Plank Seafood Provisions
When I think of the word plank what immediately comes to mind is, well pirates. Plank Provisions in the old market thankfully is not that. Plank Provisions is a seafood forward restaurant located in the Old Market on 12th and Howard. It was well, I’ll let you read for yourself. You know the drill.
To the nitty gritty:
The ambiance: When you enter the restaurant you are greeted with the smell of seemingly fresh seafood. The smell was a bit overwhelming at first but eventually faded to the background. The atmosphere was comfortably outfitted with nautical chic décor and was well lit with huge windows to let in beautiful natural light and a lovely patio seating area just outside the restaurant. The inside was beautifully decorated and fit the theme of the restaurant well.
The Food: The menu was very extensive. I arrived just before the end of happy hour and ordered a few things. First, they have oysters for $1.50 outside of happy hour Monday-Saturday from 11am-6:30pm and all day on Sunday. Personally, I am not an oyster girlie so I did not partake but it looked very popular according to the other patrons. From the happy hour menu, I ordered the truffle fries and the Maryland crab dip. The truffle fries were great! Usually, truffle fries are shoestring fries but these were thick cut and delicious. The Maryland crab dip was a little bland but came with a small bottle of hot sauce that gave it a nice kick. The happy hour items were just okay and in all honesty the happy hour pricing wasn’t very jovial if you catch my drift.
For my main dish I ordered the farro salmon. Sadly, I was unimpressed. The salmon was cooked well however it was bland. The potatoes and spinach as a side dish were overcooked and bland as well. It all sat on a bed of what was a little too much sauce. Overall, the presentation of the main meal looked thrown together.
The beverages: They had a very extensive wine list and a few cocktails as well. I had the house margarita on the happy hour special and it was okay but nothing spectacular. Some of the wines however looked very interesting. I would personally recommend trying one of the selections of the orange wine & rose. Orange wine is a different kind of wine and has bright, fresh citrus notes that are more than worth the squeeze!
My recommendation? In the infamous words of the queen Beyonce herself “It’s fine, it’s boring but, it’s whatever.” The food itself wasn’t bad but it wasn’t spectacular and it wasn’t some place I would eat again. Life is just too short to eat food that is just alright. As far as Plank Provisions goes, try it for yourself. However, you may be better off walking the plank than eating there.
As always, eat well, drink better…somewhere else.
Truffle Fries
Maryland Crab Dip