I went to my first clam bake Wednesday night and I didn’t even have to board a flight to Martha’s Vineyard. Surprisingly, it took place right here in downtown Los Angeles at the fabulous Water Grill, my fave seafood restaurant.
The restaurant recently launched its Sunday Lobster Clam Bake and I was included in the lucky group of media invited to sample the menu, as well as some of the new items on the lunch menu.
We began the evening with Chef David LeFevre, a “seafood geek,” demonstrating how to delicately remove the uni from a sea urchin (above photo).
Then he taught us how to tell the difference between oysters from the Pacific and the East coast. I used to be a huge fan of raw oysters but a few years ago decided I had had enough of the slimy creatures and stopped eating them raw though continued to eating them cooked. Two years ago when I was in Knysna, which I think is the oyster capital of South Africa, I felt compelled to eat the raw little devils again. I can’t say I missed them. Then last night I decided to give them another go and now can’t figure out why I initially had stopped eating them. These were just scrumptious! (Sorry no photo.) I guess I just needed a break. The same thing happened when I moved to Italy. I ate so much prosciutto during my first year in bella Italia that there came a time when I literally started to gag when I tried to eat the meat. I can now enjoy prosciutto again, just like raw oysters. But I digress.
Next we moved on to the shrimp.
I know lobster rolls are huge in the Northeast but I don’t come across many places in this area that offer them. Now they’re on the lunch menu here.
Finally it was time for the Lobster Clam Bake. Considering the high quality of the seafood at this restaurant, the three-course meal is quite a good bargain for $55.00, even in today’s economy. While some people may think a starter salad is unnecessary, the black river Gorgonzola and peach salad I had was quite magnificent. I gobbled it down before taking a photo.
Then came the stars of the show: a one and one-quarter lb. lobster, so succulent and cooked to perfection
And the dish of clams, mussels, Weiser farm potatoes, sweet corn, carrots and linguica, which I couldn’t stop eating.
I opted for the homemade root beer float over the strawberry rhubarb cobbler with vanilla ice cream and was pleasantly pleased. Chef David makes his own root beer. Now that’s impressive. I didn’t try the cookies. After all, the Emmys are Sunday and I have to fit comfortably into my outfit.
