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Showing posts with label sea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sea. Show all posts

Saturday, February 14, 2015

The Weekend Gourmet Dines Out for April Featuring Sea Island Shrimp House

This months The Weekend Gourmet Dines Out featured restaurant is a San Antonio favorite for the past five decades: Sea Island Shrimp House. For seafood lovers in the city, this is THE place to go for fresh Texas seafood. The food is consistently excellent, the prices are reasonable, and the atmosphere is laidback and casual. For those reasons and more, loyal fans have been flocking to the restaurants six local locations since 1965! We love to take visiting friends and family here for relaxing seafood dinners, and everyone whos tried it loves it as much as we do. As a testament to Sea Islands popularity locally, they were selected 2013 Best of San Antonio Winner for Best Seafood Restaurant, as well as being selected San Antonio Express-News Readers Choice for both Seafood & Longtime Favorite Restaurant last year.
Our neighborhood Sea Island location recently had Michael and I out for a Lenten Friday dinner feast so we could try some of their signature menu items and share them with you. We were warmly welcomed the moment we walked in the door -- despite the restaurant being packed with hungry customers. We were quickly shown to our table and given menus to look over. First up on our tasting was one of Sea Islands signature appetizers, the refreshing and light Mexican-Style Shrimp Cocktail. 
Served with crispy tortilla chips, this chunky appetizer features huge chunks of sweet boiled shrimp, chunks of creamy avocado, onion, tomato, cocktail sauce, and cilantro. It is the perfect start to a meal...perfect for sharing. We were just getting started, though. Up next came a duo of fried entree classics: Crispy Catch platter and Fried Colossal Shrimp (my personal favorite). The food was fried up crispy and light...not the least bit greasy.
The Crispy Catch features two panko-crusted whitefish fillets, two stuffed shrimp, and two sides. The Fried Colossal Shrimp includes a half dozen sweet, jumbo-sized shrimp lightly breaded and fried up golden-brown. For shrimp lovers, this is the ultimate: huge butterflied shrimp fried when you order for maximum freshness. We werent done yet...there were still two more entrees coming out of the kitchen: Sea Islands signature Lemon Pepper Fish & Grilled Shimp...and the lighter-option Broiled Catfish Platter. 

The Lemon-Pepper Fish & Grilled Shrimp features Sea Islands house-blend lemon pepper seasoning. The fish and shrimp are breaded, then grilled instead of fried. This unique preparation results in lightly crispy, slightly smoky seafood. We agreed that we wish we had tried this sooner, because its bursting with tons of flavor! For those who prefer broiled seafood over fried, the catfish is seasoned with the same lemon pepper seasoning...proving you dont have to sacrifice flavor if youre trying to cut back on calories a bit. We were getting pretty full, but the manager came to our table with two of their house-made desserts to try.
We shared the decadent and fudgy Chocolate Decadence Cake and the sweet-tart Homemade Key Lime Pie. Both were perfectly made...and a perfect sweet ending to our meal. The cake was very rich, making it perfect for sharing. We especially love Key lime pie, and this version was pretty much perfect: graham crust, sweet-tart creamy filling, and a bit of whipped cream. We walked out full and satisfied, happy to have discovered some new menu items that we hadnt tried before. We snapped a couple of pictures of the restaurants colorful interior and exterior as we headed to the car.
If youre a seafood lover, I hope youll give Sea Island a try soon! Whether youre a local...or visiting San Antonio for a weekend getaway...its the perfect place to enjoy fresh seafood in a casual environment. It doesnt get much better than that! There are six Sea Island Shrimp House locations in and around San Antonio, which makes it convenient no matter which area of the city youre in.

Disclosure: Sea Island hosted our visit to facilitate this feature. All opinions expressed are my own, and all photographs are copyrighted by Michael K. Garcia. They may not be copied or otherwise used without prior permission.

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Sunday, February 8, 2015

The Weekend Gourmet Hits the Road Sea World Aquatica San Antonio AND a Ticket Giveaway!

