Cape May, NJ -- June 2007
For those of you who have never visited Cape May, it is a small beach town on the southern tip of the Jersey shore. The majority of the houses have been draped in Victorian decor, many displaying round turrets and gingerbread trim. The design grants an air of class to this older getaway. It tends to be a quieter vacation spot, unless you are fortunate enough to share your room with one of the many resident ghosts. But between hauntings, several fine restaurants of all price levels are serving delicious shore fare. Robert and I opted for the calamari at two of them:
The Ugly Mug, Washington Street Mall
This is the town brewpub with a friendly, welcoming ambiance. You have a choice of indoor or outdoor seating. The main charm is the ceiling full of mugs from Ugly Mug Club patrons, past and present. We ordered our calamari (and beer) at the bar and were served a large plate of rings, served alongside marinara sauce. The sauce was nothing to write home about, but it was acceptable for the task. The breading gave the biggest impression to this dish. It was similar to that of mainstream (read: frozen) onion rings and was much too crunchy overall. Strangely, it also made the fish seem less tender than it actually was. Had the calamari been breaded more gently, it would have revealed a fairly tasty product. The ultimate call? Decent bar food and made a good post-dinner snack, but not the place I would go if calamari is my main objective. Alternate recommendation--the Ocean Burger, a hamburger topped with Shrimp Imperial and sharp cheddar.
Moonfish Grill, Broadway Street
I would rate Moonfish as a four-star (out of five) restaurant. The decor is light and simple with some apparent Japanese influence. The couple's yin and yang bread plates were quite charming. The menu contains mostly an assortment of upscale seafood dishes as well as sushi (though we've yet to try it). And in terms of atmosphere, our meal was greatly enhanced by our seating next to the live jazz band. The "Salt and Pepper" calamari came as rings, although many were shaped more as ellipses. The golden breading was akin to the flakiness of top-tier onion rings. The rings were "pre-sauced", if you will, in a sweet chili glaze. The fish was tender and perfect. Robert instantly rated it in our "Top 5". We nearly didn't want to order the salad or entree and may have been content to stop there. For you local NoVA residents, Coastal Flats has calamari that is quite similar in recipe and is very close in deliciousness.
Only word of warning: Everything I ate that night had a sweet theme, though I didn't know it upon ordering. Ask the waiter to help you contrast flavors so that you'll actually look forward to dessert.
The Ugly Mug, Washington Street Mall
This is the town brewpub with a friendly, welcoming ambiance. You have a choice of indoor or outdoor seating. The main charm is the ceiling full of mugs from Ugly Mug Club patrons, past and present. We ordered our calamari (and beer) at the bar and were served a large plate of rings, served alongside marinara sauce. The sauce was nothing to write home about, but it was acceptable for the task. The breading gave the biggest impression to this dish. It was similar to that of mainstream (read: frozen) onion rings and was much too crunchy overall. Strangely, it also made the fish seem less tender than it actually was. Had the calamari been breaded more gently, it would have revealed a fairly tasty product. The ultimate call? Decent bar food and made a good post-dinner snack, but not the place I would go if calamari is my main objective. Alternate recommendation--the Ocean Burger, a hamburger topped with Shrimp Imperial and sharp cheddar.
Moonfish Grill, Broadway Street
I would rate Moonfish as a four-star (out of five) restaurant. The decor is light and simple with some apparent Japanese influence. The couple's yin and yang bread plates were quite charming. The menu contains mostly an assortment of upscale seafood dishes as well as sushi (though we've yet to try it). And in terms of atmosphere, our meal was greatly enhanced by our seating next to the live jazz band. The "Salt and Pepper" calamari came as rings, although many were shaped more as ellipses. The golden breading was akin to the flakiness of top-tier onion rings. The rings were "pre-sauced", if you will, in a sweet chili glaze. The fish was tender and perfect. Robert instantly rated it in our "Top 5". We nearly didn't want to order the salad or entree and may have been content to stop there. For you local NoVA residents, Coastal Flats has calamari that is quite similar in recipe and is very close in deliciousness.
Only word of warning: Everything I ate that night had a sweet theme, though I didn't know it upon ordering. Ask the waiter to help you contrast flavors so that you'll actually look forward to dessert.