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bang bang shrimp

The New Bonefish Grill {and a Gift Card Giveaway!}

October 9, 2015

Bonefish Gill_Waltham MA_01

Bang Bang into the room!!!

Bang Bang Shrimp all for you!!!

Okay, I’ll stop now…

Bonefish Gill_Waltham MA_02

But honestly I had that dang song stuck in my head last week while I was checking out the newly opened Bonefish Grill in Waltham, a suburb of Boston. I’m such a dork!

It was just such a great night so I was in a fun, silly mood. That’s what happens when you are enjoying fantastic food and drinks. (Plus, a solo night our it hard to juggle at times so this felt extra special that we worked it out on a night when Price had a Conservation Committee meeting with the city.)

Ultimately, you really can’t go wrong having a delicious dinner in brand spankin’ new restaurant. The best yet is that the Waltham location features their brand new design concept. It’s stunningly beautiful with rich woods, cool lights, and fun decorative features.

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Prominently featured at the entry of the restaurant is their elegant wood backed bar. And opposite that is a feature wall that divides the bar area from the dining area that serves as wine bottle storage and display. Flanking the central wine storage section are fun lighting features that are reminiscent to the mangroves in their previous design style.

And the best yet is that the bar creates fantastic cocktails that can kick off and end your meals. I highly suggest the espresso martini to end your meal, like how we rounded out our dinner. (more on that later!)

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Our group had the pleasure of sitting in one of their private function rooms that can accommodate a variety of seating arrangements to seat 12 people at a large table all the way up to having 80 people at a party.

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It was a great space with a Westerly view that is fantastic for sunset watching. Just ignore the Costco in the foreground. Luckily from my seat I couldn’t see it, only the vibrant pinks and purples that streaked the sky.

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Dinner started with Bang Bang Shrimp and Lobster Flatbread served as passed hors d’oeuvres. These were accompanied with a glass of sparkling wine. The perfect way to kick off our evening. Or you could visit yourself to share some apps with some friends while sitting at the bar enjoying a glass of wine.

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Bang Bang Shrimp is their most popular dish. It outsells everything else. It wasn’t one of the menu staples when they first started but over time it was created and people became hooked. The numbers magically averages to 3 orders per table. That’s insane, but I can totally understand.

The addicted shrimp is coated with a seasoned breading mixture, and then are deep fried, before being served to you they are tossed in a creamy, spicy sauce. The sauce is killer. It’s like a spicy mayo that is served in sushi, but that isn’t even the best way to describe it as it’s way more than that. But the heat of the sauce grabs your attention and the crunch of the breading has you grabbing one after another after another!!

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The Lobster Flatbread is another one of their Signature Starters.

It’s a wood-grilled flatbread that is topped off with pieces of cold water lobster, mozzarella, and red peppers. That is then drizzled with a with lobster-infused sour cream and a generous sprinkling of chopped green onions is tossed on top. Lobster on lobster goodness. It’s not overpowering but well-balanced.

Bonefish Gill_Waltham MA_09 Bonefish Gill_Waltham MA_10

Next we enjoyed their fish taco. Their Blackened Baja Fish Tacos is a hearty dish composed of three fish tacos and a side of greens. The filets of blackened fish are nestled in warm tortillas and then finished with shredded fresh romaine and mango salsa. Drizzles of  lime crema + fresh herb pesto finish the dish.

I felt my taco had a teeny bit too much herb pesto so it was a bit drippy and messy, but the flavors from the salsa were great, so it was an acceptable ‘issue’. The blackened fish had so much flavor, a spicy, smokey flavor, which went well with sweetness of the mango salsa.

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The thing that really impressed me with Bonefish Grill was their history and their approach to dinning. They really try to make the night out feel like a night out, and not like you are dining at a chain, it just so happens that they have over 200 locations. Even then, the organization has a limit of how many restaurants they will open in a year allowing for attention to really be paid to each location, making it perfect for that community.

While we enjoyed our different courses we enjoyed 2 different wines that were paired with them. We first started with Masi Masianco, a Pinot Grigio and Verduzzo from Italy, then went to Conundrum, a red blend from California, as the dishes got heartier with spices and sauces.

