It's been nine months since I walked across a makeshift stage in San Pedro to say goodbye. Nine months since residency officially ended, but it's feels like yesterday, and sometimes, I almost forget how much I miss them all.
The night at Chart House is not one such night. It's Nichelle's birthday, and although we really should celebrate her every day, this is the day that brings us together again. It's like another one of our girl dates except I don't just get one awesome person, I get an entire table.
A pretty place, this Chart House. The restaurant juts out over its foundation, hovering over the beach on long-legged stilts. The waves crash on the rocks and pull at the sand, but there is no view more beautiful than the one from my seat at the end of the table. The moonlight frames the faces of so many good women and men...And when the restaurant takes the time to print "Happy Birthday Nichelle" on the menu, you know what kind of service to expect.
Dinner is fun from the start, like a cold Shrimp Ceviche with Crispy Fried Avocado. The shrimp is tender and fresh, the gooey avocado adds a nice contrast, and the plantain chips are the best. The juice is a bit too light, but together the flavors flow like the shallow banter that marks the start of the party.
A plate of fresh Oysters lands next, a platter of acquired tastes. Theirs are briny and Pacific, and they make me miss my buttery Boston Wellfleets.
The Calamari is just plain cute. The rings are fried thin and tossed in a spicy, sweet n' sour sauce. Nothing wrong with this one, but it's the kind of light-hearted starter you'd expect from P.F. Chang's.
The conversation takes a dark pause when we reminisce about people we like the least. Overbearing attendings, irrational encounters, conversations that make us choke like the Sea Bass. It is a hulking hunk, a dried-up chunk in the place of a buttery, flaky bass. Think nuked swordfish with a side of veggies and rice.
The Crab Cakes are exactly the way I like. Mostly lump meat, minimal on the breadcrumbs. You can really taste the sweetness...and you can really skip the watery veggie orzo.
Pan Glazed Shrimp & Scallops really hit the spot. We're supposed to share, but it's hard not to be selfish about this plate of shellfish. The shrimp are meaty and fresh, and the scallops are seared just right. The cauliflower mash is like a thinner, sweeter polenta-married-grits, and it's my favorite side of the night.
All good things do come to an end, and there's a hushed regret when the dessert menus are handed out. The Raspberry Sorbetini is a brief moment of cheer but it's hard to get too excited about raspberry sorbet in a martini glass, no matter how smooth the sorbet.
The "Original" Mud Pie is boring. It tastes good and all, but it's basically a Kahlua-and-milk in an ice-cream-pie, the kind you get from Baskin-Robbins.
The Hot Chocolate Lava Cake takes the longest to make, and it's the most worth waiting for. The Godiva chocolate liquer cake is one the the slightly better iterations I've had, moist to the molten chocolate core.
Innovation. The new frontier of food. These are NOT the terms you will use when describing the food at Chart House. You will find your classics, you will find the tried-and-true. Very few things will offend, but even fewer will excite. Steer clear of the fish lest it all turn out like the sea bass, but it is otherwise a lovely place to eat with older family or unadventurous friends.
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