A weekend Poseidon adventure

John Volo

It was late Sunday afternoon as my buddy Tod chauffeured John and I

down a congested Main Street toward the pier.

There was nary a sidewalk seat to be had at any of the restaurants

in the 200 block. Summer was here in full force. Everyone was

basking, laughing, eating and drinking.

The three of us had spent the entire weekend coaching and watching

our kids play baseball in the torturously hot sun. We needed

someplace to chill out; someplace cool inside, someplace less

crowded, someplace with ice-cold beer, someplace just off Main

Street.

We got what we needed at Poseidon, an upscale sports bar and

billiard room near the corner of Walnut and 3rd that’s been open less

than three months.

As we approached the entrance, I was surprised to see it was

offering two-for-one food items. I was more surprised we had the

place to ourselves.

I was most surprised by Poseidon’s ultra-stylish setup. The front

end houses a half-dozen high-quality billiard tables, surrounded by a

variety of technologically hip video screens. The back end houses a

fiber-optic color-changing bar and dining room.

Poseidon mainly offers salads, sandwiches, burgers and pasta. It

also has an inventive martini list and a varied selection of beers on

tap.

To appease both Tod and John, we started with the Poseidon trident

-- a sample platter of fried calamari (not chewy), buffalo wings

(mellow without being wimpy) and mozzarella sticks. We also got the

middling-sized Louisiana crab cakes that utilized chopped red peppers

to minimize the mayonnaise flavor. Chicken pot stickers, barbecued

rib bits and buffalo shrimp are also options for appetizers.

John suggested we try the Poseidon lobster bisque. Now, I’m not a

big lobster bisque aficionado. In fact, the only times I’ve had

lobster bisque have been when it’s been forced upon me at

over-priced, over-appreciated French restaurants. We both thought

Poseidon’s offering, which included several chunks of lobster claw,

was admirable for a sports bar.

Although none of us ordered a salad, Poseidon does offer eight

different kinds. The Santa Fe chicken salad -- a mixed-lettuce

offering with corn, black beans, cheese, tortilla strips, spicy

peanuts and a cilantro vinaigrette -- warrants consideration.

My brew burger, pan-steamed with beer, had none of the malted

flavor I was expecting. In fact, it had none (Did they use a domestic

light beer?). It was also missing the promised steak sauce.

With the absence of both beer flavor and steak sauce, my burger

(albeit juicy) was relegated to standard burger status. Fortunately

for me, I had paired my burger with a large glass of Pyramid

Hefeweizen -- an unfiltered wheat beer usually served with a wedge of

lemon. Hefeweizen, in my opinion, is not only the ultimate summer

brew, but also the perfect drinking companion to any backyard burger.

Tod’s HB cheese steak had promise: thinly sliced steak that wasn’t

fatty; adequate amounts of mushrooms, onions and peppers, and a

hoagie roll that was extremely fresh, yet not too soft.

So what’s the problem? They used American cheese. I don’t know

about you, but I’ve got to have provolone for my cheese steak. I

think American cheese is best suited for kids’ school lunches and

fast-food burgers.

John’s chicken Marsala had a tender, but thin, chicken breast atop

linguini that was soft like Asian noodles. There were plenty of

sauteed mushrooms in Poseidon’s light Marsala wine sauce, which I

prefer to those that sometimes resemble thick brown gravy.

Menu items of note include: lobster roll (popular in New England

and with my mother), grilled portabella mushroom on a bun, southwest

fajita wrap, and Cajun salmon with lobster Alfredo sauce.

When finished, we retreated to the billiard room for lively pool

action and continued sports viewing. After defeating Tod and John in

several games of pool, we headed home (perhaps they didn’t want to

miss the season finale of “Desperate Housewives”), knowing Poseidon

provided a fitting end to our weekend.

* JOHN VOLO is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail [email protected]