Dining a la Carteret
Channel Marker Restaurant, Atlantic Beach
by
Sherley Buckland
The Channel Marker
Restaurant in
Its menu offers something
for everyone, and now includes nightly chef specialties and shrimp night on
Wednesdays (eight varieties of shrimp just $9.95 each).
In addition to consistently
providing fabulous food and memorable dining experiences, the Channel
Marker’s wine list is most impressive. Unlike
any other wine list in this area, 34 of the 36 labels are available by the
glass or bottle, and all are moderately priced.
This provides an excellent
way to experience new wine parings with each course of your meal at Channel
Marker. General Manager Ed Myers
built this wine list by personally tasting each wine “to ensure quality,
value and exceptional food paring qualities.”
All house wines at the Channel Marker are Biltmore Estate Wines.
My host for the evening,
Myers described in detail each course presented and explained each recommended
wine pairing. We began with the
Channel Marker she crab soup. A
thick, cream-base soup full of Alaskan snow crab and backfin blue crab meat
with a hint of wine, each spoonful of soup overflows with crabmeat.
Accompanying the soup was
the Biltmore Estate pinot grigio. With peach aromas and citrus tannins, this
wine cuts through the creamy texture of the soup leaving a clean palate.
The pan seared, sesame
crusted tuna with wasabi and teriyaki sauce is almost too beautiful to eat.
The sushi-grade tuna is very mild; with each bite you get hints of the
different sauces that are painted on the dish.
Paired with the tuna was my
favorite of the Channel Marker wines — Kelly’s Promise Australian
cabernet/merlot. A very soft and
velvety blend with hints of black cherry and plum, this is a very romantic
wine, not overpowering or bold, a perfect match for the tuna.
The
Channel Marker Down South crab cakes are pan seared, then baked.
One bite will explain. They are so full of crabmeat that they probably
have to be pan seared to prevent them from falling apart.
There is very little bread
in these crab cakes, which are delicious with the mango chutney and pair well
with the Ramon
The Mar de Frades also
pairs well with the pork, shrimp and pineapple kabobs, a new chef specialty
created by executive chef Tim Hall. These
kabobs are grilled, tender and so good. Do
not pass on this one, as they are great as an appetizer or an entrée.
If you prefer fried
seafood, you cannot visit the Channel Marker without trying the fried shrimp
(or fried oysters or fried scallops). The
fried seafood here is different. The
breading is very fine, almost like baby powder.
The seafood is lightly
breaded, and lightly fried allowing the natural flavors of the seafood to come
through.
A nice accompaniment to the
fried seafood items is a new wine being tested for the Channel Marker wine
list, R.A. Phillips 2003 sauvignon blanc, which is light, crisp and not
overpowering.
The landlubber will not be
disappointed with the stuffed filet. This
tender cut of beef is filled with tomatoes, spinach, and Gorgonzola cheese
wrapped with bacon and served over garlic mashed potatoes.
Heavenly, fork tender, melt-in-your-mouth good.
Served with the stuffed
filet was the Simi cabernet sauvignon, chilled.
This masculine,
Any pasta lover would
appreciate the Greek shrimp pasta, a recipe Myers created for the chef
specialty menu. Just imagine sautéed
shrimp, queen olives, chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese and basil
folded into pasta and served in a large bowl.
Feta cheese, tomatoes and
olives are three of my favorite ingredients in any dish and this entrée is a
wonderful combination of freshness, favorites and flavor.
As if there were any room,
bring on the desserts. Pastry chef
Bonnie Lilly makes all desserts in house. 
The
dessert tray will make you weak - vanilla crème brulee, key lime pie,
chocolate cheesecake or triple fudge espresso cake (with coffee in the icing),
which was the 2005 Best of Show winner at the Chocolate Festival.
Lilly created three
desserts for Myers to consider entering in the festival competition.
They chose the cake from one, the filling from the second, the icing
from the third and combined the three items to develop Channel Marker’s
award-winning dessert.
Served with dessert was the
Biltmore Estate Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine.
This
crisp, dry, bubbly wine cleans your palate and ends (or begins) an evening
with grace and beauty.
Able to accommodate large
groups with the attention, service and menu quality of fine dining, The
Channel Marker Restaurant has something for everyone.
Myers and the staff of the
Channel Marker have proven for 25 years that top-quality products provide a
top-quality meal, and quality and service never go out of style.
Quick Bites
Channel Marker Restaurant
Location: 718
Phone: (252) 247-2344
Hours: Dinner, Monday-Sunday from 5-10
p.m.; lunch, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; breakfast, Saturday
and Sunday from 7-11 a.m.
Reservations: Not required.
Payment Options: Cash, MasterCard, Visa.
4/14/06
See the previously reviewed restaurants on the Restaurant Archive page
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