Tonight's Dinner: May 11, 2014

Tonight we went to dinner with Nick's family.  It is always a treat for me to have dinner with my inlaws.  Tonight we went to Yankee Pier for Mother's Day Dinner.  We've all been here several times (I've posted about it too) so we knew exactly what we were in for.  To change things up, we got Cherry Stone Clams on a half shell.  This was our first experience with this variety of clams, and for me, it was my first experience with raw clams.  I prefer small oysters.  I only tried one, but they had a very strong fishy flavor.  They were much stronger than oysters on a half shell and because they are bigger, the more you chew the fishier they get.  After a couple of chews I just swallowed it because I didn't care for the texture.  It was much chewier than an oyster.  Oysters have a soft, almost mealy texture when eaten raw.  The clams were more rubbery.  I can't think of anything to compare it to that would be universal in texture. The best way that I can describe the texture is a slightly under cooked piece of sautéed calamari.  The center was soft, but the outer edges were a little chewy.  Regardless of texture, I really enjoyed the salty after taste, but I would have felt like I was wasting them if I ate more.  They were rather pricey, but if given the opportunity to have them again, I wouldn't decline.

I was really tempted to order a burger, but I stand behind the notion of: you don't go to a seafood restaurant for a steak.  Being that we were at a seafood restaurant, I went back to my favorite fish taco.  Yankee Pier is actually where I started enjoying fish.  At the moment, this is one of the only ways I can eat cooked fish nowadays.

Cherry Stone Clams on a half shell.  They are about the size of 50 cent piece.

Curried muscles

Happy Mother's Day!

My strategy to make my fish tacos last a little longer is to break the fish in half and use the extra tortilla to make another taco.  I think normal people eat two tacos, but I try to stretch it out to four just to make myself feel more full and to slow down my eating. 

My Sister-in-law ordered the Captain's Platter.

My Father-in-law ordered the perch. 

My  Mother-in-law ordered the full belly clam dish. 

Nick got a large bowl of clam chowder.