Looking for a good seafood restaurant

 Wright's Seafood Inn -- EXCELLENT -- several years back I went and we had a
 phenomenal meal in a low key but very nice atmosphere. They are located in
 Heidelburg at 1837 Washington Street. Telephone number is 412-279-7900. The
 restaurant has been around for over 100 years. That's gotta say something.

 I'll agree that the food at the Pittsburgh Fish Market is very good, but the
 service has a reputation for being horrendous. I once had a $150 check
 "taken care of by management" because the service was sooooo bad. But that
 is my personal experience and like I said, the food is good.

 Heidi P. wrote:
 > Two places I've enjoyed:
 >
 > The Pittsburgh Fish Market which is downtown in the Doubletree and
 > Mitchell's Fish Market which is in Homestead in the Waterfront shopping
 > center.
 >
 > Heidi
 >
 > The P. wrote:
 > >
 > > Our anniversary is this weekend, and I have been craving some good
 seafood. We
 > > have already been to Poli's and the Monterey Bay, and enjoyed them both.
 Just
 > > thought we'd like to try someplace new.
 > >
 > > Thanks,
 > > Caroline

   Eaten there a couple of times in the past couple of years and both times
 were awful. anyone tried lately?  lois
 Dajpgh wrote:
 > Wright's Seafood Inn -- EXCELLENT -- several years back I went and we had
 a
 > phenomenal meal in a low key but very nice atmosphere. They are located in
 > Heidelburg at 1837 Washington Street. Telephone number is 412-279-7900.
 The
 > restaurant has been around for over 100 years. That's gotta say something.
 >
 > I'll agree that the food at the Pittsburgh Fish Market is very good, but
 the
 > service has a reputation for being horrendous. I once had a $150 check
 > "taken care of by management" because the service was sooooo bad. But that
 > is my personal experience and like I said, the food is good.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 > Heidi P. wrote:
 > > Two places I've enjoyed:
 > >
 > > The Pittsburgh Fish Market which is downtown in the Doubletree and
 > > Mitchell's Fish Market which is in Homestead in the Waterfront shopping
 > > center.
 > >
 > > Heidi
 > >
 > > The P. wrote:
 > > >
 > > > Our anniversary is this weekend, and I have been craving some good
 > seafood. We
 > > > have already been to Poli's and the Monterey Bay, and enjoyed them
 both.
 > Just
 > > > thought we'd like to try someplace new.
 > > >
 > > > Thanks,
 > > > Caroline
 >
 >

 Lois wrote:

  regarding Wright's Seafood Inn
 >   Eaten there a couple of times in the past couple of years and both times
 > were awful. anyone tried lately?  lois

 The last few times I ate there (about 4 years ago) it was positively putrid.
 The lobster was fozen, not fresh, and tasted of chemicals. I think it may be
 another one of the many restaurants that rests on the laurels of ages-old
 accolades...and I could practically walk there, it's so close to home, so
 I'd love to be able to say that it was worth going--I'd go!

 Marcy

Default wrote:
>
> Adam F. wrote:
>
> > > Wow, that's bad.  I've never found Poli's to be as bad
> > > as the best Red Lobster.  Actually, I'd rate Poli's as
> > > pretty good.
> >
> > You are certainly entitled to your opinion.  I've lived in lots of
> > different coastal towns, so perhaps I'm spoiled.  Also, I find the
> > atmosphere at Poli's to be dark and dingy.
>
> Maybe Red Lobsters are better in coastal towns?
Not that I've seen.

> I certainly wouldn't
> know, having never eaten at a Red Lobster that was within 150 miles of
> a body of water.
>
> Unfortunately, coastal town isn't neccessarily enough to assure
> uniformly good seafood.  Surprisingly, it's not all that easy to
> find great seafood in NYC.  Even Boston only has a few good
> seafood restaurants, while San Diego has tons.  I'm not even
> going to start on the foreign cities.
>
True enough.  I lived in San Diego for a while, and had lots of good seafood.  Out of all the places I've live, I'd have to say that the best seafood was in coastal Maine.

> Poli's is dark. There's a fine line between romantic and morose.
>
Actually, the dinginess in "dark and dingy" bothers me more than the darkness.  I've simply never had a good meal there, and I've been there dozens of times over the years.  (Outvoted by family members....)

> Personally, I prefer to avoid the brightly-lit cafeteria-types
> of places.
> For a different alternative, call Pino's every once in a while,
> and ask them if they have the Ahi tuna.  Maybe eventually they'll
> take the hint.
>
> Pino's is casual and bright enough for you,
>
Now now, let's not get snotty.

> and their treatment
> of the tuna has been flawless the several times I've been there.
> Far better value-for-the-dollar, at least.  BYOB.
>
Yes, I like Pino's.

