January 8, 2008
Dining Out
Karl
Wells
Hungry Fishermen
5 Beck's Cove
Murray Premises
Ph. 726-5791
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than
I can a rude remark or a vulgar action." Blanche Dubois
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
In Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning play, A
Streetcar Named Desire, the aging Blanche Dubois avoids naked light. She knows
it can be terribly unkind to a face made imperfect by the inevitable passage of
time.
I am reminded of Blanche
Dubois when I walk into certain restaurants at lunchtime. Naked daylight can
have a most unflattering effect on dining rooms that have not enjoyed an update
in some while.
Hungry Fishermen has not had
a major makeover since it opened a dozen or more years ago. Believe me, it
needs one. Perhaps the owner should consider engaging one of the several
decorators now working in St. John’s. I’m sure any one of them would be up for
the job of designing some invigorating décor for this seafood themed
restaurant.
As a restaurant reviewer I
am obliged to pay close attention to service, décor and ambience, as well as a
restaurant’s food. When friends and I left Hungry Fishermen after a recent
lunch of mostly enjoyable food we all felt that something - despite the good
food and good service - had been missing. To be honest, I already knew what was
absent. It was sparkle. When my friends eventually gave voice to their feelings
it was clear we were in agreement.
When we had walked into an
almost empty Hungry Fishermen, bathed in the cold light of day, I realised that
nothing about it was really different from many years previous. Yet, wear and
the ravages of time had given its dated décor a tired, faded, lackluster
appearance.
Hungry Fishermen is a
relatively comfortable sort of restaurant. Parts of it are well suited for
slightly private lunches and dinners. Unfortunately its very dated décor is a
problem. (Hungry Fishermen really highlighted for me how much the success of
the dining out experience relies on elements other than food.)
I’m sorry, but fishing nets
on walls and red plastic crustaceans attempting to escape from lobster pot
prisons, positioned precariously above the bar, do not cut it in 2008.
Antoine’s is a famous New
Orleans restaurant. In 1899 Antoine Alciatore’s son, Jules - then chef and part
owner of Antoine’s - invented a recipe using oysters. He called it Oysters
Rockefeller. The tycoon, John D. Rockefeller and his love of greenbacks
inspired the name. You see, Oysters Rockefeller had plenty of “green” in it
(parsley) and was also rich.
Hungry Fishermen’s version
of Oysters Rockefeller was not particularly exciting. The parsley and other key
ingredients were hidden beneath a coating of Parmesan cheese. The cheese acted
as a kind of seal keeping everything tightly contained within the half-shell. I
penetrated the cheesy cap with my fork and then scraped everything, as one, out
of the shell. My taste buds were somewhat overwhelmed with the cheese flavour.
Consequently I couldn’t taste much of anything else, not even the required
anise-flavoured liqueur.
Ordering seafood chowder in
restaurants can be an interesting exercise these days. You may wonder whether
your order will turn out to be the classic creamy chowder with two or three easily
identified types of seafood, as well as diced potato and celery (my favourite,
especially with a hint of bacon.) Or you may ponder whether it will be the
pureed, stodgy type that so resembles porridge. Hungry Fishermen served me the
latter porridge-like kind. There was really no way of identifying any of the
ingredients, apart from the odd particle of shredded fish. Flavour seemed to
have taken a holiday except for the vague taste of mystery fish.
I enjoyed Hungry Fishermen’s
spinach salad. The spinach was crisp and fresh. A tart and sweet honey
vinaigrette tied everything - spinach, mushrooms, tomato and bacon - together
nicely. It was simple but well done.
An impressive job of sea
scallops followed. Several meaty scallops sautéed in lemon and shallot butter
were served with a mixture of sautéed fresh vegetables. The shellfish were
slightly brown but still tender, sweet and moist. Tender, delicious vegetables
made the entire dish a pleasure to eat.
Hungry Fishermen’s chicken and
vegetable stir-fry over rice was very good as well. Tender chunks of white
chicken were mingled amongst a tasty arrangement of fresh, colourful
vegetables, cooked al dente. Vegetables included sweet peppers and broccoli.
Unlike some stir-fries made with a Chinese style sauce, this dish was a
straight-up plate of lightning fried chicken and vegetables.
Hungry Fishermen’s poached
halibut with a dill cream sauce was a fine entree. It was perfectly cooked. The
halibut arrived beautifully succulent and matched nicely with the mild dill
cream sauce and, I might add, a glass of crisp sauvignon blanc. This was the
level of presentation one would expect to find in a quality seafood restaurant.
Several homemade desserts
were offered. All sounded tempting but I’ve always been a sucker for crumble.
So, I chose the wild berry crumble with cream. It was an excellent choice. The
dessert tasted as though it had just been baked. The mixture of berries sang
with fruitful flavour. The crumble actually crumbled. A decadent dollop of
fresh cream, on the side, made something already wonderful, absolutely
exquisite.
Chef Paul Brown has created
a menu at Hungry Fishermen to please most palates but it’s pretty tame. Seafood
restaurants should offer more variety than your standard cod, salmon, shrimp
and scallops, not to mention the preparation. For example, I saw no
bouillabaisse, no ceviche or anything remotely adventurous. Where was the tuna,
monkfish, hake or other species of seafood you see in the supermarket? As
Emeril would say, “Kick it up a notch.” Hungry Fishermen is in a great
location, a perfect location for a seafood restaurant. St. John’s needs a great
seafood restaurant. Hungry Fishermen has the potential to fill the bill but
that won’t happen without some creative thinking.
A lunch for two at Hungry
Fishermen - including two glasses of wine, taxes and gratuity - costs
approximately $75.
Best Points:
Perfectly poached halibut.
Areas for Improvement:
Improve décor and add interest to menu.
Noise level:
The noise level at Hungry Fishermen was low.
Wheelchair Access:
Hungry
Fishermen has wheelchair access.
Ratings Category:
Hungry Fishermen gets 8 out of 10 points.
7 points = satisfactory, 7.5 points = good, 8 points =
very good, 9 points = excellent, 10 points = perfection