We love the Lobster Shop's Happy Hour. We don't go every week, but once every two months or so. So, we were thrilled when we received an email invitation to their 35th Anniversary. There was a $20 fee, but the money went to FISH Food Banks. We were twice as pleased. When we celebrated our wedding anniversary in August at Picasso Catering, we asked for no gifts, but for donations to FISH Food Banks. We were overwhelmed when our friends made donations to FISH that helped provide meals to just under three thousand people.
We shared the information of the 35th Anniversary at a special New Orleans Dinner, which we all chipped in for at the FISH Food Banks Nourish fundraiser. Two members of the group were past board chairs at FISH. Everyone loved the idea.
We arrived about fifteen minutes after the party had begun. The parking lot was almost completely full. I saw a brown Mercedes with one end of the seatbelt hanging out. The celebration was mostly on the deck. I could see our friends Mike and Jan in the drink line. Peg and I made our way through the crowd on our way to Jan and Mike. We said hello to a number of people. I heard a familiar voice say, "Don Doman" and turned to see my friend Judi, so I said, "Is that your Mercedes with the seatbelt hanging out?" Her friend just laughed, and said, "YES! That's her's." Obviously, this was our kind of crowd.
Soon I had drinks in hand and Diane, our favorite hostess at the Lobster Shop asked to find us seats. When we mentioned the need for eight seats, she suggested inside and upstairs in their private dining area. In a jiffy, we were on our way to heaven. We moved a couple of tables together and when two ladies (one with a beautiful Kentucky Derby style hat) started to take the third table, we jumped at the chance to move the third table together and invite them to join us.
Although it was a beautiful evening in Tacoma, we knew it would get chilly on the deck . . . even with free food and three drink tickets per person. There was a nice buffet line set up on the deck with deli meats, but in our little room, there was a constant delivery of appetizers.
There were five different free drinks. I didn't bother asking what there were. I asked the bartender for two drinks, "Surprise me."
One was a Raspberry Mule with vodka and juice with a nice firm raspberry on top. The second drink started with a brown slurry, vodka and some other liqueur (pear?) and ended up with a slice of peach in it. I liked it and so did Peg. Eventually, Peg was drinking a virgin mint julep with basil instead of mint (same family). I liked that, too. We ran out of drink tickets.
The food delivery never stopped. Waitstaff kept returning with trays and trays. The bruschetta was fresh. There was also lox on rounds of bread (I never seemed to see more of that). The same went for the ahi tuna on a slice of cucumber. I could have gone searching, but mostly stayed in my chair talking with friends and enjoying myself.
A crowd favorite was the skewer of pineapple, and bacon wrapped prawn with a little cocktail sauce on it. A number of prawns gave up their life for me. They are noble creatures. Also served was a plate of tender steak. You speared your choice with a hefty skewer. The meat melted in your mouth.
One of our favorite items at the Lobster Shop is their lobster bisque. It's so creamy and sweet. Although we called it lobster bisque what kept coming to our table was a bowl of warm lobster and sauce we spread on excellent French bread. I could eat that every single day.
The number of people on the deck kept growing and other non-anniversary patrons were filling the seats inside, but the steady flow of food and new people into our little enclave was interesting and fun. I think there were only 200 tickets available for the event. From the looks of the crowd, they must have honored all of them.
When we visit the Lobster Shop for Happy Hour, we usually spend about forty to sixty dollars, so it's never inexpensive, but well worth what we pay. The Lobster Shop is only about a mile from our home, so it's never far from our hearts and minds. We have our favorites and have changed our favorites as time goes by. Plus, it's always good to see Diane.
We first connected with Diane when we came to dinner a few years ago and mentioned dining at Johnny's Dock the weekend before and only getting one cherry in my Shirley Temple and then none on the re-fill. Diane scornfully said, "They buy them by the gallon!" She always made sure I had lots of cherries when she served us, and when there was a new waitress, she introduced her to us and mentioned cherries. She is always helpful.
I didn't have a Shirley Temple this time around and so no cherries, but we certainly had a great time anyway. We were the first of our group to leave (this is not unusual) and so were home by 7:30. I think I was asleep within forty-five minutes. What a nice evening.
