Parker's Lighthouse

My dad, brother, co-worker and I set out for Long Beach, California on Friday, January 19th for a trade show. This show would help benefit The Ink Spot, and help us, help my pappy out of the dark ages of his profession. We left Salt Lake early Friday morning, and attended the convention for most of the day. I went to a seminar called "Coping with Caps" addressing problems we as embroiderers face when sewing hats. It was overall a very good convention. We purchased much, and are waiting for more $$$ to come in to purchase some new embroidery machines as well.
After the convention, we had a few hours before our flight home later that evening. We decided to go walk along the shoreline on the pier, and eat at a restaurant called Parker's Lighthouse and the end of the pier. I have been to this convention a couple of times in the last few years, and eaten at this restaurant once before, but never was quite so excited to go back as I was this time.

Parker's specializes in their fresh seafood, and spectacular views of the bay and also of the old Queen Mary Cruise Ship. We arrived a little before the actual dinner time(5 p.m.) and so they told us we could go up to the third floor and enjoy appetizers and drinks, and then they would call us down for dinner when the time came. We all ordered a cup of clam chowder to start. This was THE BEST cup of clam chowder I have ever eaten. I don't normally like big chunks of clam in my chowder, because the bigger they are, the more the canned, fishy taste comes out too. Being that we were on the coast, these big chunks of clam did nothing but make me want to order another cup! SO fresh and yummy.

We also ordered a jumbo shrimp cocktail, which I didn't try, because I ordered a happy-hour-special California Roll (sushi). This again, was very good, and had a very fresh taste to it. We proceeded downstairs for dinner, and I was having a very hard time deciding what to order! Everything looked so good, and I probably could have ordered anything on the menu and been completely happy.

As it turns out, I finally decided on the Salmon. As one of the "fresh catches of the day" I could choose to have this prepared in about five different ways. Blackened, Cajun style, seared, etc. I chose mine to be blackened. Very very yummy! Again, probably the best salmon I have ever had. I think I didn't LOVE how much blackened seasoning was on the salmon, but it was mostly toward the end of the meal, because my mouth and lips were kinda burning. The salmon was served over a bed of wild rice, and a vegetable medley of julienned yellow, red, and orange peppers; carrots; zucchini, and yellow squash. Fresh squeezed lemon juice, and a sprinkle of salt made this dish very desirable. My brother ordered the same thing, and he also thought it was very good.

I don't think I have any "cons" for this restaurant. Our waiter was kind of a dork, and was slow to refill drinks, and slow to get us our check, even though we told him we needed to hurry to catch a flight. I think you are going to have dumb waiters no matter which restaurant you go to, and perhaps my standards for certain things are a little high. I like what I like, and I want what I want, especially when I am spending $25+ on a nice dinner. I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone, since they have some steak and chicken dishes as well, but I especially recommend Parker's Lighthouse to those who actually like seafood!

With so much to do, in such small place, this trip just made me want to go spend a week in Long Beach, California during the warmer months. Anyone wanna go play???