Manny's Place: Fried Golden Goodness

In celebration of the arrival of warmer weather, on Saturday—the last day of winter—I collected my favorite four-year-old and headed over to Manny’s Place for a seafood spread. Tucked into the left corner just inside the entrance of the Chestnut Hill Farmer’s Market, Manny’s finds company among homemade gelato, artisan soaps, fresh-brewed coffee, produce, butchered meats and an assortment of other prepared food counters. 

Manny’s is primarily a place to purchase prepared foods—mostly, but not exclusively of the fried seafood variety—to take out or finish cooking at home (all of their fried foods are partially cooked).  There are two small marble topped tables available adjacent to Manny’s counter for those who would like to enjoy their selections straight from the fryer. 

My choice—Combo #19—also known as “Manny’s Seafood Feast” was indeed a feast and, with the exception of one hiccup, did not disappoint.  Instructed by the menu I was to pick four from the following list:  crab cake nugget, 2 scallops, 1 flounder, 1 coconut shrimp, 1 panko’d [sic] shrimp, 1 oyster.  Passing on both preparations of shrimp I ordered the other four options.  The feast included a small cup of coleslaw and potato salad, French fries or onion rings. Waxing nostalgic—thanks to a lick of warm weather—for the fried fare including exceptional onion rings at Liam’s at Nauset Beach (Cape Cod shout out), I went for the rings. 

Though typically a seafood fella, my dining companion ventured away from the plethora of seafood options settling instead on fried chicken tenders paired with mac and cheese.  Hard to believe perhaps but the mac and cheese was his third choice.  Initially he ordered a side of hush puppies but we were informed that they were no longer carrying them as their clientele was not ordering them.  His second choice, heavily endorsed by me, was a side of lobster mashed potatoes.  Foiled again!  In this case because of timing—we were there on a Saturday (Manny’s is closed Sunday through Wednesday) and when they run out they do not prepare more as it may go wasted.  Surely that would be a shame but I cannot deny being disappointed.

For those not fond of fare from the sea, there are also land options—in addition to the chicken tenders you can order tarragon chicken salad, prime roast beef sandwich au jus, ribs, or grilled chicken tenders over a salad to name a few.  I would not recommend Manny’s for those with seafood allergies of any kind—it is their main gig and just not worth the risk of cross contamination.

For those like me sans allergies and loaded with seafood love, Manny’s Place is worth a visit.  An appreciation for fried cuisine is helpful too.  We were thrilled when our aluminum takeout tin landed on the counter mounded high with golden goodness.  Three of my four choices were exceptional—the scallops, the crab cake nugget and the flounder—they were artfully coated with a caramel hued panko crust and impressively maintained an extraordinarily delicate bite beneath their sheaths of crispy breadcrumbs. 

The jury however is still out on panko—sure they are uber-crunchy and fry beautifully; but, there is a risk associated with eating fried panko—to the roof of your mouth.  The course texture of these Japanese bread crumbs is both blessing and burden.  For the record, I use panko for all my breading needs but often I will give them a quick massage with my rolling pin to break them into smaller pieces sparing oral road rash.  After an initial injury I went to the counter to request tartar sauce. 

The creaminess of the tartar lent itself brilliantly to the crispy texture of seafood but could have been enhanced by more of all but the mayo (pickle, lemon, salt and pepper).  The coleslaw was typical, again too much mayo for my preference.  Manny’s menu promoted their crab cakes as “simply delicious” and “award winning”—I agree with the former and merely cannot qualify the latter.  The cake is heavier on the crab (though not particularly lumpy for jumbo lump crab meat) than the filler and its final consistency is a happy balance between dry and moist.  A crab cake "nugget" is plum sized and I would have been happy to eat a grapefruit portion of this deliciousness. 

The onion rings were very different from the thin straws at Liam’s— different, but memorable in their own right.  I received two generous rings—they were flavorful, perfectly crisp on the outside, perfectly buttery onion on the inside and much appreciated.

The aforementioned hiccup was the oyster which in fact was an oyster cake.  Multiple oysters were mixed with a binding substance formed into a cake and then breaded in panko.  Sadly in addition to being sandy they were chewy and lacked either the briny or the creamy flavor sought after in an oyster. That being said, a favorite author of mine, M. F. K. Fischer wrote in her book Consider the Oyster, “American oysters differ as much as American people.”  I have always preferred my oysters on the half shell unadorned.  No need to gild the lily.

As for the chicken tenders and the mac and cheese, they easily passed the harsh critique of a four year old palette and I found them to be first-rate as well.  The chicken was breast meat and was moist, tender and substantial—no pounding or butter flying.  The mac and cheese was as it should be—rich, creamy, cheesy and the macaroni retained a descent bite.  Not a single elbow was spared consumption.

If you have a hankering for something sweet, Manny’s had macaroons and lemon pound cake individually wrapped in plastic by their register but with homemade gelato around the corner they were not tempting enough.  There are also tables outside which I can imagine being dreamy on a gorgeous day.  

At the end of the day, Manny’s Place offers tasty straightforward fried seafood fare and is surrounded by other worthy shops in the market.  The Chestnut Hill Market is worth the trip and while you are there Manny’s is worth a try.