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Popei’s Clam Bar is a casual, family friendly restaurant located on Grand Boulevard in Deer Park. They present an extensive menu of generously portioned dishes and even offer an array of nightly feasts. (Monday – Clam Bake, Tuesday – All You Can Eat Alaskan Snow Crab Legs, Wednesday – All You Can Eat Bonanza, Thursday – All You Can Eat Shrimp, Sunday – All You Can Eat Ribs.)
Upon entering the restaurant you’ll notice the wrap around, open bar area, fully stocked and equipped with big screen TV’s, creating the ideal environment to watch your favorite sporting events in. There is a noticeable nautical theme throughout the restaurant as various furnishings of fish, lighthouses and sailboats cover the walls.
As we perused the menu we noticed their extensive drink menu that features a number of creative drinks including the Shrimp Mary (below left), Mai Tai (below center) and the Appletini (below right).
Our
server, Ryan, was attentive and friendly and immediately presented our table
with a homemade breadbasket filled with fresh garlic bread that smelt and tasted
delicious. We were then treated to an array of specials crafted by Chef Ron Silver. Chef
Ron Silver has been “wow-ing” his customers at Popei’s for about five years
now and says working here is both “interesting and challenging”. He has been in
the business for roughly 21 years and prior to working here he’s leant his
culinary expertise to the Sheraton Manhattan, The Hamlet in Hauppauge and The Hamlet
in Mt. Sinai. We began with two specialty appetizers – Sautéed Crab Cakes and Baked Clams with lobster and shrimp meat. The crab cakes were served in a roasted garlic brandy aioli sauce, which was delicious, unique and offered a minute kick (below left).
The
Baked Clams were generously overstuffed with lobster and shrimp meat and topped with
an enjoyable lobster sauce (above right). Hints of diced red peppers can also be
found within the clams and all the components combined presented a hot, fresh, tasty
combination of flavors. Next from the kitchen was the Marinated Seafood Salad which was nicely presented offering a plethora of seafood (below). This well executed seafood salad features an abundance of mussels, scungilli, calamari and shrimp marinated in Popei’s vinaigrette and served over greens. It's an ideal treat to share amongst others at the table and all the seafood found in this dish was properly cooked, extremely tender and very fresh.
A frequent customer approached our table during the review and confidently suggested we sample the Seafood Bisque (below left). He raved about it and ensured we would not be disappointed – and sure enough we weren’t. It was smooth and flavorful and we seemed to enjoy it just as much as he did!
We
continued with an outstanding, unique pasta special, which consisted of sautéed
shrimp, baby clams, lobster meat, sun dried apricots, red peppers and baby spinach
in an apricot brandy cream sauce over angel hair pasta (above right). There was a
lot going on in this dish and if you’re looking for something very tasty and out
of the ordinary, we can confidently recommend you order this fantastic entrée. The
apricot sauce was pleasantly unique and offered a satisfying, sweet taste. The Blackened Salmon is topped with an exotic fruit salsa and served with risotto and sautéed green beans (below left). The exterior was crispy and the interior was soft and deliciously tender. The exotic fruit salsa was an excellent compliment to the salmon and the green beans were noticeably fresh and nicely seasoned.
Our
final entrée was the Pan Seared Filet Mignon, which was coated with a delectable
mushroom sherry infused demi glaze (above right). The meat was very tender and full
of flavor from the glaze and was accompanied by chunky, creamy mashed potatoes and
freshly steamed asparagus. We ended our dining experience on a sweet note with two scrumptious desserts – A Vanilla/Chocolate Cheesecake and some Amaretto Ice Cream. The Junior’s brand cheesecake was creamy and delicious (below left) and the ice cream offered a subtle hint of amaretto flavor (below right). Every spoonful presented a taste of chocolate chips and nuts.
At
Popei’s Clam Bar you’ll find quality food and quality service at an unbeatable
price. Whether you’re looking for a comfortable bar area to enjoy your favorite
sporting event or you’re in search for an affordable night out with the family –
Popei’s has it all!
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