Chart House Restaurant (chain restaurant)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price, & Staff

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Positive: Excellent view of the water with a large array of seafood and delicious, warm chocolate lava cake.

Negative: Mediocre tasting food.

Overall: Large, high quality seafood selection with excellent ambiance. The food taste, however, is average.

Revisit:  Not again.  Despite the great quality and large selection the taste is just not good enough, and even the excellent ambiance does not make up for it.

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UPDATED APRIL 4, 2012:

I had the chance to try the Chart House Restaurant in Philadelphia overlooking the water and Camden NJ.  The restaurant had the same, excellent ambiance I remembered from their other restaurant in Northern NJ.

I enjoyed the Calamari appetizer and thought it was great.  The Macadamia crusted Mahi with Peanut sauce and Coconut shrimp with crab fried rice were both of excellent quality but the taste was mediocre at best.  In fact I thought I made them better at home.  The chocolate lava cake was as excellent as I remembered it from my prior visit.  Since the restaurant wasn’t as busy, the service was excellent and the server was very helpful.

Although the seafood selection is pretty large with many great things available for pescovegetarians on the menu, I would not be coming back due to the lack of taste. 

FROM APRIL 7, 2010:

Does your family always go to Halal only restaurants?  Are you tired of going to restaurants that always look run down?  Do you want to take your special loved ones to a nice restaurant on an important occasion?

If you answered yes to any of those questions then Chart House Restaurant is an excellent place for you and your family to try. More than half of the menu is seafood and everything tastes delicious.  The best part is that the food does not have a “fishy” taste as it is seasoned very well.

I recently tried this place with my family and absolutely loved it. It is located in Weehawken, next to the Hudson river, with the most beautiful view of The New York City skyline. They offer outdoor seating after Memorial Day Weekend, which is a great option to have. They also have a brunch buffet which costs $35 per person, a great price for the food and the unobstructed view of the city.

My family and I did not choose to do the buffet. We ordered the spinach and artichoke dip with crostinis for appetizers (this was one of the specials of the day) and we all loved it! We also ordered Clam Chowder which was great too but had too much clam meat for my taste. For the entrees we ordered different types of fish including the Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi with Coconut Rice, Parmesan Sea Bass with Fettuccine, and Flounder stuffed with Crab Meat. My favorites were the Parmesan Sea Bass and the Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi.I am really picky with seafood and this has become one of my favorite seafood restaurants as all the fish were fresh and tasted very good. We also ordered the coconut shrimp for an entree. For those that do not like fish, this is always a safe option. All the entrees were normal proportions and could be finished by an average person. They weren’t extremely large and sharing may not be an option if you are moderately hungry.

The last thing we had was the Chocolate Lava Cake which was just mouth-watering and is definitely a must have! (Although maybe the Grand Lux Cafe probably has a better tasting lava cake.) Just remember to order this with the rest of your food as it takes 30 minutes to make. Our waiter did not tell us about this until we were ready to order dessert. This was the downside to this restaurant. You pay $40-$50 per person to dine but don’t get that kind of service. Our waiter only came to us to take our orders and to give us our food. It was hard to get a hold of him because we would hardly see him near our table; he did not have many tables that he was serving either. He did not even come to ask us if we needed anything, something that’s expected from waiters at all restaurants. Despite the service, I highly recommend this restaurant because of the delicious food and amazing view of NYC. It would also be nicer if you go at night rather than the day.

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Chart House Restaurant Website

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Luke’s Lobster Roll (Manhattan)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

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Positive: Warm, moist bun complementing a well-seasoned lobster.

Negative: Expensive with long lines.

Overall: If you are a lobster fan then Luke’s lobster roll is a great way to treat your taste buds. 

Revisit:  Definitely yes, but it won’t be before I get another few paychecks so I can rationalize paying for such a meal.

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Do you like good lobster?

If you’ve been to New York, you’re familiar with the hundreds of food carts and trucks littering the city. It often becomes difficult to differentiate a hidden gem from a sneak assault?  With that said, Luke’s Lobster roll is (or was) a hidden gem. I may be late to this fad, but I guess better late then never. Luke’s Lobster Roll delivers a perfectly seasoned lobster on a warm and delicious bun. With multiple locations in the city, and a free standing moving truck, don’t think you won’t have to wait. As I was greeted by a long line of hungry customers, and unfortunately each sandwich seemed to take awhile to make too.

