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| - As a preface to this review, I got food poisoning the only time I ate here--and I haven't garnered the courage to eat here again. Yes, I know I should get back on the horse, but the painful memories of the Tet offensive being played out in my stomach are too fresh in my mind. So, you can disregard my review or let it light your way as you navigate the various restaurants in the valley. I have an affinity for those who will do the latter--but I'm very self involved. Now, onto the review.
I highly anticipated my meal at the Ocean Club. I was fairly new to the valley and numerous people championed the dining experience for its great food, great ambiance and interesting clientele (*cough* cougars *cough**cough*). Plus, I am a huge fan of seafood.
Upon arrival, I was impressed by the interior and I was surprised that it was so crowded on a weekday night. However, the best part was the clientele which made for some fantastic people watching.
My buddy and I settled in at a table in the bar area and were greeted by a very friendly and attentive waitress (the service at the Ocean Club is top notch). Immediately to my left was a table with a manther (male cougar) and two attractive young women. Needless to say, I was elated with our seating arrangement because I knew something interesting was going to happen that night.
As I perused the menu, I kept one eye on the awkward May/December flirtations to my left. Remember, I was still a newbie in this town and was not accustomed to this type of mating ritual. Anyway, I ended up ordering a salad and the sea bass entree. My salad was tasty and I was completely satisfied with my choice. However, my contentment was tested when the manther's appetizer arrived.
The seafood tower, the Hummer of the appetizer kingdom, was placed at the table next to mine devoid of any pomp and circumstance. Such regalia was not needed because the sheer size of this thing is a spectacle in and of itself. I'm not going to lie, a sense of inadequacy started to envelop me as I gazed at this mountain of seafood goodness. Luckily, that feeling was short-lived because I convinced myself that, much like the Hummer, the seafood tower was merely a cover-up for certain personal deficiencies. At this point, I realized that my cynicism is really getting out of control and I probably needed to go to group.
Soon after I finished my salad, my entree arrived. The presentation was very good and I was ready to taste the best seafood in the valley. As I took my first bite, I noticed that the consistency of the sea bass was near perfect, however, it didn't really taste right. It didn't taste bad, just not what I was expecting. To my detriment, I chalked this up to fish being flown in and a myriad of other reasons why it didn't taste like the sea bass dishes I've had in the past.
At the end of my meal, I had high marks for the Ocean Club. The food, the service and the people watching were great. However, these positive reactions were soon discarded after I felt the first rumblings from my stomach later that evening. The rest of the night was spent sleeping on the floor of my bathroom and questioning every choice I had made in life. Ok, the last part is an exaggeration but you get the idea.
One of these days, I will suck it up and give the Ocean Club one more try because this was more than likely an isolated incident. Of course, I may wait until I reach manther status so I can order the seafood tower and not feel like a hypocrite.
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