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Charlotte: Phillips Seafood not bad

posted on March 2, 2007 by michael.wiley

Wednesday night I was traveling from Columbus, OH to Nashville, TN via Charlotte, NC. I’m normally opposed to one-stop flights but in this case I had no choice. I landed in Charlotte at about 7pm and had an 8pm departure.

I stumbled upon a joint I had never heard of, Phillips Seafood. It is a Maryland chain that specializes in Maryland-style seafood and has been around since 1956. Curiously, of the 10 locations listed on their website, Charlotte is not one of them.

I didn’t have much time and asked the waiter if they could accommodate my schedule. He told me that it would be no problem. I ordered a Phillips Lager, lobster bisque and crab cakes.

The Lager was quite good and so was the lobster bisque despite having a slightly chunky consistency. This was a promising start. When my crab cakes arrived minutes later I was disappointed in the plating of the entrée. (The image above is from their website...if only the crab cakes I received were this beautiful.) The crab cakes were basically covered by undercooked, greasy French fries and badly overcooked mixed vegetables.

While the crab cakes were not a disaster, they were not memorable. The texture was inconsistent, there was some filler, and they were not that flavorful. As for the fries and the vegetables, they were inedible. If I weren’t in such a rush I would have sent them back to the kitchen for replacements.

My waiter was excellent and as far as airport food goes, despite the side dishes, this is not a bad option. I would probably order a little differently next time though.

Filed in: Airports