Rock'n Fish - Food Blog

Rock’n Fish Date 03/06/11 City - Manhattan Beach, Ca Appetizer - Oak Grilled Artichoke /w roasted garlic aioli Main Entree– Dungeness Crab with Tortellini in Gorgonzola cream – Cheese stuffed tortellini tossed in Gorgonzola cream sauce /w red bell peppers and Dungeness crab At first glance going by the menu prices and website, I personally thought this was going to be an upscale dining experience. Then I thought, 1. Its more than one location in the same general area. Which means to me automatically “Chain” or “Not Authentic”. Then 2. Mass produced product. That can’t be good! So here it is… Myself and the Chicas walk through the door and are promptly greeted by the hostess. Nice? Right? The only problem was that the hostess stand is right across from the servers counter. You know the place where the servers commune, process the checks and grab any extras you may need at your table. It was barely enough room to walk through. Gosh forbid someone waiting on a table and a waiter with 3 plates trying to get through at the same time happens. Close quarters. The Hostess turns us back around to seat us in the front seating area. We had a quite table in the corner. Which I liked, but as we walked through I couldn’t help but think that I didn’t have to dress up for this. So we sit and are told that our server would be over right away. She came right away. Our server was polite, well groomed and seems to know about the food on the menu. As all 3 of us proceeded to ask every possible question about each dish she was very patient and helpful. I must admit we get a little obsessive about our food. We settled on each item, she took our order, then we began our conversation. Shortly after, our appetizers arrived. My artichoke was wonderful. I could literally taste the roasted smoke flavor. I’m a big fan of sent, and this artichoke’s sent was divine. Paired with the aioli, I couldn’t have asked for anything better at that time. The artichoke was tender and moist. Seasoned just right, not too flavorful, where it would over power the flavor of the vegetable itself. I knew I was eating a artichoke. The Garlic aioli wasn’t very garlic-y. It tasted more like a dressed up mayo. I could have stood for a bit more garlic in my “Garlic Aioli”. It did have a little zesty kick to it! But I love garlic! The average person might think I’m crazy. Don’t get me wrong the aioli did enhance the experience of the artichoke, but I don’t think that’s it should be considered a “Garlic Aioli”. After indulging in that beautiful artichoke(which I’m still shocked at!), I was so ready for what was to come. Could I have judged too soon? Could I be wrong about this place? Should I hold off on calling Rock’n Fish “ just another chain restaurant”? What the Olive Garden is to Italian food or Acapulco’s to Mexican food!?! Don’t get me wrong I loooooove looooove both restaurants, but when I want some authentic food, those two place aren’t exactly top of my list. Come on! Here comes my entree. First I notice that the pasta was not made by hand. (Frozen!ugh!) The way you can tell a not “made in the kitchen” filled pasta, is that it’s Perfect! You can look and see that it was clearly machine pressed. Getting pass that, the presentation was pretty. The pasta was garnished with Red peppers and parsley. The parsley was definitely fresh. More that I can say about the rest of the plate. The food wasn’t very hot. Kinda like it had sat out for a minute or so before the server picked it up. But still warm. Warm enough to dive right in and not wait. (sarcasm) The gorgonzola cream sauce tasted like something out of a jar. Again not prepared in house. Hey even when I use canned or jarred products I at least try to make it my own. Adding some of this or some of that. Not here. However, I did have a good amount of actual crab in my meal. I had big chunks of Real Crab all over the plate. That kinda made up for massed produced pasta and store bought sauce. As well as the almost $24 dollar price tag. I am positive I can recreate this dish even better at home in my own kitchen. The night wined down. The server checked on us plenty of times though out dinner. Which is always a plus. Refilled our waters and made sure we were ok. The crowd even joined in as we sang Happy Birthday to one of my Chica’s when the server brought out her desert. All in all I had a nice time. More because of the company I was with and the nice service. I guess the term “Chain” Sticks! I would recommend this place for a good happy hour. If the happy hour prices are right. Paying anywhere from $20 to $60 for a entree here is just so not worth it when you have so many different seafood restaurants to choose from all over Los Angeles for less money and better quality of food. I give this place ** (2 stars) Until the Next Meal!