Blu Seafood and Bar

Whew, I haven't updated so long that it's almost embarrassing. I suppose I should take this long weekend (currently on fall break for school) to catch up on some reviewing...

So, where to begin... Let's start with Blu Seafood and Bar, which I visited to celebrate a seafood lover's birthday.

First off, this place is super crowded. Thankfully, we made reservations - but our table in the corner was right below a couple of speakers, which was pretty annoying because the music was quite loud, and the waiter also never seemed to stop by our table throughout the night.

The waiter started us off with some sourdough bread, which was pretty soft but a bit cold already. However, my very hungry friends were displeased with the few pieces of bread, and since the waiter didn't stop by often, they couldn't keep asking for more...

Anyway, on to the appetizers. We ordered an array of different items:

Steamed mussels with chile and lime

Yellowfin tuna tatare with avocado and miso

I was kind of surprised at how much tuna they gave us, but the tuna also wasn't quite as fresh as what you'd find at a good sushi bar.

Crabcakes with mango salsa, cilantro oil

The mango salsa was great - wish they had given me more of it! The crab cakes themselves are just so-so, though. There's also quite a bit of cilantro oil...

Parmesan fried oysters with basil dip

And of course, the mandatory oysters on the half-shell

I didn't actually try this myself, but my friends told me that they were delicious. I think they'd be one of the best deals for appetizers.

As for entrees:

Pound of steamed crab legs

The crab legs were pretty good. They were fresh, and also steamed well - not too overdone.

Cornmeal encrusted NC trout with corn succotash, chipotle butter

The trout was very heavy. I think the first few bites were great, but after that the taste just kind of overwhelms you...

Lemongrass marinated diver scallops with shrimp, coconut peanut Sauce, fried udon noodles

Whole fish of the day: blackened sea bass, served with mashed potatoes and green beans

Overall, the food was all right - just slow. The service, though, was pretty terrible - it was incredibly slow, and the waiter was quite inattentive to our table. I'm sure they were busy that night, and we did have a corner table, but that's not really an excuse for not stopping by our table, not refilling our waters, not getting us more bread, etc. Unfortunately, I think the service really ruined the Blu experience for us.

Restaurant: Blu Seafood and Bar
Price Range: $30-50 (appetizers + entree)