Tonight, I took a leisurely 25 minute stroll to CJ’s Beachhouse restaurant. All reviews, except for a very funny one, for this restaurant marked it as being an excellent choice for an affordable seafood dinner.
I got there and, to my surprise, discovered that I wasn’t in the mood for fancy, or healthy. I’ll make a side note here to mention that I’ve been making healthy meals at home since I got here, with lots of fresh produce! So, I ordered the prawns and fish, battered and fried, which normally come with fries and coleslaw. I opted for a garden salad with house dressing instead of more grease.
The meal started with fresh hot rolls. Next time, I will ask them to not bring me a basket of them because they are too yummy. They were yeasty and sweet, which is the only way I like white bread. It was very hard not to scarf them all down!
To drink, I asked for a pint of local brew and was brought a cloudy ale with a spicy finish from a Redmond, WA, brewery called Mac and Jack’s. Their website is pretty useless, so I have no idea if this is the only beer they brew. It was the perfect complement to the bland fish and a great for leisurely sipping with a good book.
The prawns and fish were adequate, with the portion being generous. I actually don’t like most batters, so I can’t give a fair review of this one. I just like the taste and texture of fish cooked in the breading (I know I’m weird 🙂 ). For seasonings, I had a choice of lemon, malt vinegar, seafood sauce (the red stuff with horseradish), and tartar sauce. Lemon for the fish and red sauce for the shrimp worked for me tonight (another night I would have favoured malt vinegar, but I never eat tartar sauce). This was definitely what I was in the mood for and I savoured every morsel!
The salad was excellent. It was fresh and the veggies were crisp. No iceberg lettuce in sight, just a nice assortment of dark green leaves, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, finely grated cheese, croutons, and a side of the house shallot dressing.
With tip, dinner came to $23, which was reasonable since I had the pint. Service was slooooow, but I had a book and wasn’t in a rush, so it was fine.
Next time, I will go for lunch since they have really nice under $10 deals between 11:30 and 4.
All in all, a nice supper by the sea, and I got in a long walk too!