Amalfi-Rockland, ME

9/1/10

    I have said many times that I would never eat at Amalfi since working there over a decade ago. The owner who has no respect for people who he thinks are beneath him, and his general disposition are nauseating. However, I tried to put my personal feelings aside and enjoy a pleasant evening. Surprised by the size and beauty of the new location, I was very hopeful for a delicious meal. I was even surprised by the fact that they now had a children's menu. After being seated on the beautiful outside patio we were quickly greeted by our server with water. I have noticed that most restaurant's no longer offer water anymore. Since this was an especially hot day it was an even more pleasant surprise. Looking through the kid's menu I was slightly mortified at the Applebee's styled food, but thought, it's a kids menu what else will kids eat: Burger, corn dog, grilled cheese, chicken fingers, and of course pasta.

    After perusing the menu I quickly found the appetizer I came looking for, Kefta, and decided on the Paella for an entrée'. My husband, being allergic to shellfish, had a rather difficult time finding something he could eat on the menu and decided to go with soup and an appetizer, fish chowder and fried calamari. My appetizer and My son's grilled cheese arrived first at my request. The Kefta was in a red sauce with hot pepper rings. I had remembered it plain served with the yogurt sauce but that was over 10 years ago. The meatballs were rather mushy and fell apart as a tried to cut into them. The sauce they came in had only one spice that I could taste, chili powder. It wasn't too hot to eat but other than the heat was lacking in flavor. The grilled cheese and fries, however, were fresh cooked and perfectly.

    Next came the main entrée for myself and my husband. The paella was served with Maine shrimp that were cooked separately and placed on top of the dish with out the sauce. The sauce was heavy tomato again overloaded with Cumin amongst the rice. Not a hint of Saffron in the entire dish. The Chorizo was store bought Gaspar's brand that is lacking by nature in flavor and quality, that was overcooked and mushy. The chicken was overcooked to the point that it was tough and stringy, and the shrimp placed on top had a gritty texture as to indicate that they were frozen, and hence not cooked with the rest of the dish. The oddest addition to the plate were edamame beans that were hard and completely out of place.The entire dish left a lot to be desired, and at $26 was a total waste of my money. The only redeeming quality were the 2 scallops that were fresh and cooked perfectly ,in the dish, and the mussels that were on top.

    My husband started with the fish chowder. He ate about 3 bites and set it aside. When I asked what was wrong he turned up his nose and said it's all cream, very heavy, and the only flavor I can taste is salt. I shrugged based on the quality of my meal and he moved onto his calamari and so did I. It looked perfectly cooked and the pepper rings were fried as well. The entire portion was covered in the Chipotle aioli as opposed to being served on the side. All three of us dug in as being one of our favorite dishes. Not one of us was impressed. The calamari was frozen not fresh. I tasted no Chipotle in the aioli, and it was like chewing on a piece of rubber.

    The only thing more aggravating that the food was a tourist walking the boardwalk who stopped directly in front of us to talk on his cell phone. Every time he would look over and see we were not paying attention to his very important deal making he would talk even LOUDER.

    After this experience I go back to my original credo to NEVER eat at Amalfi. The food was over priced for the quality, and will haunt me with heartburn all night. You may be able to pull off frozen seafood to the tourists who visit the Maine coast Dave, but not to this native Maine girl who knows her food.

http://www.amalfionthewater.com/