Great Bay

Saturday, 20 October 2007

Great Bay
500 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
617 532-5300
http://www.gbayrestaurant.com
When you're in Boston, seafood is something you definitely have to order. I'm at one of the well known restaurant in Boston called Great Bay. Unlike many of the seafood restaurants in Boston, Great Bay season and sauces most of their dishes so it's more than the typical boiled lobster.

A nicely lit interior with a high ceiling:

The chairs and drapped walls (not pictured) do not fit with the atmosphere.
Complimentary bread:

It's buttery and warm but it was dry inside.
Spicy crab cake - pickled cubanelle peppers, sweet melon, spicy aioli:

There is crab inside but a little too much minced fish. It tasted like 60% crab to me. The spicy aioli is just like the spicy mayo I love!
Lemon oyster flat bread:

A strong lemon taste masks all the oyster flavours. It was really hard to eat. I wouldn't recommend ordering this dish. I might as well squeeze lemon on a flatbread and chew on that.
Pan roasted diver scallops - eggplant miso butter puree, oxtail ragu, sweet carrot syrup:

Scallops were soft and moist with just the right heat. The sauce was overwhelming. I avoid the bottom sauce. Scallop is usually pricey and this dish is no exception at $32 USD.
Butter poached Maine lobster - grilled corn, citrus scented potato salad, fried green tomatoes:

Corn was mushy and charred so they probably boiled it first then placed it on a grill for a short time. I like my corn crunchy and this didn't do it for me. The fried green tomatos were good and reminded me of tempura vegetables. The buttery lobster was very good and rich in butter taste. For $44 USD, this dish is pricy for half a 1.5lbs lobster.
Wild Striped Bass - green olives, crab stuffed tomato, crispy bacon, charred romaine, lemon and coriander:

How could a fancy restaurant serve bacon that tastes like the pre-cooked microwave bacon you buy from the grocery store? The green sauce below the tomato was very sour so I couldn't figure out what sweet taste on the dish it was to compliment. Anchoives over a tomato is pretty neat and I liked the little crab stuffing inside the tomato - it's like a mini crab cake.The romaine lettuce was soaked in sauce and very salty. The top layer of the bass was tough and salty as well so I scrapped that off. The fish was very tender and soft. This dish is a more reasonable $29 USD.
With salty tastes on all their dishes that overwhelm all the seafood, this restaurant caters to people who enjoy seafood but don't like the seafood taste. Sounds a better contradictory. All the entree dishes were prepared at a good temperature and cooked well. It feels like the chef has a good sense of the fire but a very poor sense for using sauces. Service was poor as it was very unattentive and I got the sense she didn't really want to be there. I don't recommend coming here because of the poor use of sauces, poor service, and high price.
Eric Tummy Points: 2 out of 5