Go Gin Chow: Sammy's Fish Box, City Island, NY

Greetings from Shadow. Great place to report on today called Sammy's Fish Box on City Island. They have been around for years and years and , the company pretty much owns half the restaurants on the island, with Fish Box being a family favorite, for its lively atmosphere, great service, super fresh seafood and HUMONGOUS portion sizes. While prices are not the cheapest here, you definitely get what you pay for. A great deal is their twin lobster special, two 1 1/4 pound lobsters cooked either broiled and stuffed or steamed. Lobsters have always been super fresh here with super sweet and succulent meat, every morsel being precious. Their feasts for two (not ordered this visit) have also been a great choice, platters are loaded with giant crab legs, lobster, clams, mussels, calamari and despite being named "for two" there is actually enough food to feed an army. Everyone who dines here will most certainly not only leave with a doggy bag, but that doggy bag will likely contain more food then was actually consumed while at the restaurant. The complementary bread platter is wonderful and could be a meal in its own right. It includes corn bread, a freshly baked sesame loaf, spreadable cheddar cheese, various picked and fresh vegetables and olives. Seafood risotto was great, not only was the seafood in it delicious, but the actually risotto was perfectly cooked rich and creamy. Deserts were equally as generous, one slice of chocolate cake was a staggering tower enough to feed at table of four. Lemon sorbet served in a hollowed out lemon had to be one of the largest lemons around, great end to a spectacular meal. Sadly the only bitter taste in my mouth that spoiled a nearly perfect meal was that despite being very polite, our server refused to substitute a small soup for the salad that came with the meal. In the several times that we have visited th this restaurant in the past, we have not had any problems doing this before, and considering the prices we are paying for the food, this should not be a big deal to make the customers happy. His excuse was that they only do that for lunch, though I am certain we have been able to do this for dinner in the past. I doubt they will make an effort change this as this policy will not keep the throngs of customers from coming back (I know it certainly won't keep me from coming back), but if management is paying attention to this I hope they will consider taking better care of their customers so everyone can leave happy.

                                               Sammy's Fish Box
                                41 City Island Ave
                                              Bronx, NY 10464
                                                (718) 885-0920