Shrimp Market Cambridgeside
Jul. 4th, 2008 10:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bex77Today's post is brought to you by the letter S.
I had a tasty lunch at the scenic Cambridgeside Galleria Mall Food Court yesterday. There have been a couple of changes in their restaurants. The Caribbean place in the corner is gone, still boarded up. And Le Bistro has been replaced by the Shrimp Market.
http://shrimpmarket.com/
Unless you are into such corporate-double-speak "nation's first QSR (Quick service restaurant) specializing in shrimp!" click the menu button quickly.
Menu
The menu is a Forrest Gump experience - they've got shrimp cocktail, popcorn shrimp, shrimp salad, shrimp caesar salad, shrimp wraps, pasta primavera shrimp, Asian Noodle shrimp, fried coconut shrimp, grilled shrimp skewers, shrimp carbonara, shrimp fried rice and jambalaya! Vegetarians should keep right on walking.
Food
I tried the popcorn shrimp and the shrimp carbonara. Everything was cooked to order, so it took a solid 5 mintues. Which is forever in a food court. Their kitchen is open, so you can watch the chef in action to pass the time. The popcorn shrimp were tiny. Like pinky-fingernail tiny. Crispy, slightly black peppered. Not much of a shrimp taste, but okay little snacks with your choice of tartar or cocktail sauce. They came with a huge pile of delicious salty shoestring fries, which I had not realized would happen. The shrimp carbonara (shrimp, bacon, tomatoes, peas, mushrooms and cavatappi pasta (like curly longer elbows) in garlic cream sauce) was very mild but delicious in a way that seems pedestrian while you are eating but lingers in gustatory memory. The shrimp were superb.
Service
The staff were bouncy, friendly teenagers with interesting accents. I chatted up the cash register girl just to hear the Irish lilt. They had that sparkling "we been doing this for TWO WEEKS!" attitude that I fear will fade.
Atmosphere
The food court was quiet mid-afternoon on the day before a long weekend. Can't count on that most of the time. The restaurant is open and sparkling and "designed" every inch of the way.
Prices
The prices are crazy high, given the options nearby. The popcorn shrimp/fries were $7.99 and the pasta dish $8.99. The small shrimp cocktail is $5.99. You can get a big plate of chicken teriyaki, rice and sprouts for $4.99 next door, or a sub, taco combo, Indian, Thai or Chinese dinner. I think they'll find they need to provide an "under $5 today's special", or lower prices generally to survive, especially in these tough times.
It's nice to have a new option in the mall, but unless the prices change, I won't choose them very often.
I had a tasty lunch at the scenic Cambridgeside Galleria Mall Food Court yesterday. There have been a couple of changes in their restaurants. The Caribbean place in the corner is gone, still boarded up. And Le Bistro has been replaced by the Shrimp Market.
http://shrimpmarket.com/
Unless you are into such corporate-double-speak "nation's first QSR (Quick service restaurant) specializing in shrimp!" click the menu button quickly.
Menu
The menu is a Forrest Gump experience - they've got shrimp cocktail, popcorn shrimp, shrimp salad, shrimp caesar salad, shrimp wraps, pasta primavera shrimp, Asian Noodle shrimp, fried coconut shrimp, grilled shrimp skewers, shrimp carbonara, shrimp fried rice and jambalaya! Vegetarians should keep right on walking.
Food
I tried the popcorn shrimp and the shrimp carbonara. Everything was cooked to order, so it took a solid 5 mintues. Which is forever in a food court. Their kitchen is open, so you can watch the chef in action to pass the time. The popcorn shrimp were tiny. Like pinky-fingernail tiny. Crispy, slightly black peppered. Not much of a shrimp taste, but okay little snacks with your choice of tartar or cocktail sauce. They came with a huge pile of delicious salty shoestring fries, which I had not realized would happen. The shrimp carbonara (shrimp, bacon, tomatoes, peas, mushrooms and cavatappi pasta (like curly longer elbows) in garlic cream sauce) was very mild but delicious in a way that seems pedestrian while you are eating but lingers in gustatory memory. The shrimp were superb.
Service
The staff were bouncy, friendly teenagers with interesting accents. I chatted up the cash register girl just to hear the Irish lilt. They had that sparkling "we been doing this for TWO WEEKS!" attitude that I fear will fade.
Atmosphere
The food court was quiet mid-afternoon on the day before a long weekend. Can't count on that most of the time. The restaurant is open and sparkling and "designed" every inch of the way.
Prices
The prices are crazy high, given the options nearby. The popcorn shrimp/fries were $7.99 and the pasta dish $8.99. The small shrimp cocktail is $5.99. You can get a big plate of chicken teriyaki, rice and sprouts for $4.99 next door, or a sub, taco combo, Indian, Thai or Chinese dinner. I think they'll find they need to provide an "under $5 today's special", or lower prices generally to survive, especially in these tough times.
It's nice to have a new option in the mall, but unless the prices change, I won't choose them very often.
