Offshore Restaurant
Offshore Restaurant
700 Commercial Street
Rockport, ME 04856
A friend recommended the Offshore Restaurant to me. She had recently eaten there and felt that it was a nice place with comfortable food. I thought, why not? On a very hot and humid afternoon I ventured to the Offshore to give it a try.
Located on Route One in Rockport, between Rockland and Camden, the building is very dated and looks like it could use some maintenance. There was plenty of parking in their gravel lot.
Upon entering the establishment, again the decor is very dated. It looks as though it has not been remodeled or redecorated since it was built, possibly fifty or sixty years ago. The carpet looks almost like Astroturf, the walls are very brown and unappealing. The bar area, directly ahead of the door, has no seating and no bartender. There is a small dining area to the left and a larger area to the right.
There is a sign that reads, "Please wait to be seated." So I wait... and wait... and wait. Finally, a young lady came out of the kitchen. She has in her right hand a small butcher-block with bread on it, and in her left hand an iced coffee, which she slurps on as she passes the bar area. She places her beverage on the bar, water sweating off the sides, and tells me that she will be right with me. She scurries off to deliver the bread.
And I wait... and wait... and wait. Finally, another person appears from the kitchen and escorts me to my table. She tells me that my waiter will be right with me. A few moments later a nice young gentleman arrives and greets me. He takes my drink order as I review the menu.
The menu is a very classic, rustic, and generic menu: various fried appetizers, a few salads, some typical sandwiches, seafood, meats... nothing remarkable at all. When the waiter returns, I place an order for the roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and the Reuben sandwich.
As I wait for my meal, I chance to look around the place. Again, the walls are very brown and bland. It is almost painful to the eye. The tables are dark brown with matching chairs. The condiment station is plastic and very dirty. There is a wine and beer list placard that is too large for the holder, cutting off some of the lettering.
My food arrives after a reasonable amount of time. The roast beef sandwich is an open-faced presentation and is accompanied by mashed potatoes and a very useless garnish of lemon wedge and a large green leaf. Lemon is very out of place with a roast beef presentation. The roast beef sits atop generic commercial bread, very thin and lightly toasted. There is a generous amount of brown gravy over the sandwich but not over the potatoes. I cut into the sandwich and take my first bit. Everything is as the presentation hints at: the beef is overcooked and the bread is barely existent. The flavoring is very bland and there absolutely no texture at all. I then sample the potatoes, and quickly wish that I had not. There is a total lack of seasoning, a pile of mush. I am certain that the potatoes were either made with water or skim milk instead of a cream base, and have no buttery qualities what-so-ever. My next bite includes some gravy as well. The gravy is very rich and flavorful. If not for the gravy, the dish would be quite inedible.
I then approach the Reuben sandwich. Rye bread, again generic commercial, sits on a plate with a side of... potato chips. The garnish is a big green leaf with several pickle slices. Again with the big green leaf? I quickly push the chips aside. I open up and take a look at the Reuben. The corned beef has quite a substantial amount of grisly fat. I take a bite and confirm what I am suspecting: everything is processed. The corned beef is very salty and mushy, with the exception of the grisly parts which I discard. The dressing is a generic Russian dressing. Next is the sauerkraut... canned or jarred, but this is not unexpected. Good homemade sauerkraut is a difficult thing to produce. I do not hold this against them.
The waiter came to the table to refill my beverage, and takes away my old glass by reaching into it with his thumb. I ask for my check... I can't wait to be out of this place. I don't say this often, but it is very likely I will not return to this place. I will definitely have to think hard before sending any of my friends or family to this “restaurant”.
So, let's go through what I have experienced to this point: a very old building, just short of being classified as a rundown; an antiquated and downright bland decor; lackluster customer service; and, food that a child could produce by opening cans and jars.
My order came to a little over $21. For a sit-down restaurant, the price was expected... but only if I was to receive edible food. The only time I expect to be served potato chips is in a quick-service restaurant. And for the garnish: I am a firm believer in the philosophy of "if it isn't intended to be part of the dish, don't put it on the plate." I'm certain the big green leaf was a way to add color to the plate. Yes, it is edible... but does it belong there? Big green leaves and mounds of parsley... unless they complement the flavors and can be incorporated into the dish, leave them off the plate please.
Ratings:
Facilities:
Less than adequate, very uncomfortable both to the body and to the eye.
Customer Service:
Again, less than adequate. Where was the host/hostess? Has the waitstaff been introduced to ServSafe?
Creativity:
None. And by none, I mean NONE. The menu could very well have been one of the pre-fab menus that the food distribution company publishes to help people who really don't know how to cook.
Taste/Flavor Profile:
What flavor? If not for the canned gravy and jar of Russian dressing there would have been no flavor at all.
Overall:
Bottom line, this is a cafeteria trying to pass itself off as a restaurant.
