the pelican restaurant.

the pelican restaurant
508 Hurffville Crosskeys Road
Sewell, NJ 08080-2703
(856) 589-6969
http://thepelicanrestaurant.com/nj.html

my dad and stepmom zipped on up here saturday and decided to take me out for dinner for christmas, since the gift i requested was a bit weird. i made a few suggestions, but after i mentioned the pelican fish co., the decision was made.

i had only been to this place once even though i only live about 15 minutes away from it. it was probably 2 years ago, and jessica and i had just returned from the maryland sheep and wool festival. someone at work was raving about this place, so we went, and we raved too! the food was excellent. i still remember what i had: chilean sea bass over a light quinoa salad, and key lime pie for dessert. the meal was fantastic.





so i found myself back there yesterday, and the place looked the same on the outside but was apparently under new management, with a slightly new name. the interior decor was just as i remembered it - tree branches adorned with christmas lights arch over the entrance, and the seating is small and intimate, the lights dim. i sat on the bench seat against the wall and my dad and diane took chairs.

the first excellent part of the meal is the bread: a soft, fresh loaf of sesame seed bread with spinach pesto for dipping. the pesto is fantastic! i wish there was a larger dish of it available to just nibble on throughout the night. for appetizers, i had the seafood bisque, dad had the crabcake, and diane had the fried calamari. my bisque was delicious but a little thinner than i like my bisques usually. it was advertised as having claw meat, but i only had one tiny piece of crab in my cup - it was mostly oysters. still delicious. dad said the crabcake was unbelievable, and it was quite tasty. it was sort of loosely assembled jumbo lump meat, with hardly any breadcrumbs. i'm not a calamari fan, so i had to take diane's word for it that the calamari itself was good, but the dipping sauce left a lot to be desired. she said it was almost like thin spaghetti sauce, and needed a bit more zing.

our entrees arrived, and were very enjoyable. i ordered the blackened bluefish over tomato risotto (the special), my dad ordered rack of lamb medium rare, and diane had the broiled seafood combo with salmon. mine was delicious, but the tomato quality of the risotto was almost a little bit too strong. it was nice though. i wish my piece of fish had been larger, because it was perfectly cooked - crispy around the edges, tender and soft in the middle. my dad was delighted by his lamb because said the chops were much larger than the ones he has received at other restaurants, and i must say, the bite i tasted was extremely tender and juicy. diane said her dinner was good, but i didn't have the opportunity to taste it.

for dessert, dad and diane enjoyed a slice of cheesecake, which looked gorgeous on the plate. they reported that it was very fluffy and not as dense as cheesecake so often is. i ordered the flourless cake, which was like 10 dark chocolate truffles shaped into a slice of cake. it was very rich, the perfect chocolate was used to make it, and it really satisfied my dessert desires.

overall, the meal was terrific, and the staff was very attentive. our food came out quickly and our server was sweet and polite. we didn't find that we were ever looking around for anyone to refill a glass or take a plate, because they were there. there were no crying or screeching children anywhere to be found (that in itself can be a meal-ruiner for me), and everything was clean and neat when we were seated. the prices are a little high, but that is to be expected at a restaurant that's making everything from fresh. you get what you pay for, and i've definitely had worse meals at pricier locations.

check this place out. the only drawback i can really see would be if you had a large party, since the entire place isn't that big. but for everyone else it's a nice, intimate little place that would be great for a date or a relaxing night out.