Friday, February 22, 2008

Mancy’s Bluewater Grille

461 West Dussel Drive, Maumee, Ohio

** - Two Stars (out of 5)

Almost. Mancy’s almost has it — but with fish, almost is not good enough.

On the surface, everything is just right at Mancy’s. The dining room is dark and tasteful, if a tad dull, the tables are filled with well-dressed, convivial patrons, and the mun promises the freshest of everything — freshly baked bread and, most important, fresh fish flown in within 24 hours. The menu conveys confidence in the excellence of Mancy’s ingredients. The staff oozes enthusiasm for service and for the food.

But dig a bit deeper, and instead of “fresh”, I’d say “fresh enough”. The seafood may be less than 24 hours old, but not by a lot. The raw oyster sampler — four different kinds — is acceptable, but there’s not a single smooth, mild oyster in the bunch; each has an undertone of the sea that’s just a bit too strong. The fried calamari is more soggy than crispy, and the Chinese-inspired sauce is sickly salty-sweet, rather than fresh and interesting. In fact, cloying, too salty flavoring is a constant issue — the Caesar salad is drowned in dressing that, while not bottled, is salty and overpowering; the grilled Chilean Sea Bass is a nice piece of fish, but the seasoned side of it conveys an “off” feeling, and the tuna, while mostly pleasant, also has a slight hint of just becoming too fishy — not way too old, but a few hours too old.

The seafood is entirely edible at Mancy’s, but don’t expect fresh seafood of the kind you’d find in New York or Los Angeles, or even inland in Chicago. You won’t be embarrassed if you take someone there — so long as you don’t promise too much. I’d give it three stars, but for $110 for two (including one alcoholic beverage, appetizers, and tip), you deserve more.

Official Site

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere:

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Josh Woodward
Yelp
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