There aren't many restaurants that get to celebrate a 75th birthday. The Cape Cod Room in the Drake hotel is one of the rare few that can.
Luminaries and stars galore have dined here over the years. Initials carved into the top of the mahogany bar include those of Jack Benny, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. After a cocktail (or two) there, one of the staff will escort you to your table, where you will be treated to some of the best seafood dishes this town has to offer. And you will enjoy your food in an atmosphere that is sedate, serene and totally relaxing. I doubt if the twentysomething crowd would dig this restaurant at all. On the other hand, there continues to be generations of diners who have fond memories of their first visit (when Mom and Dad took you out for your first big-time restaurant experience) to the Cape Cod Room.
The food at the Cape Cod Room is as good as it's ever been (the recent remodeling was nothing more than a tidy spruce-up, so the essential character of the restaurant hasn't changed, and that's a good thing), and so it remains snugly anchored in my Top 5 seafood restaurant choices around town. New dishes that have come on board since my last visit a few years back include salmon done with an Asian twist, pasta and seafood in a spicy red sauce, snapper with pancetta and olives, and seviche.
However, it is hard to resist starting off with the classic Bookbinder's soup, which has been on the menu for as long as I've been dining here. And it's as good as ever. Named after the famous Bookbinder restaurant in Philadelphia, the soup was originally made with snapper-turtle meat, but now the Cape Cod room uses red-snapper meat that is shredded. The base is a tomato-vegetable broth with additional flavor coming from bell peppers and carrots and herbs. And it still comes with the requisite cruet of sherry.
Another favorite is the smoked Scottish salmon. Delicate and delicious, silky and sensational, the rosy-pink slices were served in the pleasing company of red onion, capers and cream cheese. Toast "points" were at the ready, for added enjoyment.
A special one night was more than special: bay scallops, tiny nuggets of tender, delicate scallops that you seldom come across in a seafood restaurant around here. These were the real deal, a quick saute in butter but nothing more, that would take away from the exquisitely sweet flavor.
Onward and upward with the classic dishes. There is no seafood restaurant in this town that does Dover Sole like the Cape Cod Room. Broiled or sauteed (I favor sauteed), filleted tableside (with the deftness of a surgeon) and served with meuniere sauce, this was one fine piece of fish (though at the staggering price of $52). Delicate, sweet, a feast for the senses.
Under the heading "Captain Inspired Entrees" you will find dishes like steamed Maine lobster, whitefish, lobster tails (twin Australian), red snapper and steamed Alaskan king crab legs. Stop right there. The crab legs arrived on a square plate, a rubble of pink and white shells with an escort of drawn butter. Cracked in the kitchen for easy eating, the sweet crabmeat was plucked easily from the shell. The waiter soon brought a finger bowl of lemon water and a fresh napkin, so we could clean our fingertips. Very classy.
Desserts are a big deal here, with no fewer than 14 choices (not counting sorbets or ice cream). The carrot cake was not the greatest. No real flavor to speak of. Much better was the "Nantucket Island." A version of floating island, it arrived in a metal bucket. I had to dig deep to get at the sweet glob of meringue that was afloat in a vanilla sauce. A sprinkle of toasted almonds was scattered across the top. Excellent dessert.
Pat Bruno is a free-lance writer, critic and author.
Email brunoeats@aol.com.
