Post #322331 by WooHooWahine on Tue, Jul 31, 2007 1:46 PM

Published Wednesday, July 25, 2007 10:22 PM PDT
Entertainment
RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Sam's Seafood is back
By John Reger

Sam's Seafood is a landmark in Sunset Beach.

The restaurant dates back to the 1920s. In the 1960s it adopted a Polynesian theme, and its Friday night show brought in tour buses full of patrons to watch dancers in grass skirts. The quality of Sam's seafood, however, was marginal, and in 2006 the restaurant was closed.

Residents were a little nervous because of a rumor that developers were planning on building condominiums and a shopping center on Sam's spot. But in May we found out Sam's would be reopening.

Everyone wanted to know: Would the restaurant return to its old ways or go in a different direction?

Fortunately, Sam's has improved while keeping its Polynesian roots.

Most of the decorations from the old Sam's are gone, but one fixture has remained: The waterfall in the main dining room had water cascading down it when I walked in with two friends on a recent Friday.

Sam's had been open again for only a week at the time, and there were still some issues to iron out among the ambitious plans, but I knew that.

While the bar and the dining room were open, construction on a banquet hall and nightclub are progressing.

The biggest issue was the lack of light.

It was difficult to read the menu, but the waiter was very accommodating, bringing over an extra candle.

The menu has gone contemporary, and the chef has whipped up some incredible and delicious items.

The first was the brie and mango quesadilla, which was fantastic. It claims to have mint-cilantro sour cream, which we didn't see, but it didn't matter.

It more than stood up on its own.

Other appetizers I would recommend are the tiger shrimp ceviche, which comes with avocado, cherry tomato salsa and citrus juice, and the crispy calamari with cilantro, sweet lemon sauce, crushed macadamia nuts and garlic.

The entrees are just as creative. I had a half-chicken with roasted citrus and orange macadamia nut glaze. The chicken was moist and flavorful, but it was the accompanying stuffing that I was floored by. The chef uses Hawaiian sweet bread for the stuffing, which was very good and added to the flavor of the chicken.

One of my friends had a stir fry of salmon and udon noodles mixed with cilantro, baby spinach, carrots and tomato.

The wider noodles hold more of the sauce and went well with the generous pieces of salmon.

My other friend ordered the Alaskan halibut flavored with ginger broth and vegetables. The mashed potatoes that came with it were a bit dull, but otherwise it was a good dish.

The entrées are served a la carte and are proportioned enough to stand on their own, but we were fascinated by one of the side dishes. Spam is used not only a side dish but an appetizer of chunks of the meat with penne pasta and cheese. Spam is a staple in Hawaii and other parts of Asia-Pacific.

It is actually quite good, though an acquired taste.

Spam is also used in an appetizer, melded with sticky rice and a miso-saki dip. In Hawaii, they call a similar version of this Spam musubi, and it's available at lunch counters and convenience stores all over the islands.

With a much-improved menu and the Polynesian theme intact, Sam's will hopefully be around for long time. It could turn into one of the best restaurants in the area.

JOHN REGER is the Independent's restaurant critic.