The Seafood Chronicles Part Three: The Seaport Cafe

The Seafood Chronicles Part 3.

Our third voyage took us to on Derby Street. On the corner of Pickering Wharf, the Café is now owned by the . Lots of seafood on the menu, as well as pub fare. The patio is dog friendly and there is live music most nights.

THE CHOWDER
New England style clam chowder.

Preparation & Presentation; 7.33
Nice creamy look, with flecks of pepper. Very mild aroma. I do wish I had noticed the bread bowl option before ordering; I love me an edible container!

Taste & Texture; 7.16
Plenty of potato and clams in a medium thick broth. Creamy with a fresh ocean notes  (you know, the good kind, not low tide kind). Clam pieces were tender and flavorful. Could use a touch of pork to fill out the flavor palette.

Sides; 6.33
Seriously, it’s a package of oyster crackers. Why do we keep rating them? ;)

Service; 8
Friendly and quick, with little wait. Easily accommodated our separate checks, and various arrival times. Engaged in light banter, noting that Mr. Clamdigger’s Narragansett tall boy/chowder combo was “wicked New England”.

Atmosphere; 7
The outdoor patio offers good people watching, being at the entrance of Pickering Wharf. It is small, but the tables are comfortably spaced. The giant red chair in the corner is, however, puzzling and out of place. The interior is very clean and bright, if a bit lacking in personality. The seating was quite comfortable. Multiple TV’s were unobtrusive.

Chowder has a total score of 36.1

THE LOBSTER ROLL

Preparation & Presentation; 7.8
The roll was loaded with huge naked pieces of lobster meat with the mayo and celery on  the side, along with a pickle chunk and generous portion of steak fries. Mr. Clamdigger said the roll looked large enough to be slightly intimidating. One of the rolls was somewhat flattened and the meat thrown on haphazardly, which definitely detracted from the visual appeal.

Taste & Texture; 7.6
The meat was cool and fresh, with excellent flavor and texture. Darn near perfect. With mayo and celery on the side, you could control the mix, which is a very nice idea. Felt the rolls could have been toasted a wee bit more as a couple of them fell apart. The meat was excellent, although Pinchy felt the lobster pieces were actually too large to eat easily, and didn’t like having to cut it into manageable pieces first.

Sides; 7.8
The roll comes with steak fries, but they also have onion rings, so we went for both. The steak fries were a beautiful golden brown and lightly dusted with seasoning. Crispy outside, soft inside and piping hot. Delish. The onion rings were meh, I’m afraid. There was also a lovely chunk of pickle that was absolutely wonderful. Crisp and fresh. I was tempted to ask for some to go.

Service; 8.3
As mentioned above, quick and affable. Good service.

Atmosphere; 7.5
As we were nearing the end of our meal a band began their sound check, making it a little too loud for easy conversation. Still, the Seaport Café was clean and comfortable.

Lobster Roll scored a total of 39

So, another tasty lobster roll and chowder under our (expanding) belts. Really great fries and pickles too. Music five nights a week gives you lots of chances to check out local talent while enjoying a meal out.