Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Captain's Inn


304 East Lacey Road
Forked River, NJ 08731
609-693-3351




John:   Ellen:

Price: $$


Captain’s Inn was awarded two thumbs up based on our delicious entrées , despite the fact that our visit was like a roller coaster ride of “this is good, this is not, this is good, this is not“. The goods outweighed the bads though, so our overall experience was a positive one.

When we first walked into Captain’s Inn, we found ourselves in small, loud, dark bar. Not a very good first impression. We walked the length of the bar to find the hostess podium where we were immediately seated at a much quieter, table with a partial view of the marina. The other half of the view was of their outdoor tiki bar and the parking lot. We had expected a view overlooking the bay and were a bit disappointed by the blocked view. Between the boats, cars and the bar, there wasn’t much water visible. And the Inn is actually located across the street from the marina, not on the water itself, so another portion of our view was the street right outside of our window. But that’s okay, we came to eat, not to admire the water.

Dinner began disappointingly with a basket of store bought bread sticks still wrapped in their manufacturers plastic wrappers, and saltine crackers that you’d get with your to-go container of soup at your local convenience store. They were accompanied by a plastic cup of cheese spread that was so flavorless, if my wife Ellen hadn‘t corrected me, I‘d have thought it was butter. We thought, oh man, if this is any indication of what’s to come, we’re in trouble. Unappealing first impression of the entrance into the bar, disappointing view, cold mass produced breadbasket fare.

It got better!
Our fears were soon laid to rest as our friendly waitress, Kelsey, stopped by shortly after we were seated with another basket. This time filled with fresh out of the oven hot baked dinner rolls. We began to relax.
The menu has a wide variety of tempting entrees, but we were seated at 5:55 pm, just 5 minutes before the expiration of their early bird specials, so we were offered that menu as well. Obviously we wouldn’t be ordering until after the early birds were up, so it was nice of her to still offer them to us. Two entrees on the early bird menu caught our attention and kept us from going back to the more expensive regular menu. Herb parmesan encrusted tilapia for me and sole filet with crabmeat stuffing for Ellen. The early bird option netted us a salad, soup, entrée, dessert, coffee and tea for $15.95. How could we go wrong? Add an appetizer of fried calamari for $7.95 more and we were well on our way.

Kelsey gave us the option of soup and salad first, or appetizer first. That’s an option we’re rarely given and it shows how much they care about pleasing their diners. We threw caution to the wind and told her to just bring it as it came.

Salad arrived first, mine with a drizzle of Russian dressing and Ellen’s with balsamic vinaigrette. The dressings were sufficient but not overdone. Just the right amount, and tasty. Although I normally like my salads cold, this room temperature salad was a nice assortment of greens which was pleasingly presented, flavorful and enjoyable.

Next out was the soup du jour, chicken Florentine, with nice big chunks of chicken in a very flavorful, colorful broth. Not overly salty. Just right and delicious.

Calamari followed and was acceptable, but nothing special. Ellen likes the crispiness of the tentacles and there were none here, only rings. In fairness, the menu clearly states that we’d be getting “rings“ so we had no right to complain. Ellen thought the rings were slightly rubbery, but I didn’t notice. What we did both notice though was that they were dredged in a flavorless breading. The marinara dipping sauce was average. To bring out some flavor to the breading, we added more salt and lemon to the calamari than we should have had to, but it made it passable. But come on, when’s the last time you only paid $7.95 for fried calamari? Although slightly less than perfect, it’s still a steal. However, we’ll probably opt for a different steal next visit.

My herb parmesan crusted tilapia was so tender and moist that I feared I would bite into a raw piece once I got into the thicker portion of the filet. I didn’t. The filet was cooked absolutely perfectly and seasoned beautifully. I truly enjoyed it. Accompanying the filet was roasted red potatoes and a vegetable medley of broccoli and carrots. Ellen’s stuffed sole, though not as moist, was every bit as delicious. As always, we shared our entrees with each other and we were both glad we had chosen what we had. I liked my fish better than hers, and she preferred hers over mine. I must admit though, I preferred her garlic mashed potatoes over my lackluster roasted potatoes. When ordering, we were given a choice of about a half dozen starch options. Next time I’ll go with the mashed.

Yes, there will be a next time. We had purchased a $50 coupon from Seize the Deal for $25. However, because we opted for the early bird special, we were not able to use the coupon. We knew that in advance, so there were no surprises when the bill came. We figured that since we were in time for the early bird special, and liked what we saw on it, we would save the coupon for a return trip. Not to mention, our dinner didn’t even hit the $50 mark.

Yes, I know, I didn’t mention the dessert. It wasn’t worth mentioning. The “chocolate mousse” tasted like nothing more than a mixture of Cool Whip and chocolate sauce with a drop of raspberry sauce on the bottom. As popular as it is to mix chocolate and raspberry, I just don’t get it. But that’s just me.

And just one word of warning, if you’re heading East on Lacey Rd going from the Parkway toward the ocean, don’t listen to your Tomtom GPS when it tells you “You’ve reached your destination” about a mile before the Captain’s Inn! Look for it on Lacey Road, about a half mile East of Rt. 9. Don’t let the residential area you’ll be driving though fool you. Lacey Rd will end at a marina and Captain Ed’s will be on your left. And if you’d like a drink outdoors by the water, their tiki bar will be to the right.
 
 
 
 
 

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