greek restaurant on the mainland and I was really eager to try their food.
Unfortunately, it did not meet my anticipation. It was a rainy night and the hostess escorted us to a back room that was very bright and very narrow. My dining companions were a bit disappointed about that. The menu was all over the place. I am no expert on Greek cuisine, but what I was seeing was definitively not Greek. There was an Asian influence on a few dishes, cream sauces here and there, a bit of Italian - too Italian to fall under the Mediterranean umbrella and make an argument for the Greeks. Every traditional Greek dish I do know of did not have a place on the menu. So, I was confused. As for the service, I mean, the job was done. I think I am the only person who did not like our server but it is hard. She was nice. She chatted. She just had nervous energy that put me out. I feel bad saying it because no one else agreed with me and I do not want to slam anyone. I guess I absorbed her nerves a bit, so it affected my experience. There were pros and cons. Reilly had a sore throat and they brought her out a beautiful tea service. The complimentary roasted red pepper soup tasting was excellent. I would have preferred it a bit hotter than room temperature, but the flavors were great - nice mix of sweet and salty. Reilly's sausage flatbread app met her approval. It was quite large though, indicative of future cons to the meal. My parents and I split the goat cheese starter, which is something none of us normally order. That was kind of the problem. No apps jumped out at us, there was more we did not want than we did, so we went out on a limb and shared something unusual. The crust and honey on the goat cheese, paired with the cool rosemary accents, all tasted lovely on the toast. I guess our indecision actually opened up a nice opportunity. From what I understand, my parents enjoyed their stuffed flounder, but they would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had not been so humongous. They added all the accoutrements to Reilly's ravioli at the table, which was super fun, but then the accoutrements were just kind of dumped on, rather than presented with real flourish. Less cute. I, personally, found it comical that the sauces on my parent's and Reilly's main dishes all looked the same as the soup from earlier. They were different, I swear, but visually our table was covered in thick orange sauce. I ordered the 'Asian Tuna' and I am still confused about it. Now, the tuna was very well executed, sushi-grade, with a nice wasabi crema. I mostly focused on that. I asked the waitress what exactly comprised the bok choy slaw, but I am telling you the veggies I received matched those with my parents - which was not how it was labeled or what she claimed. There were a lot of different vegetables though, from various groups. The bok choy was in there somewhere, but it was kind of disorienting. The roasted potatoes did nicely with the crema at least. I mostly focused on the fish. It was a huge portion of food and there was no way I could finish all of it. I figured eating the main attraction, especially since it is the most expensive part of the dish, and leaving the rest solved the problem as best as possible.
I feel really badly when I do not love a meal. I love food, it is so easy for me to find the good in a place. I want to like it for the sake of the restaurant as well as the person who made the reservation. We all went home a bit disappointed though, I think. If I got invited to a dinner at Scuola again, I would certainly go and give it a second chance. I have no great interest in going back though. It will not ever be a reservation request I make, alas.
The Watering Hull
The next evening's dinner went much much better. I had a little dinner date with my parents and I had been aching for a crab cake, so we wound up at the Watering Hull.
I did a full review of The Watering Hull last summer, which you can find here. I would venture to add half a kiss after this visit's meal. It was incredible! We got a nice circle booth table that opened up to the entire dining room, which I loved. My margarita tasted excellent, good mix of spice and sweet, not a heavy hand of tequila, bright lime flavor - overall a very refreshing drink. For the second night in a row my Dad and I went out on a limb and ordered an app to share. This time, though, it was because the ahi tuna nachos intrigued us, not because we were at a loss for what to order. I was obsessed, honestly. Creamy avocado and tuna are they key to my heart, and pop all of that on top of a lightly salted chip and it is like - damn! I am not a huge nachos person, but if it was these nachos from the Hull I would have a serious problem. It was all I could do not to inhale the savory-sweet-salty goodness. I had a crab cake coming though, so unfortunately I had to practice some self-control. My mom had her own little party with her oysters, so everybody at the table was well taken-care of. We all got messy with our dinner orders, from my dad's tacos to my crab cake sandwich to my mom's burger. My crab cake was perfectly seasoned with a nice, tart tartar sauce to wake up the sweet crab meat and brioche bun. The cake was nice and crispy on the outside with a sweet center, fresh meat that was evenly distributed so I did not catch any gross lumps - just a gorgeous fry. Speaking of fried food, the spuds alongside had a great golden crisp edge that lolled in salt with a gorgeous, thick inside. Fries of my dreams. Everybody was happy. The Hull knows what it is doing, and it does a mighty good job. Somehow you get a shore pub that is clean, serves up amazing drinks and food, and has such a friendly atmosphere. That is the seashore at its best.
Gosh. Now I want one of their pork tacos. I am just thinking about the menu at that place and whew! Be more in my life!!
Now that is a wrap on food, but I would like to introduce you to some other snippets from the weekend:
In short - my mom makes the best strawberry daiquiris and she, Reilly and I had a really lovely Girl's Night on Friday. Also, she made cookies and cream ice cream that was so thick and sweet I could cry that I could not bring it back with me to Manhattan. I was thinking about it again two nights ago, longingly :( I love the beach, in case anyone was not aware. I mean, my parents basically raised me with saltwater in my blood, so it was bound to turn out this way. And the best for last - no Girl's Night will ever be true again at the Magee house because we have a new family member! Please meet Winston! He is the black and white fluff werking it in most of these photos. He is sassy, cute and he knows it, and just so happy to be alive. I was very happy to meet him and I am ecstatic about welcoming him to the clan.
Winston and I wish you a very happy week! Talk to you later 💋 🐾
XX,
MK
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