Catfish Max
Tom Delabastide, Ed Kearon and Rich Joyce enjoy the outside dining tables, which are right on the canal, at Catifsh Max in Seaford. Credit: Newsday photo / Ken Spencer
Worlds away from the bustle of Merrick Road, a network of canals snakes through the southern fringe of Seaford -- behind homes, in front of boatyards and past the occasional restaurant. It's mostly locals clued into these eating and drinking spots where, ideally, the dining is outdoors. Even evenings when the weather is less than perfect, crowds converge; a window view of bobbing boats beats no view at all.
"It's chilly and buggy out there," the hostess at Catfish Max remarked the night our party of four arrived at the well-hidden place. I glanced at the empty deck and followed her past the crowded bar to a window table.
Was it my imagination or did everybody in the place know one another? We were drawn into the camaraderie. As we sat down, the couple across from us rose, ostensibly to leave. "Don't think it's you," said the woman, a blonde in black leggings. "We're just going out for a smoke."
They reappeared outside. Was the burly bearded guy in jeans the woman's husband? Something in the way he lit her cigarette said no.
They excused themselves twice for outdoor breaks before our food arrived. We had decided to make a meal of appetizers and had polished off most of a bottle of cabernet and the contents of the bread basket as well as all the gratis olives and roasted peppers before plates were set before us.
Best was the flash-fried calamari, tender and crisp. An item called "piggly wigglys" - blackened jumbo shrimp and sea scallops wrapped in bacon - made for an odd combo, the smokiness of the bacon overwhelming the delicate shellfish. But I did enjoy the tuna sashimi accompanied by sesame seaweed salad, as well as some decent pork pot stickers.
In truth, the food was secondary to the convivial scene. We lingered late into the evening.
When the smokers finally bid us adieu, their table was taken by two women, one of whom leaned over to strike up a conversation. She confided that she knew the owner, Amy Breidenbach, and had advised her on the naming of the place, originally situated at a nearby locale. "I told her she should use her dog's name, Max," she said.
When we left, after coffee and dessert (a dulce de leche caramel sundae and sliced strawberries in a chocolate tulip shell), the breeze had quieted and the air felt warmer. We sat on the deck for a few minutes, until the flies of early summer sent us to our cars. --Joan Reminick (6/15/07)
If you want to dock and dine, the restaurant is located on Tideway River, about 800 yards northwest of Great Island Channel's Seaford Four Corners. There are seven slips.
