Grilled Swordfish

Good fried seafood doesn’t always translate to good non-fried either, but in this case it certainly did. I had the Grilled Swordfish which came with rice pilaf and vegetable medley (zucchini, squash and carrots).

The rice and veggies were excellent. Vegetable medley is common around here, most places usually over salt it, not Saltwater Grill. The swordfish was superb, not to dry, not over or under spiced, just plain perfect.

Pan Seared Snapper

I am going backwards here, but for an appetizer we had the Fried Calamari. My wife always orders this (if you have been reading our reviews you already knew that ) and it is one of the better calamari appetizers we have tried. It didn’t have the traditional marinara sauce, it had asian aioli and sweet chili sauces that were very good. I was about to ask for some marinara and ranch but one try and I withheld that request

The atmosphere is nice at the Saltwater Grill, the interior is very classy. The waitstaff was great including our server, Ryan. We will certainly be going back to try some of the other great looking dishes we saw being served.

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The first thing, and this is to help readers, is to start off with the city the review is being given in. So for Corpus Christi for instance, you would put “Corpus Christi – ” before your review. City, space, dash, space, your review.

Pictures are always good, but not necessary. If you do have pictures you want to use, there is an “Add Media” button/image right next to Upload/Insert in the text box you are typing in. This will allow you to upload a picture from your computer (or phone if you are using your phone to post).

When you upload a picture, you have several options once it uploads. You can crop it, rotate it, etc. You can give it a caption (text that appears under the image) and you can choose a few sizes for the one you want to insert into your post. The 530 pixel wide version will make the image the full width of the text are on the site. In other words, it is as wide as your post will be.

You can choose a smaller version and select one of the align buttons (right, center, left, none) to have your text flow around it. Just be sure to click the “Insert into Post” button otherwise it will not be associated with your post. You can use as many pictures as you want, just don’t get too carried away

One thing I would like to see on all posts, where applicable, is the location of the place getting reviewed. To do this, go to http://www.google.com/maps and search for the name of the place, the city and the state. What you want is to have only one result, unless it is a place that has many locations. In other words, you only want to have that business showing on the map, be it one location or many. You don’t want to have other businesses, this can confuse the reader.

To do that you may have to refine your search, maybe use the exact spelling the result is showing for that business. Once you have the results you want, in the upper left corner of the page you will see a chain image (chain link). Click that, click on “Customize and preview embedded map” and then check the “Custom” button.

Set the width to 530 and copy the code that is in the box at the bottom. You will then paste that code into your post at the bottom (after your review). Make sure you select the appropriate category or categories and click “Publish” (it may say submit or something similar).

For a more detailed in depth manual on how to use wordpress, check out http://codex.wordpress.org/Writing_Posts.

Now that you have your post submitted, you may have to wait for it to be approved. I am doing this when you are first starting, once I see you have the hang of everything and you fit the way we run our site, I will set you as an author and your posts will not have to be approved, once you publish it is live.

When your post is made live, the best thing you can do is share it with friends and family. You can post links to your facebook, send e-mails, etc. If you view your post on http://coastalbendcritic.com, you will see a set of social media icons that you can use to help promote your post.

Another great way to get your post exposure is to post on review sites. For instance, when you searched for the location on Google Maps, you will notice a link for Reveiws (usually next to the stars). You can click on that and put in a brief review, as well as the link to your post stating to go there for a full review. There are many sites you could do this on if you wanted to.

The more exposure you post gets, the more popular it will be. If there is ever a day we become revenue producing, you will certainly be compensated by the popularity of your posts.

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If I get some free time I could update this post with images for better visualization

We made reservations for 8:30 since we knew that Valentine’s Evening was due to be super busy just about anywhere. We arrived on time to the restaurant and were told that they were running behind. Fine, I get it, you can’t control people and how long they take to eat. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, about 9:15 or so, we were seated. It seemed like the night was instantly going to get better. I was wrong.

Their Valentine’s Day menu was minimized by the chef. There were about six appetizers to choose from, six soups or salads, six entrees, etc. You get the point. The bottom of the menu stated that it would be a six course meal (it wasn’t. I may not be very good at math, but I counted four courses) which would cost $75 plus tax plus 20% gratuity. Wonderful! Our waitress arrived and we were on our way!