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The next small plate was a mini version of their Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad (full sized featured above). The mix of greens with roasted corn, black beans, grape tomatoes, red onion, and feta cheese goes really well with the cilantro lime vinaigrette that lightly dresses the salad. The whole thing is topped off with 5 grilled shrimp.

The salad was great but the real show stopper is how it’s platted, brought to your table, and then presented. They put a clear open bottom cylinder in the bowl, layer all of the salad ingredients into it, and, of course, topping off with the fanned out shrimp. This is then brought to your table and when it’s presented to you the server removes the cylinder and your salad perfectly spills out into the bowl. Loved watching that presentation.

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The Surf and Turf was the main for the evening.

While some people might overlook poultry, pork, and beef options, but they really need to consider them as great options for dinner as Bonefish Grill does such an amazing job wood-grilling their fish that they put that very same effort and skill set into their other meat options.

Bonefish Gill_Waltham MA_15 Bonefish Gill_Waltham MA_14 Bonefish Gill_Waltham MA_16

The Surf and Turf plate came with Ahi Tuna served with their Pan-Asian Sauce, Chilean Sea Bass with Mango Salsa and Filet Mignon. Each were utterly amazing in their own right, but my hands down favorite was the Ahi Tuni. The doneness of the tuna was spot on with a muted violet center and charred grill marks on the sides. There are several sauce options but I think that Pan-Asian Sauce was paired perfectly with it. The thing that I loved most was the buttery texture of the fish, it flaked apart so I didn’t even need a knife and it was buttery and tender. A real winner and something that I would order again.

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The dinner ended with a Pumpkin Creme Brule. It was perfectly fall themed. It was a great way to celebrate the season with the rich pumpkin and spices mixed into the creme brule.

And they use freshly whipped whip cream. That is one of those minor things I judge a restaurant on. I just appreciate the extra effort they put into it than using a canister system. It’s inconsequential, but I always take note of it.

One of the diners has an allergy to cinnamon so they substituted her Creme Brule with their plain one, which is a menu staple. As well, there were 2 other guests with different allergies and the staff easily accommodated for their meals. There is an area of the kitchen and grill that is reserved for preparing and cooking for people, whatever their dietary needs may be.

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The Creme Brule was incredible, but the real star of the show was the Espresso Martini.

An espresso is brewed for each martini order so it is really fresh. So fresh that I didn’t experience any bitter old coffee flavor that I sometimes get when I order an espresso martini. They also infuse their own vanilla vodka. It all was just wonderful and the best way to end the meal. A sip of the cocktail and then a bite of the creme brule, repeat.

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It was a wonderful night out allowing me to meet new people, check out a new restaurant, and have a wonderful meal.

I know I’ll be back for the Bang Bang Shrimp!!! Especially on a Wednesday night when you can get the appetizer for just $6. yyyyyeeeeeeeessssssss!!!!

____________________

While I was invited to attend this event to experience the new Bonefish Grill and share about the dinner, all opinions are my own.

____________________

And now let’s get to the fun stuff…. THE GIVEAWAY!!!!

Bonefish Grill is giving away a $50 gift card so you can have a great meal out at one of their 215+ locations.

JUST ENTER HERE!!!!!

open to US residents. giveaway runs until 10/17/15 @ 12am

Filed Under: Dining Out Tagged With: bang bang shrimp, Bonefish Grill

Bang Bang Shrimp

February 22, 2013

bang bang shrimp

I am so ready for this weekend!!! Why?? Well, the Daytona 500 is this weekend!!! I’ve missed watching NASCAR Sprint Cup racing during the off season and this is the race that is kicking off the new season. So, like people who love to cheer on their favorite baseball, football, basketball, etc team I cheer on a driver in hopes that he drives furiously through the field of cars to win the race.

Since we love to watch each race we really like to make an afternoon, or occasional evening, out of it so we’ve decided to pair our snacks with each race. I was inspired by Pam of The Meltaways since she created a series of recipes called NASCAR Nibbles that paired a recipe with each track in the season. I decided to give this a try with our own spin on recipes for each race of the season based upon the regional favorites of each track. Please follow along every Friday for a new Sprint Cup Snacks recipe for the upcoming race that weekend.

