Woody Cavenaugh

When everything on the menue looks good, Sara and I have always applied the rule of tapas. Thus we ate for the very first time at 1618 Seafood Grille. The entree selection was so good that we didn't know what dish to choose that would best define the restaurant. So we each had a soup, a salad and two appetizers each. The idea being to taste as many different things as possible.

We each chose the dinner caesar salad to start. Sara enjoyed its lightness, but I was bothered by the fact that the dressing was so light it was completely overwelmed by the greens. The croutons I believe must have been baked in a wood oven, they had a wonderful smokiness.

For soup we each went a different way, Sara chose the Italian soup which was a very nice vegistable soup with a hint of sausage. Just the thing for a cold day (I will keep that in mind this winter). I had the New England clam chowder, which was just the way I liked it, creamy, hearty, and full of clams. We both felt we had terrific soups, and were very satisified with our choices.

The first round of appetizers arived. It is here that I should probably note that each dish arrived exactly at the right time. I should also note that it was the first time that I had ever eaten in a "high dining" establishment that took the word "high" literally. Sara's sea scallop arrived stacked on top of a wonderful corn salsa with chips. It was not only tasty but a feat of engineering to keep the dish from settling on the unstable base of tortia chips.

I had the calamari, which was presented as an undersea volcano, with a mountain of lightly fried squid drizzled in sauce lava flow with a bean sprout plume at the crater. (I didn't actually notice what it resembled until I realized that all of the dishes were presented in an undersea theme.)

Next round saw Sara taking on seasme crusted tiger shirmp served over a flavorful corn cake. We both enjoyed this, even though I typically find the larger shrimps like the tiger shrimp to lack the flavor of the local smaller varieties. For myself, I chose a lobster dish which came with some very cleverly crafted fried noodles that resembled fan coral set beside an empty lobster head, each corner of the plate had a 1/4 inch slice of lobster, the whole effect being a coral seabed. When it arrived the people at the table next to me giggled just as I did at the cleverness of the display. I was slightly embarased that they reacted but not as much as they were when their entrees arived and I got the last laugh.

If the appetizers were snapshots of the sea floor, the entrees were Disney sets for The Little Mermaid on ice. Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking it. The most important thing in a restaurant should be the dishes served in it, and these dishes all stole the show.

The restaurant itself was tastefully decorated with local art by various artist all within the same color palet, which I thought was amazing attention to detail. The tables were warm rich cherry, and the accents all served to play the part of the stage and tapistries that the meal unfolded in front of.

In some restaurants you get a meal with your show, at 1618 West Seafood Grille your meal IS the show, and each dish is set at center stage. As for price, bring your credit card, nothing this good ever comes cheap. As for me, I am looking forward to my aniversary so I can justify going back again.