Eating at the Ocean’s Edge

I finished the last blog post just before we went to Dinner at the Ocean's Edge Restaurant, which is part of our hotel here in Belfast. Indeed the restaurant is only seven doors away from our room on the same floor. Easy and convenient, but not so great a day from a Google Fit point of view with only 1.4 Miles and 4,000 steps walked.

Still not to worry, the focus of this evening is on lovely fresh local food, especially this fella.

Steamed Maine Lobster

I know I should apologise to my Vegan and Vegetarian friends (a number I know are reading the blog) for not giving prior warning of the Lobster, but sorry it was so good I don't feel your pain at all 😈

Dinner

As we try to settle ourselves into our time-zone we went for dinner later than on the previous three nights. We booked a table and the restaurant called us at 8.00pm to tell us it was ready for us. We got there at 8.10 and began the meal.

Starters

Shrimp Cocktail

My starter was called Shrimp Cocktail, as you can see from the picture these aren't small shrimps, as the word implies in British English, but very juicy well cooked large prawns. There were six in all, served on a Cocktail Glass in the tradition of Fanny Craddock and served with a cocktail sauce, not the Marie Rose sauce that is traditional in the UK but the American tradition of cocktail sauce with fresh liquidised tomato, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce giving it a really sharp bite. Unlike the UK version which comes with a built in salad this dish was just about the prawns/shrimp and the sauce - wow my tongue did tingle.

French Onion Soup au gratin

Drew, following on from last night, opted for another French Onion Soup. This was a classic version of the soup with caramelised onions, beef broth, garlic herb crostini and bubbling swiss cheese on top. The soup was richer than last night's, with a more salty flavour which suits Drew. The beef stock was more evident giving it a tangy, richer flavour. Drew really enjoyed it, he isn't sure which was better, they were very different interpretations, but both were lovely. If forced he said he would marginally prefer this one to the previous one.

Mains

You already know what I had for mains, the Steamed Maine Hard-Shelled Lobster with baked potato and steamed vegetables. The photo is above, but I was amused to find that I was given a placemat with guidance on eating Lobster:

How to eat your lobster - placemat

The lobster cracker and thin fork were used to full abandon and there was no meat left on the lovely creature after I finished eating. It was a real delight and the ease of cracking, and the bright red colour are both signs of how fresh it was. The people of Maine argue that Maine has the best lobster in the world. I would not dispute them after tasting this delicacy. 

Drew's Bacon Cheddar Burger

Drew's main dish was a Bacon Cheddar burger served with rice and slaw. I've never seen anyone order a burger with rice before, but our waitress did not seem in any way disturbed by Drew's request <<Co-Pilot's note: Much to my disappointment.>>

The centre of the dish was a burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, tomato and lettuce on a toasted Kaiser Roll. The burger was cooked medium, as requested and it was properly cook with a good metty patty. The roll was fresh and lightly roll and formed a good base for the meat and salad vegetables.

Drew has still not had his first dessert of the holiday - shock horror, there were years he would have had two a night each night by now. But he says he is building up to it later in the holiday!

We finished the meal just before 10.00pm and got to our beds at 10.15pm.