The appetizer I chose was the Kat’z Meow. It was three shrimp, grilled, presented on a thin piece of crouton with crab meat and drizzled in a white wine sauce. I can honestly say it was AWESOME! I am not big on screwing up already wonderful food, such as shrimp, by adding something that it does not need, but they made it taste wonderful. My dining partner ordered the tenderloin meatballs for his appetizer. At one time, they may have been tender, but apparently exposure had done them in. They were tasteless and served with a glorified mayonnaise sauce. Disappointing to say the least.

Next came the soup. I ordered the chicken tortilla soup thinking I couldn’t go wrong with that choice. I thought wrong. It was cold, bland, thick (think condensed soup straight out of the can), and I didn’t eat more than three bites. My date ordered the french onion soup. Again, it was tasteless, seemed as if it came straight from the pre-packaged seasoning at the grocery store, and was oddly garnished with cheese and bread floating on top.

For the entree, we each ordered the ribeye and garlic mashed potatoes. He had the broccoli, I had the asparagus. I was not impressed at all with the seasonings or the temperature of the steak. I’ve had better when I cooked it myself, and I am not a chef. My date thoroughly enjoyed his steak, but with a red-blooded American male, I think any steak is good steak. The mashed potatoes were nothing to rave about, so I will just leave it at that.

Since it was now past 11 p.m. (yes, you read that right. It took over two hours!!), we had our dessert packaged to go. I had ordered the Sin Cake which was a flour-less chocolate cake with raspberry glaze drizzled on top, along with a touch of whipped cream and fresh slices of strawberry. Being flour-less, the cake was dense, more like a brownie. I think I should let you all know, I am a chocolate connoisseur. I’m usually pretty pleased if something has chocolate in, on, or around it. This cake was HEAVEN!!! This was the absolute best dessert I have ever had the pleasure of eating! My date’s dessert, the New York Style Cheesecake was awesome as well. No lumps, flavorless spots of cream cheese, or otherwise disappointing additives. The crust was flaky, but not dry. I’m not sure what the drizzle was, but it was flavorful, fruity, and pleasant as well.

The service left much to be desired. Our waitress had one other table seating 8 people. I know a rowdy table with demanding guests can be hard to juggle. However, we had been sitting there, forgotten it seemed, for quite a while. Our tea ran low or empty, our takeout bags were left on a drink cart, and it took forever to eat, get our check, and leave! Perhaps my experience was a little less than glamorous due to the fact that it was Valentine’s Day, they were busy (although the empty tables begged to differ), or our waitress had pulled a double shift. Who knows! After our almost $200 check was paid, including the $30 gratuity, we finally got to leave.

Let’s just say I won’t be returning to Katz 21 in the future, unless it’s for the Sin Cake and the Kat’z Meow! I learned my lesson. It cost $200, but it was a lesson nonetheless.

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We did get a pleasant surprise, their calamari appetizer was great! Recently we commented on Laguna Reef’s calamari and this was much better. Probably the best calamari I have had in recent memory.

I ordered a NY strip steak, it was a little over cooked and not very flavorful. Nothing like the steak at Black Diamond Oyster Bar.

The biscuits make up for that though

Calamari, it was awesome!

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Biscuits, rolls and giant croutons and brought to every table along with some sort of cinnamon butter. Those were pretty tasty. I had read on foursquare how the croutons were awesome, and they were pretty good.

I ordered their grilled mahi mahi, which they state is the best in Corpus. Some bites had no flavor, some had some. Overall, not very good. The rice pilaf, vegetables and loaded baked potato were excellent.

My wife ordered the cajun stuffed flounder. It was OK, a little overloaded on the seasoning but that is always better than not any seasoning like most of the mahi mahi was. Would of tasted much better if they just used regular creole seasoning, I suspect they create their own mix.

The service was mediocre as well. Our biscuits, rolls and croutons basket was never refilled and tea went empty for some time before getting refilled. Not many people dining at the time so it wasn’t due to how busy they were.

