Tonight my wife and I decided to try the $8.95 Lobster Special at the Blue Dolphin Seafood Bar & Grill in Gambrills Maryland. I didn't have any idea of what to expect for $8.95; but for that price it didn't matter.
I decided to start with the cream of crab soup. I make my own Maryland crab soup but try the cream of crab in just about every restaurant that offers it. I have to say, the cream of crab was pretty good. It was pretty creamy but not too thick. It had an incredible flavor with a decent amount of lump crabmeat. They only offer a bowl for $7.95.
The rolls that were served with the appetizer left a lot to be desired. Two pumpernickel rolls and a poppyseed roll. With it was a honey/butter mixture that was to die for - but considering the taste of the rolls we didn't even finish one of them. It certainly wasn't my taste (nor my wife's).
The lobster doesn't come with a side (expected) and
as such I chose two sides while my wife chose one. I went with the mashed potatoes and corn while my wife opted for the spinach. The lobsters that we received were on the smaller side but had a great taste. I'm normally not one for lobster but I was very satisfied with the taste. It was cooked well, the tail was split down the middle and the claws had a sweet taste to them.
The sides, on the other hand weren't satisfying at all. The mashed potatoes were similar to those individual microwavable twice cooked potatoes and the corn was probably the worst corn I've ever had. I rarely ever use salt but had to put a LOT on the corn just to make it edible. Even then I didn't even eat half. They tried to make the spinach fancy: it is sauteed with garlic, feta, and olive oil. The spinach seemed to be fresh but the flavor wasn't appealing to either one of us.
Since we ate only a portion of our meals we both decided on ordering desserts. I opted for the strawberry shortcake and my wife went for the apple pie a la mode. Both were large portions but seemed again to be something you'd get in the frozen food aisle of the grocery store.
Overall I suppose it was a fair dining experience. I do intend to go back to try the crab cakes since I've heard great things about them. Other than that, I would probably only dine during their happy hour when they offer half price appetizers or during their other special nights:
Monday - Lobster for $8.95
Tuesday - 1lb Steamed Shrimp for $8.95
Wednesday - Steaks for $12.95
Thursday - Your choice of a variety of fish, broiled or fried for $12.95
It would be hard for me to part with $43.95 for two broiled lobster tails...