To celebrate the start of the season with the Daytona 500, we decided to make a fun seafood dish called Bang Bang Shrimp. It would be a great way enjoy fresh seafood, which is a seaside and boardwalk favorite. Racing on Daytona Beach is what really kicked off racing that we know today since NASCAR formed at a hotel at Daytona Beach in 1948. I wanted to pay homage to the beach and fresh seafood with this Bonefish Grill restaurant favorite. If you go to Daytona you can even visit their Ormond Beach location and have some Bang Bang Shrimp there.

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We’ve enjoyed Amanda’s Bang Bang Shrimp several times before. It does take some time to make as you have to coat the shrimp and then let is chill for 20 minutes and then it is best to fry in small batches so the oil does not cool too much with the edition of the chilled shrimp. It is worth it since these are just so fantastic.

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The Bang Bang Shrimp has a spicy sauce is perfect with the crunchy fried shrimp. The original recipe calls for the sauce to coat the shrimp but I prefer it to just be drizzled over the shrimp or served beside it for dipping as I like to control the amount of sauce is on the shrimp. No matter how you like to dress the shrimp I think you will love Bang Bang Shrimp.

Bang Bang Shrimp

Ingredients

1 lb. medium shrimp*, peeled and deveined

  • For the sauce:
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 4-5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha sauce
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

For the egg mixture:

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup milk
  • pinch each of salt and pepper

For the breading mixture:

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon dried basil

For the sauce:

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 4-5 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sriracha sauce
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

For frying:

  • 8 to 12 cups vegetable oil

Process

  1. Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl; cover and set aside.
  2. Combine beaten egg with milk in shallow bowl; set aside.
  3. Combine flour, panko, salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil in another shallow bowl; set aside.
  4. Bread the shrimp by first coating each with the breading mixture. Dip breaded shrimp into the egg and milk mixture, and then back into the breading. Arrange the coated shrimp on a plate and pop them into the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This step will help the breading to stick on the shrimp when they are frying.
  5. Heat oil in deep fryer to 325 degrees F. Use amount of oil required by your fryer.
  6. When oil is hot, fry shrimp 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on rack or paper towels.
  7. When all shrimp has been fried, drop the shrimp into a large bowl. Spoon about ¼ cup of sauce over shrimp and stir gently to coat.

*For larger shrimp, reduce the oil heat just a bit more and cook longer. For example, when I used large shrimp (U-15 shrimp), as pictured, I reduced the temperature of the oil to 320 so that the shrimp could cook longer to thoroughly cook throughout in 3-4 minutes without burning the exterior breading.

____________________

{Sprint Cup Snacks Track Facts}

File:Daytona International Speedway.svg

The Daytona 500 race is the race that really kicks off the new season of NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing.  This is the equivalency of the Super Bowl for racing. There is a week of duels prior to the race where drivers are getting back into the grove of things since the season ended in November. This year there is a new car called the Gen 6, which looks more like a stock car compared to the cars in the past recent years.

Racing at Daytona started on the beach back in the early 1900’s and was vital in the development NASCAR. Racers would come near and far to race the road coarse, but as years went on drivers were getting frustrated in the lack of organization in the racing, promotion, and securing sponsors. William France Sr, worked hard in creating and organizing the races in the 30’s and 40’s, which ultimately resulted in the development in NASCAR on February 21, 1948. Racing on the beach came to an end in 1958 because the new raceway was opening in 1959.

Track: 2.5 miles

Shape: tri oval

Banking: 32 degree banking in the oval turns;18 degree banking at the tri-oval

Surface: Asphalt

Race: 200 laps for 500 miles

Restrictor Plate Race

2012 winner: Matt Kenseth

Driver with the most Daytona 500 Wins: Richard Petty won 7 times

 

Filed Under: Fish and Shellfish, Recipes Tagged With: appetizer, bang bang shrimp, fry, NASCAR, NASCAR Snacks, racing, shrimp, snack, Sprint Cup racing, sprint cup snacks

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