LOCAL VOICES: The Seafood Chronicles Part 1: The Black Lobster. Or Not. How About the 99 Then?

The Seafood Chronicles

Summer is in full swing and our informal band of self-proclaimed critics have decided to tackle the quintessential summer foods of the region; the lobster roll and chowder. They both seem like simple foods on the surface, but, like the sea, have hidden depths.

Personally I love seafood. Baked, fried, steamed, I’ll eat it all. I have never, however, been a big fan of the lobster roll. Never saw any point to it really. Why not just spring for the whole thing? But, I’m going into this with an open mind, and eager taste buds, to see what all the fuss is about.

As per our last survey, we use a scale of 1 to 10 for 5 categories, with a total possible high score of 50. Our categories this time are;

Preparation & Presentation, Taste & Texture, Sides, Service, and Atmosphere.

For our first foray into the breach, we went with a long time Salem stalwart; The Black Lobster (formerly Stromberg’s). I’d love to tell you how the new owners compared with the Stromberg’s many of us grew up with, but I can’t as we didn’t end up dining there.

Why not? Let me tell you.
Two of our intrepid tasters arrived at The Black Lobster and were seated on the deck after informing the hostess that there would be more of us; at least 4, possibly as many as 10 (though more likely 8). Five minutes later they were told at least 4 people had to be there for them to be seated, and so they were “un-seated” back to the waiting area. Ten minutes later 2 more of our party arrived. They were not seated. Another 15 minutes and we had 7 people (one had already left. I can’t say I blame her). Another 5 minutes as we discussed whether we would stay. Ignored by hostess the whole time. After approaching the hostess and asking to be (finally) seated, we were told that we could not be seated until our entire party was there. We opted to leave, having already wasted half an hour.
On our way out, our fearless leader spoke to the manager, who claimed despite 30 of 32 visible seats being empty on the deck our party would be inconvenient and difficult for the staff because 2 more might arrive.

Now, personally, I have never had to wait for our entire party to arrive before being seated. Especially in a nearly empty restaurant. Not really sure what was going on here, but I do know I won’t be back. Ever.

So, we ended up at the 99 Restaurant. We hadn’t actually planned on doing a chain, but needs must. They had lobster rolls. They had chowder. They had seats, and they sat us in 2 minutes.
Now, let’s get to the nitty-gritty!

THE CHOWDER
The 99 offers a seafood chowder made with shrimp, clams, and schrod. The soup of the day was also a chowder; chicken & corn, but we all went with the seafood. $3.99 for a cup, $4.99 for a bowl.


Preparation & Presentation; 6.21
The chowder came out quickly, before our drinks, in fact. The chowder arrived in the standard white bowl with a packet of oyster crackers on the side. I noticed a couple of the chowders had fresh parsley, but others didn’t. Boring presentation, but I’m not sure how you could really snaz it up anyways. I’d like to note that the cups were a generous size.

Taste & Texture; 7.57
The chowder was creamy, but not super thick, with chunks of potato visible. About half of us noted it could do with a bit more seafood, but appreciated it wasn’t loaded with potato to mask the lack of fish. It had a decent flavor, better than I expected from a big chain restaurant, but nothing spectacular. The fish and clams were good, but I honestly didn’t notice any of the supposed shrimp. It didn’t have a super depth of flavor, but was a good solid chowder. “Madam LobSTAR” said, “It wasn't showy chowder (like those "Oh....look at all my fresh delicious fish and overpowering flavor and... surprise BACON!"), It wasn't that type of chowder at all. It was more like average, hardworking American chowder. It tasted like chowder is supposed to, the way our grandparents would have wanted to eat chowder. A chowder that puts it's pants on one leg at a time.” Hmm, do you suppose it wears clam diggers?


Sides; 7
One standard packet of oyster crackers, and parsley on a few of the chowders. What can you really say about oyster crackers?

Service; 8.14
We had a trainee along with the experienced waitress. Both were friendly, attentive, and efficient. They easily accommodated our request for separate checks. Certainly a thousand times better than the treatment from our first pick of the night. Our drinks were slow in arriving, they showed up after the chowder, but that was the only real snag. Speaking of drinks, steer clear of the Green Tea Bubble Tea. It is cloyingly sweet due to artificial sweeteners (wish I’d known before ordering; I’m super sensitive to them), and instead of the tapioca pearls we were expecting it had boba in it. Bleh.

Atmosphere; 6.92
Your basic family restaurant. Salem centric photos on walls, which was nice. It was busy but surprisingly quiet, and it was easy to hold conversation. Critic “Zoidberg” said it best, “This is a chain restaurant. There are kids leaning over your booth, it is busy, it has TVs, it has a constant buzz of noise and activity, and it is typical of other restaurants of its ilk - Casual Family. But we managed to get our party snugged up into the booth and had a great meal together with no real interruptions or garish interference from the rest of the restaurant.”

Chowder has a total score of 35.85

The catch of the day; THE LOBSTER ROLL

There were two choices of lobster rolls; the Colossal ($15.99) and Hot Buttered ($16.99). Both came on a grilled roll and with fries and coleslaw.

Preparation & Presentation; 7.83
The lobster rolls came with fries and a ramekin of coleslaw. The rolls were toasted a lovely golden brown, the lobster meat big and bright against the shredded lettuce lining the roll. Coleslaw was colorful and the fries golden brown as well. Looked fresh and wonderful.

Taste & Texture; 7.25
The rolls were buttered and toasted just right. The Hot Buttered roll is just that; warm lobster meat on a toasted roll with a side of melted butter to drizzle over it. No celery or lettuce. Three of us tried this one and while we all liked it, one thought it was perfection.
The Colossal came on the same toasted roll, with shredded lettuce, a wee bit of diced celery, and just a touch of mayo. Both  servings were generous, with nice chunks of meat including some intact claws. Overall, the meat was tasty, with a few dry or tough pieces. I think for folks who aren’t familiar with the taste of a lobster fresh off the boat this would be a phenomenal roll.

Sides; 6.66
Fries were good; cooked nicely, not greasy, and not too much seasoning.  “Pinchy” thought the coleslaw, however, was lovely. Just the right amount of tang and sweet, slightly creamy, and crunchy veggies. It did receive one vote of “mediocre”, which “Pinchy” totally disagrees with.

Service; 6.92
As stated before, both our experienced server and her trainee were friendly, efficient, and attentive.

Atmosphere; 8.14
Again, it’s a chain restaurant. As “The Old Salt” noted, “It is what it is at the 99 restaurant chain… not bad, but not particularly appealing or striking.” Hey, it was clean, didn't smell funny, and well lit. Works for me.

LOBSTER ROLLS rates a total of  36.8

In short, we started off being completely blind-sided by the lack of concern at The Black Lobster. After reading Yelp reviews of the place, I have to wonder how they plan to stay in business. I long for the days of Stromberg’s; dining room full of blue-hairs, that weird dip they served with crackers, and courteous staff who actually wanted your business. FYI, Steve (the manager at BL), you lost almost $200 for the restaurant and tips for your wait staff. Good job.

The 99 was a pleasant surprise. Sure, the décor is uninspired but the service was good, the prices reasonable, and the food better than anticipated. They certainly let us rebound and end the evening on a good note. Bravo.

Next up… well, I’m not telling. You’ll have to tune in again to see.

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