One’s back! And one’s coming! Call it a twofer at Firehouse Plaza in downtown Prescott.
Welcome back, Prescott Seafood & Lobster Company. Same name, same place, new owner. “I fell in love with it!” said Julie Rodriguez when she saw the vacant eatery. “It brought me back to Swampscott on the north shore of Massachusetts. I saw the coast. It reminded me of my childhood.”
Rodriquez exchanged a 20-year teaching career for crab cakes, chowder and creamy mac-n-cheese loaded with lobster.
In creating the menu, she took note of dishes particularly favored by patrons in online reviews of the eatery’s first incarnation, adopted some, made them her own and added personal touches like ceviche and peel-and-eat shrimp. Soups, including a featured daily soup, sides, sausages and other non-seafood options like gelato, beer, wine and sodas including “Moxie” from New England are among offerings.
She arrives at 8 a.m. to create fresh from family recipes, including mom’s clam chowder, which, she clarifies, is the New England version, not Manhattan. “Manhattan is tomato-based but it’s nothing compared to the white, creamy, buttery New England clam chowder.”
Her lobster mac-n-cheese is an “amazing” concoction of lobster bisque, chunks of Maine lobster topped with toasty panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Forget calories. “We do everything to perfection, there’s no holding back!”
Authenticity demanded traditional lobster rolls. She explained, “It’s a New England hot-dog bun that’s sliced, buttered and toasted. We put on about four ounces of knuckle and claw meat. We don’t use tails because sometimes they get a little bit too chewy.” Then it’s customer preference: Maine-style with a touch of mayo, Connecticut with warm butter and onions, or Nova Scotia, a mix of lemon juice, celery, onion and hot sauce.
Open since February, the past few months have been “a roller coaster.” Cooking, she’s got down pat, she says. Logistics like determining best business hours, ordering and inventory have been part of her learning process, especially since everything is sourced from the East Coast. Her initial attempts to source locally sunk. “When I tried to get oyster crackers, nobody knew what they are! So we had to get them from a town next to my town.”
Saltines would neither substitute nor please customers, a surprising number of whom hail from New England. “I think they’d be very upset with me and I’d be shunned from the community if I did anything but what needs to be done!” she laughed. She’s thrilled at patrons’ thumbs-up for capturing flavors of home and “having New England seafood in the middle of the desert!”
Just across the plaza, in the former Firehouse Kitchen, he’s on his way: The Hungry Monk.
“We’re building a restaurant of two different vibes. It can be classified as American/gastro pub,” said Jim Jolli, proprietor and head beer man at The Hungry Monk in Prescott. “Upstairs will be an eatery and taproom; downstairs, a coffee and wine bar.”
Like its successful big sister in Chandler, the Monk will feature an eclectic array of craft entrees, daily specials, burgers, sandwiches, salads and sweets. Not to mention small bites and shareables, including sampler meat, cheese, hummus and cracker boards, fried mushrooms, steak bites and buffaloed cauliflower.
Huh?
“We take fresh cauliflower, roll it in buttermilk and seasoned flour, flash-fry and toss in our wings sauce. We lay it on a bed of blue cheese dressing. I’ll put our blue cheese up against anybody’s in the country – literally. It’s a killer!”
The Monk’s claim to fame: wings and bacon. Among signature items are award-winning bacon tacos – corn tortillas filled with applewood smoked bacon, bacon beer aioli, housemade pico and bacon slaw – and Surf-n-Turf with large garlic shrimp and thick bacon slices … in a pint glass!
Which brings Tolli to brews. He’s passionate about craft beers. He anticipates 31 taps. One is for a craft root beer. The remaining 30 will pour a few domestics, about a dozen regulars and the rest rotating. Union Jack, Kermit the Hop, Red Reuben are but drops in the bucket of beers planned.
The cafe will be a laid-back vibe, with coffees, healthy breakfasts (“We do breakfast burritos insanely well”), wines; the upstairs eatery a lively, sports-themed scene with tabletops of redwood crafted by a local artisan.
Tolli happily left behind “too many” long years in Corporate America for the restaurant business. Then “my wife and I bought a house in Prescott. Absolutely fell head over heels in love with the city. Had no intention of opening up a restaurant here. None.”
Long story short, things fell into his lap. The Monk is a work in progress; they hope to open in June.
“We have five reasons for people to come in,” Tolli said proudly. “The food. Beer. Sports. The value and varied menu. Lastly, the staff. Warm and friendly. I don’t care how drop-dead gorgeous you are. Warm and friendly. If you’re not, you can’t work for me, period. That’s probably the biggest reason for our success in Chandler. Customers are absolutely going to love our staff.”
Just as Tolli loves it. “When I left my last gig, my wife asked what do I want to do. I told her I want to play with beer the rest of my life. She said, you need to figure that out then. So, here I am.”
So much for retirement plans in Prescott. QCBN
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Written by Gussie Green
Prescott Seafood and Lobster Co., 220 W. Goodwin St., Prescott; 11a.m. – 7p.m. daily; 928-445–0783; http://prescottlobster.com
The Hungry Monk, 218 W. Goodwin St., 928-237-4759.
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