The Chart House restaurant in Daytona Beach has long been a favorite place for News-Journal business writer Valerie Whitney and her spouse, Hill, to celebrate special occasions. A promotion celebrating the 50th anniversary of the chain, offering a four-course meal for two people for only $50, enticed them to make reservations recently. The deal is available Sunday through Thursday for a limited time yet to be determined.
Q: Is the restaurant the same as you remember or have there been major changes since the chain was acquired by Landry's Inc. several years ago?
The layout looked the same, but it had been a couple of years since our last visit. The restaurant overlooks the Halifax River so the view is spectacular. There is seating both upstairs and downstairs. One noticeable difference is the attire of the staff. They don't wear tropical shirts anymore. Everybody was dressed in black shirts and pants. The famous Chart House salad bar ($15.99 alone or $8.25 with an entree) is still there, but since we purchased the special meal, we didn't get a chance to sample it.
Q: What was the service like?
Our server, Ginny, was prompt and attentive. She really seemed to like her job. "There is nothing better than being able to come to work and see dolphins play in the water," she said. Too bad for us. Our reservations were for 6:30 p.m., so we arrived too late to see dolphins. We waited less than five minutes to be seated.
Q: The Chart House is known for seafood and steaks. What is on the limited menu for the promotion?
There are four entrees: Chicken Marsala, Parmesan-crusted Snapper, Grilled Citrus Salmon and Tender Medallions of Beef. Besides two entrees, each of which comes with a rice or potato side, the deal includes a shared appetizer selected from a choice of Coconut Shrimp, Shrimp and Crab Dip or a Hummus Trio. Each diner also has the choice of a Caesar salad or New England clam chowder. The deal also includes a shared dessert, either Mud Pie or Creme Brulee.
Ordering from the promotional menu rather than the regular menu can make a significant difference in the tab. For instance, Bronze Grouper, one of the Chart House signature dishes, pan-seared and topped with jumbo lump crab costs $36.99.
Q: So, what did you order? How big were the portions? Did you have any leftovers?
We shared the shrimp appetizer, which arrived within 10 minutes, on a plate surrounded by Asian coleslaw.
My (Valerie's) soup arrived warm and in its own little kettle. Cute. It was really tasty.
Because he did not want the soup or the salad on the special menu, my husband was allowed to substitute the house chopped salad from the regular menu.
For his entree, Hill chose the snapper. The portion was adequate and quite tasty, he said.
I love salmon but decided to order the chicken. The portion size was adequate but the taste was different than I expected. I will stick with the salmon in the future.
For dessert, he ordered the Mud Pie, a decadent creation of coffee ice cream, drenched in chocolate and covered with sliced almonds. I ordered a Raspberry Sobetini from the regular dessert menu. It was refreshing.
Q: How much did you spend?
Besides the $50 for the prix fixe meals, our bill included an additional $4.99 for my dessert. Since we were counting our pennies, we passed on the extensive wine selections and each ordered lemonade to drink. The cost for two was $5.70 but that included refills. The cost for dinner including tax, but not tip, was $64.64.
