A couple days before July 4th weekend, I read on Grub Street that “Highpoint Bistro & Bar will celebrate their first anniversary on July 4th with a $29 clam bake this weekend from Saturday to Monday. For the big day on Monday, they’ll expand the specials, including a $30 bottomless steamed clams.” I remembered Yvo and Beer Boor went to Highpoint last Fall for a press dinner to preview the new menu and enjoyed it very much, so based on their recommendation CT & I decided to check it out over the long weekend.
We ended up going for an early lunch on July 4th. The restaurant, located in the heart of Chelsea, only had one or two other tables occupied when we arrived. Understandable considering the whole neighborhood was super quiet. We easily snagged one of the sidewalk tables and was greeted by our super friendly waiter. We were both impressed by the waiter for his great attitude despite working on a holiday.
CT & I decided to split two appetizers and share the clam bake. The day before I was down for the count with food poisoning so I didn’t think ordering the endless bucket of steamers would be a good idea.
After we ordered, we were presented with an amuse of fresh-made donuts with raspberry dipping sauce. Major bonus points for any restaurant that gives donut amuses! As you can see, the donuts were plated in a mini-shopping cart with the name of the restaurant on it. I remember they used the same cart when Yvo and Beer Boor were there for dinner. Pretty kitschy! The donuts were just a little better than a standard munchkin since they were still warm. The raspberry sauce was nice because it wasn’t too sweet, probably just puréed fruit with very little additives.
CT says: They won my heart immediately with these little pillows of awesome. Donuts to start… for free?! Amazing! The raspberry sauce, though not necessary, was a nice touch.
They were having an all day beer special of $3 for either Palm, Blue Moon, or Pilsner Urquell. Nothing is better than a cold wheat beer on a hot Summer day, so we both got a Blue Moon. Yes, Blue Moon is one of the worst wheats on the market, but it was just fine for our needs and the price can’t be beat for a large glass.
Our first appetizer was the Tuna Tartar Tacos ($12) with tobiko, avocado mousse, seaweed salad, ahi mayo. Although the tuna got oxidized from the citrus and turn greyish, the flavor was still fresh and tasty. We both appreciated the crunch from the mini hard shell tacos. It came with quite a large mound of seaweed salad that would have been at least $5 ordered a la carte from a Japanese restaurant. The tobiko aka flying fish roe brought just the right about of salt to the dish. The lime garnish was a nice touch to wake up the flavor of the tuna even more. I was quite happy with this starter.
CT says: Agreed – very light and refreshing for a warm, sunny day. The combination of flavors worked well together, and as I’m a fan of seaweed salad, I appreciated the large side portion that came with it.
We also got the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Spring Rolls ($8). Lots of restaurants these days have embraced the spring roll as a vessel for a variety of non-traditional fillings. Why have they done this? Because almost every customer will read it on the menu and more than likely order it. How could you not?
Once again the mini shopping cart was used. They really like those carts! I thought it was cute to use for the amuse, but more than that is a little overkill. There were six spring rolls in the basket each filled to the brim with the bacon, egg and cheese mixture. Quite reasonably priced at $8 for such a large portion. The egg was light and fluffy with just some bits of bacon strewn throughout. The spring roll wrapper was thin and crispy albeit a bit greasy. A great brunch appetizer!
CT says: Nice basic flavor combination and fun twist to the common breakfast burrito. As TT mentioned, they were a little bit greasy, but they are spring rolls after all. I’d happily order these again to share, seeing as it was a rather large portion.
Onto the clambake. For $29 we got a small quart size? bucket of lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, chorizo, potatoes and corn. It ended up being about half of a small lobster, one large prawn, two or three fingerling potatoes and a small piece of corn. While it wasn’t cooked over an open fire and covered with seaweed, everything was still pretty tasty.
The mussels and clams were hiding underneath the lobster.
CT says: All great tasting seafood – very fresh! I was surprised to only find one shrimp in the whole bucket, but I couldn’t really complain given the amount of other shellfish stuffed in there.
All in all, Highpoint Bistro was a great choice for a leisurely lunch. Prices were pretty reasonably for the large portion sizes. With the two appetizers and the donuts, I am glad we shared the clambake. We were both plenty satiated. I’m definitely interested in returning for their dinner menu at some point. They also have a $10 burger and beer special daily until 7 pm and then late night that might be worth a try.
BeerBoor says
What’s with the mutant spring rolls? Just over-oiled? Otherwise, lunch/brunch looks excellent!
Pilsner Urquell’s still a good beer despite changing megacorporate hands in the recent past. Plus, no fruit will ever come near the glass. Win!
TT says
Spring rolls were a little greasy, but still delicious.
T.C. says
Wow, calm-bake looks awesome. Seafood galore!
Despite looking like meat mush, the tacos sound great.
Hungry says
Nice pics! I have to admit that the lobster pics drew me in.
And what’s wrong with Blue Moon?!
TT says
Nothing is wrong with Blue Moon per se. It is just not my first choice of wheat beers since it is mass produced.
Feisty Foodie says
I’m sorry, but if you served that grey tuna tartare on Top Chef, you’d get ELIMINATED!!! Chef Phil, what the heck!!!
Seriously though, I’m glad you liked the place. Everything looks tasty and I had a fantastic time there, have been meaning to go back. The food was very good, lots of thought put into each dish.
TT says
cut Phil some slack, it was a holiday. he probably wasn’t even working that day.