Boat House Grille Essex

Boat House Grille Essex

234 John Wise Avenue

Essex, MA 01929

(978)-890-5113

https://www.boathousegrilleessex.com

This weekend we finally got to have dinner out with our good friend’s Wendy and Mark.

(This is something we have been trying to do all summer).

We especially love going out with them because we always get to try a new place to eat.

And this weekend was no different we got to try the Boat House Grille in Essex Ma.

Boat House Grille Essex is the second Marlin Group Restaurant, opened at 234 John Wise Avenue (RT 133) Essex, MA in October 2016. The first restaurant, Blue Marlin Grille was opened at 65 Eastern Avenue (also RT 133) Essex, MA in April of 1998. The have a large menu with everything from seafood to steak, but I would consider them a seafood restaurant.

We wound up going on a Saturday night so the place was hopping and we had to wait about 45 minutes for a table. But they do have a bar so if you want to have a drink while you are waiting you can.

So we start off with a Seared Tuna appetizer.

The best way to describe this is. It is a deconstructed spicy Shushi Tuna roll.

It was tuna over sticky rice served with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.

This was a great way to start.

Mark and Wendy Started with the crab cake

Served With Whole Grain Mustard Cream.

They said it was fantastic. It most certainly looked fantastic.

I was a little slow with the picture taking. I forgot to get a picture of the Tuna and the crab.

Trust me, they looked wonderful.

For dinner:

Wendy had haddock Tesoro

Fresh Haddock, Cajun rubbed and lightly blackened to perfection. Served on a bed of spinach and shrimp ravioli, topped with artichokes, red peppers, red onions and spinach in a light Tesoro sauce.

This looked out of this world. I mean anything with shrimp and ravioli in it just has to be, right?

Wendy said that this was delicious.

Angela had the:

Haddock Special:  Haddock, fresh tomatoes and a light cream sauce, dusted with Boat House crumbs.

Again this is a simple dish, but a good dish. (It must have been Angela would not share with me).

Onto Mark's selection.

Seafood delight

Broiled Haddock, Scallops, Shrimp and Chef's Choice.

Again on the light side but the seafood was cooked perfectly.

My Dish

The Boat house Bouillabaisse

Their Version of a Classic Seafood Stew with Scallops, Shrimp, Mussels, Haddock, Lobster, Linguica and Mixed Vegetables Sautéed in a Plum Tomato Fennel Broth.

Linguiça (Portuguese pronunciation: [lĩˈɡwisɐ]) is a form of smoke cured pork sausage seasoned with garlic and paprika in Portuguese-speaking countries.

I have to say this hit the spot. I know I have said it before but I love my stews and this one is at the top of the list. The only problem was I needed another loft of bread to soak up the broth. I mean I could have just kept eating that broth all night long.

No question about it we will be going back soon. This was a fantastic experience from the server who was great to the food that was spot on. Put this place on your list and make sure you go soon.

Fibber McGee's

Fibber McGee's

102 Cabot St.

Beverly, MA 01915

978-232-0180

https://www.fibbersbeverly.com/

About Fibber McGee’s

Fibber McGee's Bar and Grill in Beverly, Massachusetts is a locally-owned-and-operated restaurant and bar that offers delicious American and Irish favorites, such as Buffalo wings, hamburgers, nachos, and shepherd's pie.

Hey I wonder if they got their name from that old radio show?

That said, we went there looking for a good burger. The word on the street is that they have one of the best burgers on the North Shore.

So, thanks to Steve, who had a coupon, the three of us went there on Saturday night.

Three things before we get to the food:

*First, the parking was not a problem; we got a spot right out front.

*Second, although the place was busy, we got a table right away.

*Third, they have a good selection of beer and cider on tap. (Steve was very happy.)

Now, onto the food.
We start out with some traditional chicken wings with a wing sauce of PB&J. Yes, PB&J chicken wings. The wings had peanut butter sauce on them, and they were served with a jelly-type dipping sauce. I have never had peanut butter and jelly wings before and although these were sweet and very rich, These were very good! But you are not going to down a lot of these in one sitting.

The wife orders the house-roasted, shredded turkey melt with Swiss cheese, spinach, tomato on a garlic-butter-toasted sub roll and a salad.

The turkey was a little dry, but not horrible. Overall, it was not a bad sandwich. I don’t think she’d put it on her list of great sandwiches, but it wouldn’t be on her bad list either.

Next Steve had the PB&J Bacon Burger with chipotle peanut sauce, strawberry balsamic, cheddar jack, lettuce, sliced tomato, and red onion. He got the onion rings.

This burger was good, but like the wings, it was very decadent.

He said that the burger would have been better if he just had different wings as an appetizer.

Now I had the Guinness Burger.

On it, the burger had Guinness stout sautéed onions, cheddar jack, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and pub-style Guinness mustard. I ordered onion rings on the side.

This was a good burger, but again, with everything on it, it was very heavy.

If I had made it, I may have tried a pickle or something on it to cut a little of the richness out. That might have balanced the flavors better to me, so that I got a sour tang amongst the savory taste of the burger, cheese, and onions.

Overall, it was a good burger, not the best burger I have had but still a good burger.

Also, Steve and I both agreed that the onion rings were excellent.

For me, Fibber McGee’s is worth the visit. It is a nice pub with good beer and good bar food. And, to answer the question if they have the best burger on the North Shore?

I cannot answer that question. Yet!