Valentine's Day at Ross's Dockside

Oh Valentine's Day, the holiday where you must buy your lady love long-stem roses, a chocolate heart and a romantic dinner. Normally, we avoid this Hallmark holiday like the plague due to overpriced pre-fixed menus, mediocre service and food that is marginal at best. This year, at 7:45 p.m. we decided to give it a shot. Thinking there is absolutely no way we were going to get a reservation anywhere, surprisingly we were wrong. Our restaurant victim for this overrated holiday, Ross's Dockside, located in a marina off of Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright. We frequent the Dockside often in the summer (they offer a great outside deck, complete with a bar, bands and great margarita pizzas - we will save this for another blog entry). We walked up the wooden plank and into a wonderland of hearts - so cheesy. We were greeted by Ivette, one of the new partners of the Dockside. She sat us immediately at the only table that was available in the restaurant. We received two menus, waters and a bread basket consisting of potato rolls and a flat bread of sorts. The bread basket included butter and a garlic oil for dipping. Freddie, our waiter took our drink order within the first couple of minutes of arriving at our table. Martini's were the drink of choice for the evening, Belvadere Vodka up with a lemon twist and a concoction called Flirtini, a delightful blend of vodka, cranberry, chambord, champagne and a cherry to garnish. If you like, sweet, tart and dangerous, this drink is for you.

We started our meal off with the Dockside's version of Lobster Bisque ($9.00 a bowl) complete with oyster crackers. A large serving of bisque, with a fair share of lobster meat. The thin consistency of the broth took away from what could have been a flavorful start to the evening. The soup itself had sweet flavors of sherry complementing the lobster itself. All in all the soup was a lackluster start to what would be a an evening to remember.

Service was impeccable. Freddie made sure our drinks were never empty for more than a few seconds and that was no easy feat considering the multitude of drinks we had throughout the night. Martini's flowed like the falls of Niagara.

Dinner came shortly after the soup was complete. Perfect timing, which many restaurants so often miss. Crispy duck served with a loganberry citrus relish, accompanied by wild rice and green beans. ($26) and a grilled veal chop with an asparagus risotto ($32). First let's start with the Veal dish. I must admit I am not a fan of risotto typically. I don't get it. Give me potatoes of any variety and I am a happy diner. However, the Dockside's asparagus risotto has made me rethink my distaste for this side. The risotto was a perfect consistency infused with with bite size pieces of asparagus and some sort of cheese melted throughout. It was exquisite. The Veal chop was cooked to perfection at least an inch and half thick if not 2, cooked medium rare and melted like butter as it touched my tongue.

The crispy duck, which was recommended by another patron when we first arrived was to quote my dining companion "The best I've ever had". She loves her duck and this is a huge compliment to the chef. The portion was large enough to feed two of us. Had I known I would have forgone the veal to share this dish with her (glad I didn't simply for the fact that the veal was amazing). The temperature of the duck was perfect, moist and tender with the skin being truly crispy. You can tell that Mike Ross is back in the kitchen and that thought and care have gone into the preparation for each dish.

Dessert was delicious! Belvedere up with a twist and a Flirtini! (That's right we passed on dessert and opted to continue the martini party we had started earlier on). In most cases we would generally finish our drinks, pay the tab and either move to the bar for an after diner drink or head out to another location. On Valentine's day 2009 we stayed at our table at Ross's Docksideto get down and boogie with the DJ that was now entertaining the crowd. It was about 10:30pm an the dining room had converted into a dance floor were many of the patrons had began dancing the night away. Some of the DJ's selections were more comical than musical but for the most part he made the night all that more exciting. The crowd, which varied from mid-20's up to 60's, seemed to enjoy the overall experience this Valentine's day as did we. We will definitely be returning to this local gem hidden away on the shores of NJ.