Eating at Essex

Bridget's bachelorette party was a raucous weekend-long affair, but Saturday was the big night.  We started the evening with dinner at Essex, which is the perfect restaurant for groups.  I've heard as much since I moved here but never got to experience it firsthand until now.  I always thought it was the place for party brunch, but it turns out dinner is great too (and, unlike brunch, accepts credit cards).  It's loud and energetic - basically made for a table of wild wedding-brained ladies.  Their sweet deals also make it great for groups.  Every day other than Saturday has a 1/2 price happy hour and $1 oysters all night.  But the deals don't stop there, for $60 you can get two courses and a 2.5 hour premium open bar.  Due to our tight schedule, we didn't take advantage of that bargain, but that only meant we had a larger menu to choose from.

I decided to get to appetizers for my meal.  The first was a crab cake over a heart of palm salad.  The crab cake had a great meat to filler ratio and began to fall apart as I pierced it with my fork, an indication that there wasn't too much breading attempting to hold it together.  Next I got an endive salad with pecans, gorgonzola, dried cranberries, and a pear vinaigrette.  The flavors complimented each other, but it needed a little more dressing to bring it together.  I also tasted a bite of the potato pancake topped with salmon gravlax and caviar.  I know it was listed as "crispy", but I thought it was just a little too crunchy and probably shouldn't be called "famous".  I do, however, like the idea of potato pancakes with different toppings.  Just take them out of the pan 30 seconds earlier and you've got a great appetizer on your hands.

Essex was just the place to kick off a rowdy evening.  There is enough variety in the menu and the food is good enough (though not spectacular) that everyone in your birthday or bachelorette party will find something they enjoy.  Then drink specials take this restaurant to the next level ensuring that the rest of your night will be a blast.