I spent all of last week on the beach with a group of my best friends. Back in January we put money down on a beach house in Milford, CT. Didn't know there were beaches in Milford? Me either!
When I arrived last Saturday to our rental I was thrilled to discover our house was literally on the sand. Check it out:
Our house was on a private strip of beach and it was incredibly peaceful. Just like I didn't know Milford was a beach town, I also didn't know it is home to some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. Check out the amazing pink and orange skies we experienced every single night as the sun went down:
After six days of lounging on the beach, reading, floating in the water, happy hour on the deck, grilling dinners and watching the Olympics, we decided to spend our last night in Milford out on the town. After a little research on the iPad, we got gussied up and headed to Citrus in Milford Center.
Citrus reminds me of many of the restaurants on Cape Cod. Something about that gray exterior with white trim just says: beach town.
True to its name, Citrus has bright orange pendant lights hanging above the front entrance.
Citrus has large, half moon shaped leather booths along the perimeter of the dining room, but the primary use of the space is for a huge bar in the middle of the room.
We were seated in a comfy leather booth and greeted by a friendly waitress. The Citrus menu had two full page of drinks followed by two pages of delicious food offerings mostly comprised of seafood and classic American pub fare.
We each started with a glass of wine, Sauvignon Blanc for me and a variety of others for the girls - Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Merlot. One of the girls had a particularly hard time choosing a glass so our waitress let her sample her front runner. I appreciate when servers go the extra mile to make sure you enjoy what you've ordered.
After placing our order, our waitress brought us a tin pail stuffed with crusty French bread and served with a side of butter. The butter actually had orange rind mixed in, which was a lovely touch.
For an appetizer, two of the girls ordered the blackened scallops. They said they were cooked perfectly (not charred). The scallops came on a bed of white and black beans and diced tomatoes which they gobbled right up.
I ordered the vegetable spring rolls to start which came leaning against a tower of wasabi mashed potatoes. I've never experienced wasabi mixed with potatoes and let me tell you, it was fantastic! The wasabi added a fun kick to what would otherwise be a calm taste. The spring rolls were great - not too greasy - and the sweet teryaki sauce drizzled on the plate was finger licking good.
For the entree course, the first plate to arrive was the scallop and shrimp risotto. This dish was described to me as a generous amount of seafood, expertly cooked scallops and shrimp and a risotto with great texture.
The next dish was the seafood paella. The portion was enormous and came with shrimp, scallops, littleneck clams, blue crab, lobster and chorizo. The rice wasn't crisp (as the bottom of the paella pan is supposed to be) and the dish as a whole was missing a bold zing.
The parade of seafood continued with the crab cakes. As you can see, they were quite large! Though the girl who ordered these said they were breaded nicely and the avocado and corn salad they were sitting on was fresh and tasty, she wanted more of a crab taste with every bite.
The next plate to arrive was the arugula salad which was topped with fuji apples, pistachios, goat cheese and grilled salmon. The fish was nicely seared, but the salad was overdressed and tasted far too salty. Bust!
Since I don't eat seafood, I went with the Southwest Caesar salad which was roasted corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, manchego cheese and crunchy tortilla strips. This salad was superb! It was topped with a boat load of goodies and the dressing was incredibly rich. I couldn't get enough. I ate every last leaf of lettuce.
By the end of our meal we were completely stuffed! The food at Citrus came in very generous portions, had fresh veggies, bold flavors and plenty of local seafood.
Have you dined in Milford, CT? Any restaurant I should check out on my next trip?
