Start with the restaurant's decor, please.
Off the Hook is a big roomy space, clean as a whistle and heavy on the nautical theme. It's usually packed, especially on a Friday night, but a torrential downpour that evening must have kept the crowds away.
The restaurant also has 15 flat-screen TVs -- think upscale sports bar.
What did you start off with?
Tammie got to the restaurant first, and had already ordered the fried calamari ($10), extra crispy, please. The dish included tentacles, which I love, and came with house pickled peppers, onions and a homemade remoulade. Yum. When told that the Crab Cobb Salad ($10) was a meal in itself, we decided to share it. Our kindly and attentive waitress, Sarah, separated the salad before bringing it to our table -- always a nice touch. Each bowl was brimming with romaine and iceberg lettuce, fresh blue crab, chopped bacon, hardboiled egg, tomato, avocado and bleu cheese crumbles, topped with an exquisitely tangy champagne vinaigrette.
Move on to the main course. What did you have?
I ordered the Pan Seared Sea Scallops ($14), while Tammie got the Prince Edward Island Mussels. The scallops were cooked perfectly to my liking, medium (though my wife prefers her seafood well-done), and finely dusted with chili powder and a beurre blanc sauce. The mussels, though a tad smaller than an earlier visit, had that briny, fresh-from-the sea aroma and were covered with bits of bacon, spinach and crumbles of bleu cheese, all soaking in a white wine sauce. A small loaf of French bread helped soak up all that liquid goodness. What was the final tally?
We passed on dessert, but even with drinks and a tip, the total came to a very respectable $69.51.
Off The Hook Raw Bar & Grill
Where: 747 E. 3rd Ave., New Smyrna Beach
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-midnight, Sunday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m., Friday and Saturday
Call: 386-402-9300
