MJs Raw Bar & Grille: New Bern, North Carolina

MJs Raw Bar & Grille was another restaurant that was in downtown, historic New Bern that we ate at.

For all practical purposes, MJs is about the same type/kind of restaurant that Captain Ratty’s is. But the caveat is that I only dined at each restaurant once, so a thoroughly detail comparison is not possible.

Of course dinner starts with a beer.

This time I ordered a Duck Rabbit Brown Ale. The brown ale was good, but I prefer the milk stout.

I don’t normally order soup with my dinner but they had Lobster bisque as the soup du jour and I wanted to give it a try. I’m glad I did have it, it was very good.

I ordered the Po Boy. The fried oysters were very good but they weren’t quite as good as the oysters at Captain Ratty’s. The portion of cole slaw was a bit small but the taste was adequate.

WOW !!

My daughter threw me a curve ball and ordered mini cheese burgers !!

The wife got the lobster wrap and I had a bite of it and it was pretty darn good.

Captain Ratty’s: New Bern, North Carolina

Aug23

On our recent family vacation to New Bern, North Carolina (http://wp.me/p1QpKD-O8), we only went out to eat three times. It was not for lack of places to eat, but after most of the daily driving and beach activities, we were usually just to tired to get cleaned up properly to go out to eat. A couple of days we just had snacks in our room or a couple of days we got a pretty good frozen pizza from the Food Lion that was nearby.

“Captain Ratty’s” was one of the places we dined at.

http://captainrattys.com/

Of course the meal had to start with a good beer. (More on this beer later.)

Free Cornbread muffins. There were several more on the plate but before I could get a picture, they were gone. Good muffins.

The word “Free” in the English language is almost as good as the word “Bacon” in that almost anything you add it to makes it exponentially better. (ALMOST)

A non-free appetizer.

A calamari plate with some pulpo.

Mmmmmm, extra tentacles.

The main entree !

I ordered “The Bounty.”

“A selection of fried oysters, shrimp, and scallops (no substitutions)”

This was fantastic ! Very fresh seafood and I hit the jackpot because everything on the plate was fried, but nothing tasted greasy. You can always tell when they use fresh, clean oil.

The wife originally was going to order a Ruben sandwich. Seriously?? We could fall off our chairs and land in the Atlantic Ocean and you want to order corned beef?? She wisely ordered the “Seared Scallop Salad.”

“Fresh scallops, orange, avocado, & sliced almonds”

I was considering ordering this before I decided on “The Bounty.”

It was a wise selection my wife said. Great scallops.

Shocking !!

My daughter ordered chicken tenders. She did say that they were almost the best that she’s had.

Back to the beer.

I ordered a Duck Rabbit “Milk Stout.” It was great.

Duck Rabbit is a local Micro Brew in North Carolina.

http://www.duckrabbitbrewery.com/

The above picture is a beer store/pub (The Thirsty Bruin) in New Bern where I bought some Duck Rabbit.

“The Duck Rabbit.”

How long do you have to look at the logo to get it??

Christmas Dinner

Dec26

We had the In-Laws over for Christmas dinner. We usually go to their house on Christmas Day and then to my family’s house for New Years Eve to do Christmas there. This works out best considering how difficult it is to try to coordinate multiple families and assorted family members all over the place.

The menu:

Hors D’oeuvres

( In college, a girl I knew pronounced them “Horse Doovers” and I still say that !)

Shrimp Dip

Feta Puffs

Sausage Treats

Various sliced cheeses

Crackers

Colossal Smoked Oysters

Salted/Toffee Peanuts

Dinner:

Standing Rib Roast

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Caramelized Butternut Squash

Green Beans with Almonds and Goat Cheese

Dinner Rolls

THE MEAT !!!!!

Yes, the Notorious Cheap Bastard spent over $34.00 for a piece of meat !!!!

But, I had a $5.00 discount and a $10.00 coupon so that made the price a much more reasonable $19.00

Here she is in her completely naked and raw splendor !!!

I poked a few garlic cloves in, covered her in oil, fresh ground pepper and kosher salt.

I cooked her outside on the gas grill. Please note the cast iron pan that was used for the cooking. I bought that sometime ago and if you are a serious cook(er), you must have at least one of these !!!

Sliced and plated up for serving. You may notice a distinct lack of PINK anywhere on the meat. I am the only one that would have appreciated cooking and serving this absolutely gorgeous piece of meat in the only manner fitting for it, so I made the ultimate sacrifice for the family and overcooked it. I hope no one thinks less of me for over cooking it !!