How does your fish taste so great?
Mary's Fish Camp - West Village, NYC
photo: Shanna Rivindra/NYMag
A friend in town and nothing but end-of-the-world type monsoons all weekend. On the last evening of her visit, the rain turned to mist and the three of us ventured out for an evening of food and chat. After a couple of over-crowded restaurants we passed by another packed restaurant but stopped when we realized this was that "fish camp" place which had been praised by a friend of Douglas's.
It was a bit of a wait and we ended up all snuggled up sharing a table with another newbie group.
Douglas and I both went with the lobster roll. It arrived looking massive and saucy with a mound of crispy shoestring fries taking over the plate. I thought it may end up being a roll that has too much mayonnaise and not enough of anything else, but my taste buds were quickly corrected after the first mouthful. So. Much. Meaty. Lobster. A punch from the sea. All finished with the taste of a buttered bun hiding underneath. Probably one of the best lobster rolls I've ever met.
Photo: Kenneth Chen/NYMag
Another highlight was the side of fried brussels sprouts. They had a sweet/spicy/crispy/juicy thing going for them and were incredibly addictive for a vegetable. Mary's also had an unusual choice of brews and we were tempted by desserts such as peanut butter brittle chocolate sundaes and warm gingerbread but had to save room for the soon-to-be Magnolia Bakery trip around the corner. Poor us. You gotta love the West Village.
One more restaurant checked off the "Must Try" list. It has now been moved to the "Must Get There More Often" list.
I would highly recommend camping out at this establishment.
I'm really glad you posted this blog! I was dying to know what a place like Mary's Fish Camp looked like. I knew that being in NYC it wouldn't look like a real fish camp, but still....I also wanted to see if my question to Douglas ("Did you have to catch your own fish?") had been answered honestly. My idea of a lobster roll and the reality of what you got were miles apart. What did Laura choose for her fish dinner. I wonder if Mary would come out of the kitchen waving a cleaver if one asked for fish & chips?
ReplyDeletewhen you spell my name with an extra apostrophe-s it goes without saying there is some negative visual connotation. drop the last s!
ReplyDeleteDon't be an as's, dk! The proper usage is s's but modern parlance seems to recognize dropping the second s. I've always wondered why and now I think I know.
ReplyDelete