Anchor & Hope

My fabulous CBA team at Goodby took me to a boozy lunch the day before I took time off for the wedding.  In addition to sparkling rose all around, fried calamari with a fantastically sweet thai chili sauce and caprese salad with thick balsamic, we savored A&H's signature Angels on Horseback: oysters wrapped in smoked bacon.  What's not to love about a combination of two of my favorite flavors and textures?  I opted for the lobster roll for lunch, such a treat whenever it's on the menu but especially at such an east coast seafoodery. 

Two months later and a new last name, we went back but for dinner this time.  In the cold and the dark, the space is much less designer dockside and much more coastal cabin chic.  I couldn't help myself ordering more sparkling wine, it just seems right when I know I'll be ordering fish!  To kick things off, we chose the grilled baby octopus (reminding us all of Greece) and shrimp with crispy eggplant.  The octopus were tiny, just like calamari but with a smoky, spiciness working well with pesto, but the best part was lemony white beans to cut the powerful flavors.  John and I ordered the same thing for the hundredth time, obviously fish and chips.  This particular dish is tough to judge because it's always either just right (aka just what I expected) or really really wrong (soggy, bone-y, mushy).  Extra crispy Smithwicks batter, firm cod—not too greasy—it was just right at A&H.  Even the tartar sauce was lemony goodness.