> > > I wouldn't make a special trip, but since
> > > it's in the neighborhood, it's convenient.   I guess I
> > > haven't been real impressed with the Monterey Bay, either.
> > >
> >
> > I don't know what you had, but they do some things very well.  The crab
> > cakes are not quite as good as those I've eaten when I was living on the
> > Chesapeake, but MB's recipe is _very_ tasty.  Also, some types of fish
>
> The MB's crab cakes *are* very good.  They tend to be awfully heavy on
> the sauces on such fish dishes as have sauce, and I've never had good
> service there.
>
Really?  I've never had a problem with the service at MB.  Not stellar, but competent and polite.

> > stand up better to freezing or transport than others, such as tuna, sea
> > bass, and orange roughie.  (At least, I assume roughie stands up well to
> > freezing.  I've never had it fresh because I've never been to New
> > Zealand.)  Trout and flounder don't travel as well.  If you stick to the
> > former types of fish, you might find that MB's preparations are quite
> > good.  My main complaint about MB is that the clientele tend to be
> > unpleasantly loud.
>
> Trout is pretty much always farmed these days, and given the
> heavy-metal levels in the freshwater bodies around, I think it's just
> as well.
>
Yes, trout is often farm-raised, but it's flavor still degrades very rapidly, which is the point I was trying to make.

> > > I think it's probably not a good idea to set one's
> > > expectations too high.  Seafood is just not a local
> > > tradition.
> >
> > Yes, a Pittsburgh surf & turf is kielbasa & carp.  I am not a picky
> > eater by any stretch of the imagination, but I see nothing wrong with
> > having high expectations.  I don't become unpleasant if disappointed in
> > the food, and I would never be nasty to the staff except in the most
> > extreme of circumstances, but I won't go back for seconds.  Actually,
> > that's not true either; I'd go back to a place if voted down by dinner
> > companions.
>
> Yep, that pretty much defines my attitude.  Though I've been known to
> grumble afterwards if I've been voted down ;)
>
> I think I'm just missing shellfish, actually.  I haven't had shellfish
> anywhere that have compared with the range and quality as I found in
> Lisbon.
>
I'll have to make the trip some time.

I miss Maine lobster myself.  If any of you are ever near Bath, ME, head out to the Georgetown Fisherman's Co-op.  I recommend two 1-1/4lb softshell lobsters with 1 lb of steamers and an ear of corn.  (3 lb lobsters are for tourists, who don't know any better!)  Wear old clothes and grab a seat at one of the picnic tables on the pier.  This feast will set you back about $8 or so, but the real cost is that you'll never again be able to eat lobster anywhere else.

Kate C. wrote:
>
> Adam F. wrote:
>
> > I miss Maine lobster myself.  If any of you are ever near Bath, ME, head
> > out to the Georgetown Fisherman's Co-op.  I recommend two 1-1/4lb
> > softshell lobsters with 1 lb of steamers and an ear of corn.  (3 lb
> > lobsters are for tourists, who don't know any better!)  Wear old clothes
> > and grab a seat at one of the picnic tables on the pier.  This feast
> > will set you back about $8 or so, but the real cost is that you'll never
> > again be able to eat lobster anywhere else.
>
> Hey, Adam,
> Let's hear more about these "softshell" lobsters.
> Heard of softshell crab, never heard of softshell
> lobster.  So what's the deal?  How do you eat
> them.  You don't have to eat the shells do you?
> Yuck. :-)

They're just lobsters that are molting, or whatever the equivalent is for crustaceans.  They're not always available, and I've never seen them offered outside of Maine.  They are less expensive than hard-shelled lobsters because they are slightly more water by weight when still alive, so you get a little less meat out of them than from a hardshell of the same weight.

I think that the meat from a softshell is a little sweeter, and I actually prefer them in taste and texture.  Also, you can open them up with nothing more than your fingers, which is convenient and psychologically empowering. ;-)

No, the shells are still not edible, at least by humans.

> Anyway, is this place this side of
> Acadia Nat. Park?

Yes, it's close to Bath, which is about 30-40 minutes north of Portland.  Go across the only sizable bridge in Bath (where you can see them building the warships at Bath Iron Works), turn right, and try to follow the main, twisting road for around 2-3 miles.  It's at the end of that road.  If you end up in the Atlantic, you've gone too far.

> I'll be going there this fall
> and then driving back down the coast to
> Boston.  Do they serve 'em for breakfast?

I have no idea, but if you're in Portland around breakfast time, go to the park at the end of State St.  There's a restaurant in the park called The Barking Squirrel where they serve eggs benedict with lobster meat.  Orgasmic!