A chain restaurant I can stomach...occasionally

It is not often that I am fond of a chain restaurant. Although I have never worked in one, I have heard stories about what goes on in those kitchens: bagged soups and sauces heated up in steam wells, microwaved entrees and frozen vegetables. Not yummy.

Plus, usually the food tastes, and often looks, like cardboard: a sign that the rumors are true.

Now, I don't know what goes on in the kitchen at Harry's Seafood, Bar, and Grille, but what comes out is actually pretty good. And on a day like today, when I am so hungry I don't even care what I eat anymore, it seemed pretty appetizing.

Granted, there is only really one palette of flavors at the restaurant (creole, spicy, seafood), but if you are in the mood for it, it works.



Today, I had a cup of shrimp bisque and a garden salad with balsamic dressing. My mom, who was nice enough to take me out to lunch (hi mom!), had the crab cakes, which she always has (Love you!).

I learned to make lobster bisque years back at a restaurant I worked at, and I developed a taste for the sharp taste and creamy consistency of the soup.

Harry's did a good job with the shrimp bisque, and it had that sharp, spicy element that I love. The salad was nothing exciting, but still, what you would expect from a garden salad? I would have liked a little bigger of a portion though.



The crab cakes were good, and tasted like the last time I ate them there. Consistency is a huge factor in the success of a restaurant and is probably the key factor in why people gravitate to chain restaurants: familiarity=comfort.

I definitely could not eat at Harry's more than once or twice a year, but it worked today, and for that I am thankful.