The sandwich is moist and delicious because it is lightly buttered and contains an ample amount of mayo which complements the rest of the sandwich well.  The biggest fault isn’t because of the sandwich but rather the price. As with any place serving lobster, $8 for half a roll and $16 for a full roll sounds about right. Regardless, these tiny treats unfortunately will NOT satisfy your appetite. After completing my whole sandwich, I felt like I just had a little appetizer.The sandwich is about the size of a hot dog, and although it is filled to capacity with lobster, it just doesn’t do a normal person justice to eat one. Luke’s also carries other rolls such as crab, shrimp or the grand daddy of them all, the “Taste of Maine”. For the low price of $22, the “Taste of Maine” gives you a combination of lobster, crab, and shrimp.

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Bonefish Grill (Chain Restaurant)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

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Positive: Delicious virgin drinks and above average Bang Bang Shrimp in a nice setting.

Negative: Mediocre seafood dishes surpassed by other restaurants.

Overall: Go for the ambiance and Bang Bang Shrimp but expect mediocre entrees.

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Want to try a seafood chain restaurant?  

After recommendations from several friends, I finally tried the Willow Grove, PA location of Bonefish Grill. From the outside, it looked like your regular chain restaurant but when I entered, it looked a bit different, with dimmer lighting and more intimate booth-seating. They also have high chair tables near the bar if you want to have some drinks or just small appetizers.

We were served by an extremely polite waitress who offered me a fruit cocktail when I asked about their virgin drinks. This was served in a martini glass and was absolutely delicious and reminded me of the Watermelon Mojo from Sushi Samba. I definitely recommend this to those of you that love fruity cocktails without the touch of alcohol as it is very refreshing, especially on a hot a summer day.

For appetizers, we got the bang bang shrimp and the calamari. The shrimp were better than your average restaurant but not super amazing. The calamari was mediocre. We also had the fish tacos but after having Surf Taco, they too were mediocre. All in all, this is a very average restaurant in terms of the food. The only qualities it has that would give it a higher rating than it deserves are the service and the virgin  drinks. So if you ask me to go there again, I will not!

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Buddakan (Philadelphia, New York City, & Atlantic City)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

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Positive: Delicious Non-Alcoholic Drinks with Extraordinary dessert in a fine dining restaurant.

Negative: Small, expensive portion sizes without the quality expected in a high end restaurant

Overall: Good place for a fine dining experience if you only want to have their non-alcoholic drinks with dessert.

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Update (10/9/2011):

Upon visiting Buddakan again for dessert and non-alcoholic drinks I realized that they do not always keep the same drinks as they had changed them.  The two non-alcoholic drinks they had were Pink Lemonade and Ginger Soda.  I tried the ginger soda which was definitely a little too weird for me (I miss the Spirit and Passion Juice from my last trip).  However, the five spice cinnamon donuts and the soft, warm chocolate cake hit the spot!

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A Uniquely expensive Pan Asian Chain restaurant in New york, southern nj, and philly.

Buddakan is a high-end, Pan Asian restaurant situated in New York, Philadelphia, and Atlantic City.   I had the chance to visit the Philadelphia location in Olde City on Chestnut Street. I would definitely recommend having a reservation before coming here as it was very busy when we came. The service was exceptional and the server was also kind and tried her best in helping us pick the drinks and dishes.  The ambiance was extraordinary. The restaurant has two floors with various types of seating areas and booths to satisfy everyone. The upstairs portion seems more secluded and quiet, although there is a bar there as well.  The downstairs portion has a huge buddha statue.

This restaurant has various nonalcoholic drinks, including “spirit” consisting of thyme and a carbonated beverage, and “passion juice” (made of

pomegranate juice, cherries, blueberries, etc).  The drinks were a delightful addition to the restaurant and reminded me of Sushi Samba.

Reluctantly, the food here was ordinary and not excellent. The portion
sizes were pretty small and although the shrimp toast was unique, the
main shrimp entrée did not have enough seasoning to the core of the
shrimp and the Pad Thai was too rubbery for my taste. I didn’t try
their wide fish selection however.  Despite the main course not being that good, the desserts truly made up for it.  The five spice cinnamon donuts with various dipping sauces (chocolate, blackberry jam, and ginger cream cheese) and the warm chocolate cake were delicious.

Overall I would say that Buddakan is a great place to go if you are looking for a fine dining experience  and want to have some non-alcoholic drinks with

appetizers and dessert (I would probably leave out the appetizers
too).   The main entree are just not worth it.

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Buddakan’s Philadelphia Website

Buddakan’s NYC Website

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