Boston Hotel's Steak & Crab

Overall: 8.48 (out of 10)
Fry: 9.35 (out of 10)
Sides: 1.88 (out of 3)
Value: 1.55 (avg is 1.36)
Family: 8.44 (out of 10)

Located on Genesee St in Lancaster.  The fry is skin on haddock, and is available beer battered or broiled.  The fry is served with the holy trinity; coleslaw, macaroni salad, and potato salad, as well as french fries and a slice of rye bread for $11.95.  The fry is served from 11am until 10pm on Fridays only, and reservations are accepted for parties of 6 or more.

Boston Hotel's Steak & Crab has been in business for many years and has a reputation for churning out fresh, tasty, seafood for reasonable prices.  Because of this reputation the restaurant is often very crowded, and there can be a bit of a wait.  When you walk in to the restaurant you are greeted by the bar room which also has a few high top tables for those wishing to eat by the bar.  There is also a back dining room with about 20 tables and a few tvs.  The menu consists mostly of seafood appetizers and entrees, along with some sandwiches and steaks and chops.  There is no dedicated kids menu but there are burgers and a few other sandwiches that would satisfy most kids.  We ordered clams as an appetizer, a dozen raw on the half shell ($4.99), and a half dozen casino ($5.49).  They were fresh, tasty, and well worth their cost.  Despite how busy the restaurant was, this was perhaps the best service I've ever had.  Our waitress was on top of everything, the food came quick, and we were checked on often.

Fish: an adequately sized piece of skin on haddock beer battered and fried.  The fry was cooked perfectly as the fish flaked nicely.  The fish was fresh and seasoned well, while the batter was crispy and flavorful.  The fry showed little to no signs of grease.  All in all, this was a top notch piece of fried fish.  Note: rather than being served with a lemon, there is a bottle of lemon juice on each table.

Tartar: Very good homemade tartar with a strong dill flavor.

Sides: The french fries were cooked and seasoned nicely.  Their is also white vinegar on the tables.  Both the macaroni and the potato salad were classically prepared with a creamy mayo based dressing.  The potato salad had chunks of celery in it, while the mac salad had diced celery and green peppers.  Both salads were very good.  The coleslaw was disappointing though.  The shredded cabbage and carrots mixed with a creamy dressing looked delicious and obviously homemade, but the flavor was definitely off.  It was way too sweet.  Had the coleslaw been better this would of been a top 5 overall fry.

Clam Chowder: an excellent version with plenty of clams, well cooked potatoes, celery, and carrots.  The chowder was well seasoned and piping hot.  For $4.99, this was one of the larger "bowls" of soup I've had.  My only fault with the chowder is that it was a bit gummy, but this is being knit picky as it really was a very good soup that I would absolutely order again. (Cup $3.50) (Bowl $4.99) (Rating: 7.5)