I know that it's a San Diego classic, but I've actually never visited any of the Brigantine restaurants! I have heard so much about their great seafood and elegant, yet casual approach to dining, that I had to check it out for myself on Monday evening.
We ventured to the new Del Mar location. Check out the exquisite view!
A cold glass of pinot grigio to start!
After a lot of back and forth (everything sounded so good!), we ordered the crab and shrimp fondue. I haven't had a seafood dip in ages, but being from Maryland, I'll never turn down a good crab dip! This dip had a lighter texture than I've ever had. It was more like a hot seafood mousse, which was a nice change from the heavy cheese-laden dips that I've had before.
And there was exactly enough toast for the amount of dip that we received! How often does that happen?
My husband loves crabcakes, so he wanted to sample the crabcake platter, which came with two huge cakes, and large sides of fries and green beans (you can choose the sides from a variety of vegetables and starches).
The crabcakes were loaded with blue crab meat. No filler here! The meat was tender, and had that awesome sweet/salty flavor of crab. The sides were quite nice as well! The fries were crisp and mealy, and the beans were fresh and had a perfect crunch.
I couldn't resist the Scallops Del Mar! I love scallops, and hadn't had them in so long. These scallops were plump and juicy, and cooked to a perfect doneness. They were lightly seasoned, and the scallop flavor was allowed to shine through. The scallops were served with Peruvian (!) purple potatoes and sauteed mushrooms. Delicious!
After such a feast, I was too full for any dessert besides a simple lemon sorbet. There's always room for sorbet! Nice and tart, and presented beautifully. I love to follow seafood with a nice tart sorbet.
I can't believe that I waited this long to go, but I will definitely return and check out their other great locations!
