As my first actual blog entry on this site, I am going to blog a restaurant review. I plan on doing many more reviews in the future, and since I have been in the food industry for so long and held so many different positions within the restaurant industry (server, cocktail waitress, bartender, office manager, manager) I feel like a restaurant review would be a good place to start.
Smuggler’s Wharf Restaurant Review
By: Jacklyn Miras
(Both Long and Short Versions)
**The Long Version**
Cedar Rapids isn’t a city that most people would consider particularly “exciting” in the dining-out department. Truth is, between the many chain restaurants and your choice of numerous cookie-cutter diners and fast “food” joints, it isn’t difficult to become very bored, to say the least, of the choices we are presented with for dinner. Fortunately for all Cedar Rapidians however, “Smugglers Wharf & Big-Bam-Boo Bar,” which opened in Czech Village in August of 2011, seems to be taking steps to change that.
My friend and I parked the car in the back lot and we made our way up the ramp, onto the porch and toward the front door, passing an outdoor seating area on the way in.
As soon as we stepped though the door, I noticed that the decor was similar to a little beach restaurant I had once visited on an island in Florida years ago. There was a large swordfish replica mounted on the sky blue wall and surrounded by nautical themed decorations such as lifesavers, seashells, fishing nets, and boat oars. This little restaurant could have easily come off a little starchy with all of the light colors, but they did a nice job of avoiding that by adding a tall bamboo trim as a sort of wainscoting along the bottom part of the wall and hanging woven bamboo sheeting on the ceiling between the wooden rafters. I didn’t get to check out the restaurant’s lower level, but I was very pleased with how true the décor in the main level felt to that little beach restaurant back on the island.
We were seated promptly at a table on the left side of the restaurant. The chairs we sat in were a type of outside lawn chair, which I loved the idea of, but found them to be a little low for the table. Large sheets of paper were used as tablecloths for the tables, and crayons were available to keep kids busy. Smart! They kept the temperature quite low, so I was cold most of the time, and the table I was sitting at was by a window where the sunlight was constantly shining into my eyes.
Our server welcomed us politely, informed us of our beverage choices (coke products, beer, tropical specialty drinks, etc.), and told us about the specials. They offer different specials every day, which I liked, and since one of Wednesday’s specials was $5 appetizers, we ordered the calamari. Our server brought our drinks and took the order for the main course. I asked her some questions about the menu she didn’t know the answers to, but she did go out of her way to find the answer for us. We ended up ordering the Mahi-Mahi meal from the “Davey Jones Locker” section of the menu. This meal consists of an 8 oz piece of Mahi-Mahi, either grilled or blackened, and your choice of two sides. The choices for sides are: hand-cut French fries, tater tots, cole slaw, homemade red beans and rice, garlic mashed potatoes, pan-seared vegetable, or… A beer? Yes, a beer. What a great idea! For our sides, we ordered the French fries and our server let us have a side salad as one of the sides for a $1.95 up-charge. I thought this was odd until she brought the salad out. Their side salads are made of only the good, leafy greens, and come with cheese, thick tomato wedges, good-sized croutons, and other goodies. It was a beautiful salad.
The calamari was way better than I expected. It wasn’t the usual calamari “shavings” that other restaurants serve, the pieces were long, thick strips of tender calamari, breaded with a light, crispy Italian breading, and served with a Cajun sauce. The Cajun sauce was not hot, but tasted like a mix between marinara and cocktail sauce. It was very good. The Mahi-Mahi was very, very tasty. It was a little spicy for my taste, but that’s what you get when you order anything blackened, so I knew what I was getting myself into. I used a little of the tartar sauce that came on the side to cool it down a bit, but I hated to use it and cover up the taste of the fish. The Mahi-Mahi was not a fishy tasting fish, but was meaty and very flavorful. It almost tasted like a better version of chicken! The French fries were plentiful and were a thinner, hand-cut, seasoned French fry. Some of the fries were a little soft for my taste, so I just ate the crunchy ones, which tasted great.
Although the calamari and one meal was plenty for the two of us, we decided to go all out and order dessert. They were only offering one kind of dessert, so we got the very berry lemon mascarpone cake. As a chocolate lover, I was a little disappointed that they did not have any chocolate dessert options, but after I tried the cake, I was no longer upset. The cake was out of this world. It had blueberries, lemon cake, and mascarpone (which tastes like a sweet cream cheese), and was served on a plate with a berry drizzle. It was very rich, but also very delicious!
By the end of our meal, we had ordered:
1. One pint of Schlafly pale ale - $4.00
2. One Mr. Pibb - $2.00
3. One order of calamari - $5.00
4. One Mahi-Mahi meal with an up-charged side salad - $17.90
5. One piece of very berry lemon mascarpone cake – $4.50
Tax included, the total came to $35.46. For two people and the quality of food we received, I thought that was a pretty fair price. Although I was uncomfortably cold and had the sun in my eyes for most of the dinner, there were too many good things about this restaurant for those few not-so-good things to be a big deal. As long as you make sure to ask for a table away from the window and bring a jacket along, you should have a great experience at this vacation-like destination. I would definitely dine at Smuggler’s Wharf again, and I really hope the other restaurants in the Cedar Rapids area are taking notes.
**The Short Version**
PROS:
· The décor made me feel like I was on vacation (Even if it was only for an hour)
· There was a lot of outdoor seating with a great view of Czech Village.
· The Tablecloths were large pieces of paper, and crayons were available to keep antsy kids busy.
· The server was very nice and went out of her way to answer any questions we had, even if she didn’t know the answer and had to go ask someone! And even after that, she was still very kind and polite.
· They offer different specials every day, and they are good specials, not just random foods they are trying to get rid of.
· You may order A BEER as one of your dinner sides.
· The House salad was not made with Iceberg Lettuce, but with fresh, leafy greens and other yummy goodies you don’t normally get at restaurants.
· Everything I tried (The calamari, Mahi-Mahi, hand-cut French fries, and the very berry lemon mascarpone cake) had great flavor, and was cooked perfectly.
· For the quality of food and the amount they gave (one appetizer, entrée, and dessert fed both my friend and I) The price was pretty reasonable.
CONS:
· The chairs seemed to be a little low for the table. It was a little weird to eat that way.
· They kept the temperature quite low, so I was cold most of the time.
· The table I was sitting at was by a window where the sunlight was constantly shining into my eyes. Maybe they could put up blinds or some sort of tint?
· The server didn’t know which fish was the least “fishy tasting.” Not that much of a problem though, because she was more than willing to find out the answer for us. I think the staff could benefit from a short class over the menu.
· About half of the French fries were squishy. Also not a huge problem, because this is just a personal preference for me. I just ate the crunchier ones and was happy.
My 5 TIPS:
1. Ask to sit away from a window if the sun is too bright.
2. Bring a jacket inside with you.
3. Live a little! Order a beer as one of your Entrée sides.
4. Order the Mahi-Mahi (:
5. Order the very berry lemon mascarpone cake!
