Lol @amazeballs my wife and I couldn't take it. Great episode though

John Danza wrote:Sorry for the late notice, but I just noticed that NESC will be on tonight's episode of the Check Please program on WTTW. It airs at 8pm.

It's on again this afternoon at 4:00.

Am I the only one who has experienced an ice cold lobster roll that attenuates the actual flavor of the lobster and solidifies the drawn butter? This has happened on 2 of 3 visits, and has kept me from going back. Maybe it was just bad luck on my part, but if they normally serve their lobster this cold, than NESC isn't for me. Hope it ain't the case!

Sweetbread wrote:Am I the only one who has experienced an ice cold lobster roll that attenuates the actual flavor of the lobster and solidifies the drawn butter? This has happened on 2 of 3 visits, and has kept me from going back. Maybe it was just bad luck on my part, but if they normally serve their lobster this cold, than NESC isn't for me. Hope it ain't the case!

Never happened to me--did you say anything? Doesn't seem like something that would be difficult to fix.

Sweetbread wrote:
Am I the only one who has experienced an ice cold lobster roll that attenuates the actual flavor of the lobster and solidifies the drawn butter? This has happened on 2 of 3 visits, and has kept me from going back. Maybe it was just bad luck on my part, but if they normally serve their lobster this cold, than NESC isn't for me. Hope it ain't the case!

Evil Ronnie wrote:Lobster roll was tasty. Nicely cooked meat, plenty of butter, but served on an ice cold roll with grill marks on the outside. I sent the roll back to get properly warmed up and then enjoyed the sandwich a lot. Much better than a recent meal at GT Fish. (They had a moderate amount of business tonight, and what appeared to be a one man kitchen might have been taking a few short cuts.)

milz50 wrote:Friggin amazeballs

IK, R!

(this was the comment from a local law student guest on the show ... c'mon, really? I am feeling 138 years old today - happy 2013 all)

boudreaulicious wrote:

Sweetbread wrote:Am I the only one who has experienced an ice cold lobster roll that attenuates the actual flavor of the lobster and solidifies the drawn butter? This has happened on 2 of 3 visits, and has kept me from going back. Maybe it was just bad luck on my part, but if they normally serve their lobster this cold, than NESC isn't for me. Hope it ain't the case!

Never happened to me--did you say anything? Doesn't seem like something that would be difficult to fix.

I know, I know. The first time I was on my own, and didn't really care that much. The second time, my wife was with me, and had just gotten off of a stressful 12 hour shift...

I'll give them another shot though.

WTF is "amazeballs" anyway? She sounded like a complete airhead. I wonder where she's going to law school. How would you like to show up at a law firm really needing a lawyer and she walks into the room?

On the lobster roll, I've never experienced it being ice cold. However, there have been times when it needed more seasoning.

John Danza wrote:WTF is "amazeballs" anyway? She sounded like a complete airhead. I wonder where she's going to law school. How would you like to show up at a law firm really needing a lawyer and she walks into the room?

On the lobster roll, I've never experienced it being ice cold. However, there have been times when it needed more seasoning.

Further discussion of the amazeballs renaissance and other Check, Please! fun are (totally) welcomed here.

Evil Ronnie wrote:Lobster roll was tasty. Nicely cooked meat, plenty of butter, but served on an ice cold roll with grill marks on the outside. I sent the roll back to get properly warmed up and then enjoyed the sandwich a lot. Much better than a recent meal at GT Fish. (They had a moderate amount of business tonight, and what appeared to be a one man kitchen might have been taking a few short cuts.)

Hi,

Remembering your comments, I ordered my lobster sandwich warm. If you don't order it warm, it will arrive cold by default. Our lobster meat was tossed with butter with no hint of mayo.

I shared this sandwich with a friend plus the Fisherman's Platter, where every item from haddock, shrimp, scallops, clams and fries was cooked just right. Loved it all, though I will probably go for a full order of clams next time. Yet the mussels at the next table look terrific as well. Yeah, I was getting a severe case of swivel-head checking out all the food going to other tables.

New England lobster shack food without going out of town.

Regards,

Jan and I had a great lunch there yesterday (Saturday). We got there at noon and got a four top (another couple joined us), but it was really crowded inside. By 12:30-1:00, it was a mad house. I'm really glad for their success, but I'm already longing for the pre-Check Please days when Saturday lunch meant only about 3/4 of the tables in use.

had 2, cold by defaults, when they 1st opened. Thought it a waste of good lobster, well go back and try again, warm please.

