If you need to know one thing about me, then it should be about my love for the television show The Office that aired on television between 2005 and 2013. I own the Blu-ray disks and I have the Amazon Prime Video version of it. I’ve watched it over and over and over, finding something new to laugh at every time. It was in 2003 that I decided to make a trek to Scranton to try a few of the places mentioned in The Office. It was an item I could tick off my bucket list, and I was pleasantly surprised. I’m going to review two of the places, both with significant purposes in the show. The first place is Cooper’s Seafood, a location mentioned multiple times throughout the series.
Coopers’ Seafood is a historical landmark in Scranton, being founded in 1948. In fact, one of the features of Cooper’s is their hall of history. This is a long hall that connects the back of the restaurant with the front and is filled with historical memorabilia of Scranton. Each section of the hall covers a specific decade in the history of Scranton and was cool to see how Scranton had changed through the ages. Worth a walk through if you ever make your way to Scranton. Walking into Cooper’s there is a souvenir shop where you can find quite a few gifts relating to The Office. I purchased several Dundee Award statues for friends back home, along with a few t-shirts, and other small items. It is at the front you are greeted by the hostess and led to your seat. It’s a lively atmosphere, with an extravagant nautical theme. The wait person was prompt in taking my drink order, along with explaining the specials of the day. I, as I usually do, had already looked at the menu and knew what I wanted to order. There would be Maryland Crab Bisque, crab legs and lobster, and rice pudding for dessert. It was a simple order, nothing that was high end.
The Maryland Crab Bisque was creamy and full of flavor. There were hearty chunks of crab in the bisque, which I thought was unusual for bisque, but did not detract from how delicious the soup is, if anything it added flavor. I hesitate to use the word soup, because does a bisque really classify as a soup? I’m not sure. One of the choices you have with the crab bisque is whether you want a shot of sherry to go with it. Of course, I said yes to the sherry, as I think sherry is always a good idea with a good cream-based bisque. The sherry adds a depth of flavor to the bisque and brings a touch of elegance to it. I do shy away adding any type of cracker to a bisque, who wants to mute the flavor of bisque with a tasteless cracker.
After the bisque came the main course, a plate of crab legs and lobster with drawn butter. I also ordered a side of steamed broccoli, had to eat something healthy for the night. This also came with a small serving of coleslaw. I knew I was headed to Portland, Maine and decided to get a head start on eating generous amounts of lobster. The lobster and crab legs were adequate for a land locked local like Scranton, but I really wanted a base line to compare with lobster in Maine. I did think the crab legs were a little overcooked and sitting on the edge of mushy. For the most part the meat of the crab leg came out clean, and you can never go wrong dipping crab in hot drawn butter. The lobster was tasty and had good seasoning on it. Was it cooked to perfection, not really, but it was not severely overcooked. The important thing was the seasoning did not overpower the sweetness of the lobster, and again drawn butter. Overall, I’d order it again, but there are so many other items to try on the menu first.
Finaly, came time dessert. I decided to go simple and order rice pudding. So, what makes a good rice pudding? First the rice should not be mushy, it should still have some bite to is. Second, it should have a good cinnamon and vanilla flavor with a hint of nutmeg. I also like rum soaked raisins in mine, but they are not essential in a good rice pudding. The one thing rice pudding should not be, is watery, too thin. I must clarify something here; I am not talking about Rice Kheer from India. I love Rice Kheer, but when I talk about rice pudding, I am mainly referring to the American version. Cooper’s has a very good rice pudding, topped with a cinnamon dusted whip cream. It met all the criteria above in my opinion, and it was a nice ending to a good meal.
Cooper’s Seafood is definitely on my list of restaurants to visit again if I am ever in the area. The one thing I want to try next is the Gigantic Brazilian Lobster Tail. It’s described on the menu as almost 2 pounds of lobster tail, basted with butter and broiled. I’m sold on this one. If you find yourself close to Scranton during your travels, make a detour and try out Cooper’s Seafood. Stop not only for the food, but pick yourself up a Dundee Award, maybe “whitest tennis shoes” award. You deserve it.
| Website: | Cooper's Seafood |
| Address: | 701 N. Washington Ave, Scranton, PA |
| Phone: | (570)346-6883 |
| Visited: | October 16, 2023 |
| Menu: | Cooper's Seafood Menu |
