1st time we ate there it was like seafood crack I could not wait to get back there for more. Really enjoyed the Bean-town Bake and the Joe's Regular Steam Pot. Not sure what happened but 2 months had gone past and we returned for a dose of exactly the same things. We even gave up 2 free admissions to the Improve in the Grove worth $70 that were comped to us by a comedian himself to go here and what a Joke that turned out to be. \r
I know you have heard of 1 bad apple spoils the whole bunch well 1 bad crab spoils everything steamed within the same pot and its clear the strong ammonia smell of it, mushiness of the meat within the shell and the bad after-taste of some of the other items steamed in the same 2 pots really ruined it for everything in them. We were not sure and quite hungry so we kept eating from them hoping it was just our own taste buds since it was hard to imagine the last time was so enjoyable that this time around would be anything but. \r
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Manager came over and schooled us on bad crab but failed to deliver on service and facts that I already knew what I was eating was not right. Was given a replacement of 4 shrimp we had left in one of the pots and a discount of $7.99 marked off the bill as an appetizer when the steam pots gone bad due to spoiled crab were $20 and up! When I saw I was not being compensated for the bad food I deliberately kept eating it "why not I was paying for it anyway" receipt in hand because I was ready to go to the hospital if need be and then send them a bill of my own!\r
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Sad this place seemed like a great one. I have some images of the day we were happy to be there 7/26/11 but of course we were to consumed with eating spoiled shellfish that we had no time to think of taking any pictures the day we came to compare the lack of consistency in the quantity given and unfortunately did not have the same experience as our prior visit. \r
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Service this time around was not good at all and there were only 2 other tables besides our 2 top so no reason for anyone to make excuses of her being to busy to offer melted butter, proper tools to get through the shells and everything else we got on our 1st visit without having asked for them.\r
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I felt guilty as if we were making this girl work harder but she clearly did not care how our experience was. When I tried discreetly asking her to smell our crab because I was finally sure I had a piece that was bad she just stood back, said she is sure it is and then said let me get a manager. Hubby went downstairs to use the restroom and overheard her mocking us and being rude that we were bothering to further complain. This is why we don't like to complain but if everything was as it should have been we would not have had to. \r
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Also being served 2 FEMALE lobsters was off putting to my partner. I don't mind the Lobster Caviar but thought it was not at all okay since I thought in Florida we have a law of throwing back the females so more of them can reproduce??? For my partner who did not like to see that dark chunky red stuff all throughout the lobster it was horrible and of course they also had that same off putting after taste as the crab which means the water/steamer they were steaming the stuff in was tainted if not the lobster as well as the crab I was for certain by now was indeed no good.\r
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I am allot like Daryl Hanna in the movie Splash when it comes to lobster and would usually eat the whole body, legs and all but after struggling through my tail and not enjoying the flavors I felt done out of the rest of it completely. All in all we wont be returning and will be telling our friends to stay clear of this place as its certainly not worth the trip from anywhere.
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