I am pretty confident to say we will probably not go back

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I have been to Black Diamond many times in the past and the oysters-on-a-half-shell have always been our appetizer. Normally they are perfect, though last night they had tiny pieces of shell in them. Not sure if it was the shucking job or just how that batch was. Normally they never have that issue.

For one of the side items I got their rice and it was also great. My wife had fried flounder which was perfect. Not over breaded, not over seasoned and not over cooked. The kids meals came with some awesome homemade fries. Not sure if this is something new or if they have done it like this all along, hopefully that is how they always make the fries.

As usual the service was excellent. Ask for Rebecca, she is great.

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Logitech Revue

At just $99, the Revue is an absolute bargain. It comes with the companion box (which is sleek and sexy), compact keyboard (wireless with a long range, touchpad and ability to control every remote device you own), an HDMI cable, an IR mini blaster (to for extended reach of the keyboard), the power adapter and batteries.

This being Google TV, it is Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) powered so if you love Android you will certainly love the Revue. Surf the net or access YouTube, Netflix and a ton of other pre-installed applications or check out the Android Market to download all of your favorite apps.

There are also many accessories you can add to the Revue to enhance the enjoyment, like the TV cam that allows you to make video calls on your TV.

My opinion is Google TV did not fail, especially when the Revue is as good as it is even though it is an older setup for Google TV. There are many more newer options to choose from to get Google TV, with TVs coming out with it already built in. If you have been thinking about getting a Roku or Apple TV forget it, the Revue is a much better bang for your buck.

First impressions are important, and the interior decor surely doesn’t let you down. I have been to P.F. Chang’s before (1 time) and it was pretty good, a bit pricier than our beloved Mao Tai, and not quite as good.

Our half eaten Crispy Green Beans

We ordered Crispy Green Beans for an appetizer. We have heard great things about these and everyone one of them were correct. The battered and fried green beans were great and I had to make myself stop eating them so I wouldn’t be full before the meal came out.

This time I wanted to try something different, one of my favorite dishes, Sesame Chicken. I was going to try their Orange Beef, but it wasn’t on their lunch menu so I went with the chicken.

The egg drop soup isn’t like the traditional soup you find at most Chinese restaurants (or maybe it is traditional and everyone else’s isn’t?). It was darker and I really did not like the flavor, too Soy Saucey for me. My wife loved it though and had both of ours.

The Sesame Chicken was also different than you would normally find. It had bell peppers, onion and light and dark seeds. The seeds seem to be added after the fact. Overall the taste was bland, nowhere as sweet as you find at most places.

My wife’s Beef and Broccoli was incredible, had a great consistency with the sauce. The flavor had a bit of sweetness, again not common with most Chinese restaurants.

The service was great, we had a waiter named Jeff and he was excellent. Prices are a little high compared to other local Chinese restaurants but that won’t keep us from going again. No Sesame Chicken for me though.

Slightly eaten Beef and Broccoli

Sesame Chicken

Laguna Reef

Corpus Christi – Love the atmosphere there, and considering the unreal reality that there is no other seafood restaurant in Flour Bluff even though it is right on the Laguna Madre, it makes it that much better.

We started off with calamari as an appetizer.  It was a bit over cooked (extra crispy), but tasted fine.  The waitress even asked if it was crispy, saying it looked like it was.

Our waitress was awesome! She frequently came to our table and asked if everything was OK and if we needed anything, refilled our drinks, and asked if we would like to take our drinks to go when she gave us the bill. It has been a while since we had such great service at a restaurant.

My husband and I ordered the fried shrimp plate and fried oyster plate.  They come with 8 pieces of each and two sides, so we just share with each other.  They were just under $14 each and tasted great so worth it in my opinion.  We have had similar priced fried plates before that should not have cost that much, but these did.

A table next too us ordered a grilled Mahi Mahi plate and a grilled Shrimp plate.  They looked absolutely awesome, we will certainly being going back to try those.

Overall I give this place an A.  Good food, good atmosphere and great service.

Fried Oyster Plate

Fried Shrimp Plate

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