Edi-Bills: The Mermaid Inn…Re-Visited (For Real)

Date Reviewed: March 20, 2009 – By Traveler Bill

The Mermaid Inn located on 2nd Ave in the East Village was one of the very first establishments to have and Edi-Bills review.  Back then the down home cozy feel, fine food and able service earned it a Three Traggis rating.  This year, it earned another distinction of being the first restaurant to have its review re-posted on the revamped Traveler Bill (dot) com.  However, having heard a cacophony of “Bronx Cheers” over this ploy I decided to re-review The Mermaid Inn.  This time, however,  I was on an Industries business dinner with Matilda Dundee-Read, Traveler Bill Industries’ Director of IT.

The first difference from 2005 is that The Mermaid Inn now accepts reservations both over the phone and via the internet.  I opted to place mine through the site Open Table which is a terrific free site that helps the web savvy dinner find reservations at 1,000’s of restaurants all across the US and the world.

Walking through the dining rooms I noticed that the decor had not change appreciably in the intervening years.  No dilapidation here, the room was as freshly appointed as though it had just opened.  The wait staff, which in my previous visit seemed to have been plucked from a common room at NYU now presents a more seasoned mien.  Our server, “Desiree M.” and all her colleagues were quite attentive without being over bearing.  It was a nice touch of always using a silver tray when delivering anything – utensils, bread, a beer – to the table.

As an appetizer Matilda and I decided to share an order of the Crispy Calamari with tomatoes and chili as a starter.  For my entree I planned on reprising my 2005 order of the Lobster Sandwich on griddled bun with Old Bay Fries with a couple glasses of a nice white wine.  That is until Desiree informed us that The Mermaid Inn has a blue plate special until 7:00.  For $20 you get the Lobster Sandwich coupled with the Blue Point Lager (noted on the menu as being crisp and clean with a balanced bitterness.)  I immediately dumped my wine selection for the beer.

As we discussed IT issues of Traveler Bill (dot) com I noted the hostess leading in a couple, later established as having been on a date.  The extremely slender ginger haired woman in the group was striking.  Not because of her long red mane, but for the fact that she pushed said tresses behind her ears which I state without hyperbole, were the size of my hands.  Her spinak-ears stuck out as though she was a member of the British Royal family.

Fortunately I was distracted as the food started to arrive.  The Blue Point Lager was as delightful as had been promised and it paired quite nicely with the starter.  The Crispy Calamari was spiced nicely although it was universally agreed agreed that a slightly larger portion of the salsa and a lemon wedge would have been welcomed.  Also, fewer horrifyingly large tentacle bunches would have been nice.

The lobster salad used for the sandwich has been slightly altered from ’05.  Back then I wrote that it was “a simple salad of lobster meat, mayonnaise, salt pepper and a little bit of parsley for color.”  These days the chef has added a soupçon of red onion to the mix, not an unwelcome addition.  There also was a small portion of malt vinegar to accompany the fries, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Miss Dundee-Read.

As we ate the back dinning room became noisier as it filled.  Toward the end of our meal it was actually a little difficult to hear my dining companion.  A problem that was exacerbated by a table of four beside us.  The group of twits on a double date started my blood boiling as the alpha jerk said “Cheers” in his best Spaulding Smails voice.  He then asked Desiree “Do you have any oysters?” despite the fact that ¼ of the one page menu is devoted to the raw bar.  Fortunately The Mermaid Inn still offers a complimentary demitasse cup of pudding  and a miracle fish.  Matilda’s read “Indifference” while mine registered what I can only assume was righteous indignation at our intolerable neighbors.

The Mermaid Inn, four years on by my reckoning, has not missed a beat.  The service has remained steady.  The food (appetizer slight missteps aside) is still well prepared, well presented and tasty.  The ambiance of the dinning room is still A-1.  I feel comfortable in reasserting that The Mermaid Inn is a three Traggis establishment.

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