Perhaps cold lobster is the default? That's my only gripe with what was otherwise a very fine lobster roll - well filled, good sized chunks of beautifully cooked lobster, and minimally dressed. But it was cold and the bun, despite offering grill marks, had not been freshly grilled. Had I reviewed this thread in advance, I would have spoken up when ordering.

I also had the clam chowder and thought it was a very good rendition - creamy but not too creamy and good clam flavor and nice chunks of clam. My lone complaint with the chowder was one good size chunk of clam offered a good dose of grit - easy to overlook however given that it was just one bite and the chowder was otherwise delicious.

BR wrote:Perhaps cold lobster is the default?

I'm not a lobster roll kind of guy, had it once there, thought it good and went back to my typical order fish and chips, which I think are one of the two best in city, the other being GNR Big & Little. If I'm with a group I always suggest splitting clams, man I love those clams, just like coastal New England, and the soups are rich filling delicious. I had a lobster bisque there last week that was silky smooth and loaded with lobster.

Since Check Please Amazeballs they are much (much) busier and have handled it well with more staff and a little more seating, I like the people, the food and find them quite accommodating.

I support GNR for New England Seafood Company.

Regards,
Gary

All tables full the whole time I've been here--3:30-4:00ish. Clam chowder perfect. Fried clams very good though the batter was just the tiniest bit underdone compared to all previous batches. Not a big deal--still delicious. Might be a function of being so busy. Happy for their success. Planning a GNR tasting meal here may be a bit challenging but hoping to do that soon!

The cioppino doesn't get the respect it should. Has become my go-to over the chowder for a quick & cheap lunch/dinner.

OK, I can agree with most of the wildly positive things in this thread--the folks who work here are wonderfully friendly and helpful and I'd love to see them succeed, get a GNR, etc. I love that they're within walking distance of my house. So I'm YES! for a GNR. (maybe)

That said, I have a problem with their retail operation (raw fish here vs. Whole in my wallet Foodstuffs). As a fan I get NESC emails weekly, advertising specials and listing the product available. I was really unhappy a week or so ago when I went in to buy calamari. I was under the impression that it was fresh. Too bad. The counter person thought I wanted an order of fried calamari. She seemed somewhat surprised that I wanted calamari "raw, so that I can take it home and cook it." The best they could come up with was a two pound block of frozen product. I declined and went a block away to the Whole dreaded Foods experience where I bought a smaller amount that was probably previously frozen anyway.

So my gripe is with their retail section. Is it reasonable for a supposedly great fishmonger to expect you to buy two, five, whatever pounds of their product and still be considered 'great'.

I'm holding my breath. (and, eh, I know it's GNRestaurant, but this is business)

For what it's worth, there's virtually no fresh and in this case meaning previously not frozen calamari avail in Chicago. What you buy from nearly everyone all the time has been defrosted.

I'm a bit confused--was it advertised, then when you arrived it wasn't displayed so you asked about it and they offered you a pre-set amount (2lbs) frozen?

boudreaulicious wrote:I'm a bit confused--was it advertised, then when you arrived it wasn't displayed so you asked about it and they offered you a pre-set amount (2lbs) frozen?

Yes, it was advertised in a weekly email I get from them.

I realize most shrimp and , I guess, calamari in Chicago is previously frozen, defrosted and usually offered for sale in consumer friendly quantities. So, I guess, if they advertise it, it should be available in consumer friendly quantities.

bean wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:I'm a bit confused--was it advertised, then when you arrived it wasn't displayed so you asked about it and they offered you a pre-set amount (2lbs) frozen?

Yes, it was advertised in a weekly email I get from them.

I realize most shrimp and , I guess, calamari in Chicago is previously frozen, defrosted and usually offered for sale in consumer friendly quantities. So, I guess, if they advertise it, it should be available in consumer friendly quantities.

Agreed! I just wasn't sure I understood what happened. I've only been served at the counter (which is the only place you can be served ) by the same guy so I wonder if maybe someone less experienced was working and didn't handle things correctly. I'm sure the crowds are testing their staff a bit-- hopefully they'll continue to adjust and keep the service level high.

John Danza wrote:Sorry for the late notice, but I just noticed that NESC will be on tonight's episode of the Check Please program on WTTW. It airs at 8pm.

