Daily seafood deliveries lure diners to eatery

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant has been luring folks to TownCenter in Virginia Beach since December 2007.

The daily fresh seafood deliveries, scratch drinks and $1.95 bar food menu (selected items offered during specified times) help bring in crowds to the Market Street spot adjacent to the Sandler Center.

The super-sized restaurant, one of 80 in the country, can accommodate more than 270 guests, including in the bar and on the patio.

A menu, printed twice daily to reflect the day's fresh seafood deliveries for lunch and dinner, is impressive - and expansive. Our server highlighted the various sections of the menu and recommended some appetizers.

The "flash fried" calamari ($9.95) with three dipping sauces was ordinary, not crispy and light. Horseradish orange marmalade sauce was underwhelming, but the cocktail and roasted red pepper sauces were tasty.

Cream of crab soup ($8.95) came with tableside service. Lump crab meat came in a bowl, then the server poured the soup's base in from a pitcher. It was very good, although the nuance of nutmeg and cloves, from the classical white sauce, bechamel, was stronger than I prefer.

Torn between local rockfish ($25.95) or blackened grouper from Panama City, Fla. ($24.95), the consensus was grouper since it's seldom seen locally, and it enabled us to reap the benefits of McCormick & Schmick's seafood buying power. A thick fillet was moist with the spiciness promised from blackening, but not the encrusted surface from a "white" hot skillet. Steamed rice and "roasted tomato shrimp & chipotle salsa" further complemented the delicious fish, but there was no sign of shrimp.

Pan-fried oysters from the Chesapeake Bay with fries and coleslaw ($17.95) grabbed me, but the overdone oysters carried the taste of old oil. When our server asked about our meals after I had tried one, I said the oysters were "tired," but my consolation was "they're fresh." After another taste I knew I couldn't eat any more. They were removed from our table - and our tab.

"Featured wild seafood" Copper River, Alaska, sockeye salmon sautee ($19.95) delivered mild morsels - in color and flavor, not rich and red as expected. Overall, the dish, with its spaetzle in cream sauce and corn-and-asparagus-tidbits backdrop, was appealing.

Steak and shrimp combinations, a filet ($29.95) or top sirloin ($26.95) with preparation of scampi, coconut-fried or stuffed, with creme brulee for dessert, appealed to my guest, but he wanted to substitute with New York strip ($32.95). Our server quickly obliged - with a surcharge. A handsome medium rare steak was tender and terrific. Three large butterflied shrimp with crab stuffing perched atop were savored.

Chocolate truffle cake ($6.95), creme brulee ($7.95) and carrot cake ($7.25) made for a sweet ending. More cream-cheese frosting instead of the praline middle on the cake would have made it even sweeter.

McCormick & Schmick's is a great addition to Hampton Roads, confirming that we rank with other notable cities where the restaurant has established residency.

Tammy Jaxtheimer, daily.break@pilotonline.com