Sam's Chowder House - Half Moon Bay

Last weekend, we tried out the newest restaurant in Half Moon Bay, Sam's Chowder House. Although it bills itself as "authentic New England style seafood," it's a pretty Californicated version, if only due to the militia of young, attractive California kids serving the food, placing a plate in front of you with statements like, "Here's your seafood goodness."

I have to say that overall, we were pleased with our experience there. The ocean views are incredible. It's a huge place, and already has the feel of a well established institution, which I'm sure it will be. One of the things I liked best was how kid-friendly it was. There were dozens of little ones running around, and the hostess hands out quality crayons with multiple pages of big, simple designs for coloring. Although there were no changing tables in the men's room (no excuse for that in a modern restaurant!), the women's room was a nice enough place to change a diaper. Come to think of it, I guess Jacob maybe have been lying about the absence of a changing table in the men's room. ;-)

The food was good. We had the New England clam chowder, which tasted not as thick as the real New England versions I've had, but like a fresher, richer California version, with a top quality cream, good potatoes, and lots of clam. I had a fish sandwich and Old Bay seasoned fries. The fries were thin, frozen fries, but they came with aioli, which made me pretty happy. And they claim to use sustainably farmed seafood whenever possible, which is nice to see (and also very Californian of them).

Prices were reasonable if not cheap. The music was horrid - REO Speedwagon and such - but luckily the volume was low enough that we could tune it out. Overall, I say we'll be back. It's a nice alternative to Barbara's Fish Trap if you're paying by credit card (if you've been to Barbara's, you know they only take cash).

Incidentally, Sam's was opened by the same folks who brought us Cetrella, a fancy schmancy Half Moon Bay restaurant that consistently gets rave reviews. I have to admit that the one time we ate there, I wasn't much impressed, but I've been meaning to give it another try.