More publicity for NESCo. On last night's (2/17/13) "190 North," Janet Davies did a segment there, hyperventilating over a lobster roll. I doubt the show has the following that "Check, Please" does, but still the word is certainly getting out.

tarte tatin wrote:I doubt the show has the following that "Check, Please" does, but still the word is certainly getting out.

It certainly doesn't. In fact, 190 North has just been cancelled. I was there for lunch about 10 days after the Check Please episode aired and there was a wait for a table as late as 2:00 in the afternoon. NESC has definitely been discovered.

stevez wrote:

tarte tatin wrote:I doubt the show has the following that "Check, Please" does, but still the word is certainly getting out.

It certainly doesn't. In fact, 190 North has just been cancelled.

The main reason it got canceled is because they moved it to the 11PM time slot so they could expand their 10PM news. As a result their ratings went down significantly. Bad move IMO. A 60 minute local news program is not a good lead-in. Who wants to watch an hours worth of news on a Sunday night?

My wife and I weren't particularly impressed by our lunch at NESC today. I liked the cioppino, but it was too spicy for my wife (unlike our gold standard for this soup, Sotto Mare in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood). It was also lacking pasta, which is common in renditions that we've enjoyed in California.

My wife's lobster roll featured very good lobster, but the sandwich didn't have enough "zing". It seemed to be comprised of simply lobster, the toasted roll and a tad of mayonnaise spread on the roll - no scallion, onion or celery. The sandwich tasted underseasoned and not as good as Fish Bar's version.

A similar problem was present with my fried haddock box. Wonderful product but woefully underseasoned. I need to apply a healthy dose of salt. Even that didn't fully compensate for the bland coating.

A minor annoyance was the radio played over the PA system - this required patrons to endure commercial after commercial. Perhaps they could play Sirius XM or Pandora, as other retail outlets do.

ld111134 wrote:My wife and I weren't particularly impressed by our lunch at NESC today. I liked the cioppino, but it was too spicy for my wife (unlike our gold standard for this soup, Sotto Mare in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood). It was also lacking pasta, which is common in renditions that we've enjoyed in California.

I've had cioppino many times in SF and have never had it with pasta. I even made it once and when researching recipes, never saw one containing pasta. So if you had one with pasta, I would think it's more of an exception. I think bread/toast is more the norm, like with bouillabaisse. I've also had more and less spicy versions, but I suppose that's more subject to variance.

Here's the Saveur recipe and a brief discussion of the soup's history.

BR wrote:

ld111134 wrote:My wife and I weren't particularly impressed by our lunch at NESC today. I liked the cioppino, but it was too spicy for my wife (unlike our gold standard for this soup, Sotto Mare in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood). It was also lacking pasta, which is common in renditions that we've enjoyed in California.

I've had cioppino many times in SF and have never had it with pasta. I even made it once and when researching recipes, never saw one containing pasta. So if you had one with pasta, I would think it's more of an exception. I think bread/toast is more the norm, like with bouillabaisse. I've also had more and less spicy versions, but I suppose that's more subject to variance.

Agreed. In fact your gold standard from Sotto Mare (which is also my favorite), also does not come with pasta...

My wife's lobster roll featured very good lobster, but the sandwich didn't have enough "zing". It seemed to be comprised of simply lobster, the toasted roll and a tad of mayonnaise spread on the roll - no scallion, onion or celery. The sandwich tasted underseasoned and not as good as Fish Bar's version.

I think the fact that there are no fillers, just the lobster, bit of mayo and roll, is the reason why a lot of people, including myself, enjoy NESC's lobster roll!

Sotto Mare's cioppino is made with a bit of penne rigate. I'd be fine without it.

cilantro wrote:Sotto Mare's cioppino is made with a bit of penne rigate. I'd be fine without it.

Exactly - I didn't mean to imply that cioppino should be a pasta dish, it's just that some pasta adds body to the soup, akin to the pasta in minestrone. Silver's at the Wharf up in Fort Bragg (north of Mendocino) also makes an excellent version with spaghetti.

Evil Ronnie wrote:I was pleased to get a fry basket comprised of whole belly clams rather than clam strips, but too heavy breading as well as over seasoning led me to disappointment.

I too was quite pleased to see whole belly clams on my recent visit (approx 1 month ago). In my case the breading was quite light but for some darned reason the clams had near zero flavor, being whole belly I just couldn't fathom how this could be the case.