So I drove over to Scott’s last Thursday after hearing all this buzz about their seafood. Figured I should see for myself why people kept raving about it. Parked right across the street near that sketchy-looking alley, but whatever.
First impressions when walking in
The smell hit me immediately – not that gross fishy smell you get at most places, but like actual ocean air mixed with garlic butter. Hostess sat me at this wobbly table near the kitchen, which turned out to be perfect for spying on the cooks.
Grabbed the menu and immediately noticed something weird: no prices listed for the daily catches. When I asked the waiter, he just shrugged and said “Depends what came off the boat this morning.” Alright then.
The ordering experiment
Decided to test three things everybody talks about:
- Their famous clam chowder
- Raw oysters (gross but necessary)
- Whatever fish they caught fresh that day
The waiter brought water in these mismatched jelly jars – looked like my grandma’s cupboard after a yard sale.
Here’s where things got interesting
When the food came out:
- The chowder had whole freaking clams staring at me – shells still on. Never seen that before.
- Oysters were sitting on this funky glowing ice that smelled like the beach at low tide. Waiter called it “living seawater ice” or something pretentious.
- My mystery fish turned out to be this ugly gray thing with skin still on. Looked like roadkill.
Took my first bite expecting disaster…
Mind-blowing texture stuff happened
That fish? Melted like cotton candy but had this insane crispy skin. The oysters didn’t taste like snot rockets for once – actually had sweet notes. And digging clams outta the shells made the chowder feel like a treasure hunt.
Flagged down my waiter who looked exhausted. He explained two things that clicked:
- They literally never freeze anything – fish goes from boat→kitchen→plate in under 12 hours
- All their seafood sits in saltwater tanks until cooking time
Basically treating seafood like those expensive koi fish rich people collect.
The kitchen spy mission
Peeked through the kitchen door while pretending to go to the bathroom. Saw three guys doing nothing but scraping scales off fish. One dude stood there hand-massaging a salmon like it owed him money. Weirdest food prep I’ve ever seen.
Why I’m convinced now
Took home leftovers (ugly fish included) and ate it cold next morning. Still tasted better than most restaurants’ fresh-cooked seafood. Realized Scott’s isn’t cooking food – they’re keeping ocean creatures alive until the last possible second. Definitely explains the crazy prices and mismatched jars.
Would I go back? Yeah, but only when I get paid. That place makes you understand why pirates fought over seafood back in the day.