One of the best things about living in a tourist-friendly city like San Antonio is that it provides local residents with tons of great options for fun day trips and short staycations! Michael and I live less than 10 minutes from the Sea World/Aquatica San Antonio, which means we can get our Shamu and water park fix whenever the mood strikes. Sea World/Aquatica recently invited us to come out and spend a fun day at the park -- including enjoying a fantastic buffet lunch as part of their Dine With Shamu upgrade package. It was a blazing-hot Texas day in mid-July when we visited, but we had a great time with our friends Bekah and Matt…and their young daughter Abby. 

We arrived and quickly parked our cars in the huge parking lot and walked into the park entrance. Hint: make sure to apply a goodsunblock liberally…the Texas Sun can be brutal! I am very fair-skinned and burn easily, so I used an SPF 79 sunblock and only burned on my scalp…which I somehow forgot to spray with sunblock. On that note, a cap or hat is a good idea too: it’s perfect for providing a bit of shade and protection from the Sun. We also knew it was important to stay hydrated, so our first stop was the gift shop to buy a big bottle of water to share. Face it, heat stroke can put a real damper on your fun! After this prep work, our first order of business was to see Azul, a show features a variety of diving and acrobatic performers and lots of talented animals too: dolphins, beluga whales, and colorful parrots to name a few. The show is fun and entertaining for kids...of all ages!
By the time the Azul was over, it was time for our lunch date with Shamu! We made our way to the Shamu Theater and were escorted to an area in the back thats not normally open to the general public. We were greeted by several friendly and helpful members of the Sea World staff, then shown to our poolside table. After drinking some ice water to cool off a bit, we quickly made our way over to the buffet line. The array of food was quite impressive: a fish taco bar, a wide variety of kid-friendly items like hot dogs and chicken fingers, lots of fresh fruit and a large display of colorful mini desserts. The meal is served outdoors, but the area is well shaded...and they provide lots of ice-cold drinks to help you stay cool and hydrated. 
While we enjoyed our tasty food and iced tea, Shamu’s trainers were on hand to answer our questions about Shamu’s training schedule, what and how much he eats each day, etc. The trainers were very friendly and informative, then it was time to meet Shamu up close and personal. He performed a few tricks and then stopped by our table to say hello and pose for some pictures. It was such a fun treat to have the opportunity to see Shamu so close and watch him interact with his trainer.
Before we knew it, our Dine With Shamu experience was over…and we were ready to cool off some more. Penguins to the rescue! The Penguin Plaza at Sea World San Antonio is housed inside a large air-conditioned building, so we were able to cool off and enjoy the playful antics of the penguins. Talk about a win-win scenario…I ADORE penguins! We noticed the lights were out inside the climate-controlled penguin habitat, so we asked a staff member why. They told us that Sea World recreates the penguin’s natural habitat to the smallest detail, including sunrise/sunset patterns. It’s dark midday where the penguins are from, so it was dark inside in midday San Antonio too. We had to get up close to the glass to see them clearly, but they were frisky and playful! 
After about an hour of watching the penguins play and swim, we headed over to the Aquatica side of the park for the remainder of our visit. This nature-themed water park has a huge wave pool, several water slides…and a large Sesame Street-themed water play area just for the little ones to enjoy. It’s perfect for cooling off, and there’s even a stingray cove! 
We had a blast playing in the wave pool, riding the thrilling water slides and generally acting like big kids. Before we knew it, it was 600 and time to head home. We were tired after a busy day, but in that “we had a great time” kind of way! Sea World/Aquatica San Antonio is a fantastic day trip for families -- whether you live here in San Antonio or are planning a visit. There’s something for kids of all ages, so you’re guaranteed to have fun. We sure did!

To share the fun, Sea World/Aquatica San Antonio is going to give one of my readers a complimentary pair of tickets to Sea World/Aquatica! The tickets are good at the San Antonio location only, and they can be used until January 5, 2014. If you live nearby OR are planning a San Antonio getaway in the next few months, be sure to enter. To do so, leave me a comment letting me know what you would enjoy most about a visit to Sea World/Aquatica. Make sure to leave your e-mail address so I can find you if you’re the winner. I’ll accept entries until this Saturday 8/17 at 1159 pm CST. I will notify the winner via e-mail on Sunday. Good luck!

Disclosure: Sea World San Antonio provided The Weekend Gourmet with a four pack of one-day park admissions to facilitate this article. All opinions expressed are mine. Some pictures were provided by Sea World.

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