Hello out there in dining land. I want to talk about the new restaurant in the parking lot of the North Tower next to Mayfair Mall, McCormick and Schmick's. If any of you have been on Whacker Dr., or on the circular parking garage that you always see in commercials, in Chicago you have seen this restaurant already. It is a chain, but don't let that fool you.

    The menu changes daily, although I'm sure not greatly. On the top of the menu they list all the different fish and seafood items that were shipped in that day, including where they were caught. Then the menu below shows how the chef uses the fresh catches. They print a new menu everyday, but I'm sure there are many regular items including the Clam Chowder ($3.95/cup or $4.95/bowl). I had a cup of the chowder and to be honest, which I am, I was a little disappointed. The chowder consisted of a standard white cream base, potato's, peas, and of course clam. It was good, but not great, and I think a seafood restaurant should pride itself on its chowder, but then again I am a chowder fiend. Because of this I was a little nervous about the rest of the meal but I was pleasantly surprised.

We ordered a Lump Crab Queso dip appetizer ($9.95). This is where a food critic would use a word like "delightful" or "Robust" or perhaps a phrase like, "rich with aromas of the farm and the sea". I never understood that. Frankly it makes me angry. Anyways before I go off let me tell you a little about the queso. It came in a hearty portion accompanied with chips that were clearly homemade. They were not tortilla chips but more like the shell of a taco salad bowl. A little thicker and more crumbly similar to Taco Bell's wondrous innovation the chalupa. Anyway, they were seasoned lightly and fantastic. The dip itself was a nice melted cheese I'm guessing a little mild white cheddar and chihuahua, but that is just a guess. Of course mixed in with the cheese was some lump crab. There was not a lot of crab, but it was enough to do the job. Either way it was great. Half the dip was then topped with chopped chunks of avocado, and the other half was topped with a pico-de-gallo style tomato salsa. I think avocado makes everything better.... everything.... mmmm... avocado.... This dish was great. So good I used the bread that came to the table, a quarter loaf of sourdough with butter, to sop up the remainder of the cheese. I thought about licking the plate, but the people at the table next to me were family friends so I nixed that. 

Now to the Entrees. I will start with my dining companion we will call him Max Power. Max ordered the Sea Scallops (21.95, I think or $21.00). I love sea scallops. I put them right behind Lobster, Ahi Tuna, and Crab Cakes on my seafood hierarchy. These did not disappoint. They were freaking huge! A good sized sea scallop in my opinion is the size of silver dollar (approx). These were the size of silver Euros (if monetary value were the basis for coin size). There were four of them atop a bed of potato pancakes. Atop the scallops was a mainly decorative salad of shavings of assorted vegetables which Max ate too fast for me to get a look at. The sauce on, and all over the plate, was kind of a light thin hollandaise-type with a basil drizzle throughout. I give this dish a 10, although sea scallops that are an 11 exist at Lake Park Bistro, but at the Bistro they are an appetizer, and the preparation varies seasonally, but the Bistro's scallops one of the ten best "dishes" of any kind in the city.

My second companion, Dr. Farthing (Fake Name), had the Cajun Barbecue Shrimp ($19.00 I think, it was less than $20). This time the seafood was great, the prep. was good, but could have been better. There were eight jumbo shrimp battered in a pseudo tempura fashion. Tempura batter is made with cold water and wheat flower and occasionally egg white is mixed in. It is the cold water and the minimal mixing of the batter that creates the lumpy nature of the batter. The batter on the shrimp at M&S was smooth around the shrimp, heavily spiced, and definitely contained egg yolk; you could taste it. I liked this not loved it. I thought the spice was too heavy and it took away from the shrimp, but I enjoyed the cajun kick that came at the end. The shrimp were accompanied by some assorted vegetables including some fine asparagus spears. Also, on the plate was perhaps the most unnecessary accompaniment I have ever seen, a giant pile of white rice. My companion at none of the rice as it made no sense at all.

Finally to my dish. As I mentioned I am a sucker for Ahi Tuna. As anyone who loves the Ahi knows it is most often pan-seared and served extremely raw, as it was here. I liked where the people at M&S were going here, but I just thought the missed the target. The Ahi was cut up into rectangles about as thick as an Ipod maybe a little thinner (like a new generation Ipod), and not quite as big as a business card. There were about ten of these, which was enough to fill the average eater. The pan searing had crusted a cajun-style spice on the outside which did not match this dish at all. The rest of the dish was japanese in nature, as I will explain, and I think a sesame seed coating or even panko crust would have been more fitting. Perhaps they did not coat the tuna with sesame seed because of the sesame-seaweed-cucumber salad garnish. This was good, but only a few bites in size. Next were three California roll inspired makis (rolls). They were nothing special, but a nice touch. Also with the dish was some Soy Sauce, wasabi and ginger like you would find on a sushi plate. As I always do I added a little wasabi to the soy, and dunked everything. The problem was that the cajun spice of the Ahi did not match the rest of the Japanese flavor as I said before. It was a strange dish in that sense, but the Tuna was good, and I'm a sucker for Ahi. I would say if you absolutely love ahi go ahead and get this. If you are neutral on ahi, or even kind of like it do not order this. 

Dessert: I don't do dessert. I am a busy man and do not have time.

The final bill with tip, tax, drinks (Two Iced-teas no liquor) was $103 so unless you are Burt Reynolds you probably can't eat here often, but I would recommend it, because at a non-chain the meal would have been $10-$15 more in my estimate, and the food was good. If you like something like the queso dip it was great, and if you like food the scallops were great. The cajun shrimp and the Ahi Tuna were so-so. If you want to check it out I would say go for lunch the menu is much more affordable, but the food is still fresh. Overall I would say a great place for seafood. The price fit the meal, the proportions were big, and the food was fresh.