I work for a publishing company and one of our sister companies is located in the suburbs of Chicago, IL.  About once a year we visit our distant friends to discuss business face-to-face. The last few times we visited, our team took us to Bob Chinn’s Crab House to enjoy some delicious seafood as well as an extraordinary dining experience. The atmosphere is energetic, loud, and sizzling with a huge dining room and vivacious staff. The room smells of fresh steamed crab claws, perfectly buttered fish and mouth-watering steaks. The menu is a simple, legal-sized sheet of paper with 8 point font as tight as it can be on the front and back. (Click Here to view a sample dinner menu).

Our table ordered a variety of appetizers including the Crab Cake Nuggets, Oysters on the Half Shell, Portobello Mushrooms, Calamari and King Crab Fingers.  We passed the dishes around the table, eating family style.  My favorite was the little Crab Cake Nuggets because they had a crispy exterior with a moist mixture inside that melted in your mouth.

During our first visit, I had the 8 oz Strip Steak & Antarctic Bay Scallops for dinner.  The portion was perfect.  The steak had a perfect sear and cooked to perfection at medium-rare.  The scallops were small but flavorful; buttery and delicate.  I had the pleasure of taste-testing a few of the other guests’ meals and fell in love with the Sea Bass Steamed Asian Style, so much so that I ordered it when I returned a year later.  This moist, mild fish is steamed in a soy sauce base with sesame oil and fresh ginger.  It is topped with scallions and cilantro and served with white rice.  The appearance is of a bright white fish with a translucent sweet smelling sauce, vibrant green accents perched on a small puff of steamy white rice.  I am so glad I tried the dish again, it was so worth it.

Some other recommendations from my dining partners were the 10 oz. Prime Rib, the Macadamia Sautéed Sea Bass and the Alaskan Bairdi Snow Crab Legs.  If you have the chance to stop by Bob Chinn’s Crab House, I highly recommend it.  I even brought home two of their signature tiki cups and a t-shirt for my hubby that says “I have the best legs in town”.

Chattanooga, Tennessee
February 2008

3 stars out of 5

During our recent anniversary trip to Tennessee, Adam and I were able to try out some new local cuisine including a lovely lunch at Easy Seafood Company Bistro & Bar in the heart of Chattanooga’s downtown area. This casual dining venue offered daily changing lunch & dinner menus with an assortment of creative seafood dishes in the style of creole cooking with a Tennessee twist. We stopped by to try out the lunch specials after visiting the wonderful Tennessee Aquarium and were very pleased with our visit, especially after reading that Easy Seafood Company is set in the world’s first Coca-Cola bottling plant. The worn floors, unique lighting and beautiful molding work on the ceiling added to the old school atmosphere.

Peter Shears
Canton, Ohio
October 2007
5 stars out of 5

I understand now why the first page of Peter Shears Downtown website reads “Canton’s Only Five Star Restaurant” after the dinner I experienced this evening. We are talking top of the line ingredients, beautiful atmosphere, extremely knowledgeable staff and exquisite cuisine. Considering I am a self-proclaimed foodie, I’m known to be very nitpicky over my food, so it was surprising when I found myself saying, “can I kiss the chef”? Granted, I was little surprised when Chef Michael Meffe visited us at the table for fear he was coming to claim his prize but luckily he didn’t hear me.

Chef Geoff’s
Washington, D.C.
December 2006
4 ½ stars out of 5

My husband, Adam, and I entered Chef Geoff’s Downtown Diner on 13th Street between E & F on a Thursday night around 6:00 pm and we were greeted by two lovely hostesses, joking and smiling.  Adam, being the charmer that he is, imposed a variety of introductory questions and we were quickly seated in the back room of the somewhat empty restaurant.  Our waiter, Jason – timid and stammering for words with his quick breathes and even speedier speech, introduced himself and produced an array of menus and books lined with appetizers, entrees of many varieties, and a large selection of wines as well as a miniature portfolio of martinis, spritzers and cocktails.  I was greatly intrigued by the introduction of the menu with the Lil’ Snacks section.  These are smaller portioned appetizers that suit the lighter appetites as well as the tighter wallets.  Adam and I immediately chose the Fried Green Tomatoes stuffed with Goat Cheese as our starter.