New Restaurant in Half Moon Bay

From The Chronicle's Inside Scoop:

As he takes over the old Anchorage restaurant, just north of Half Moon Bay (4210 N. Cabrillo Hwy.), Cetrella owner Paul Shenkman is realizing his dream of owning the cliffside property he first spied when he moved to the Bay Area nearly 20 years ago.

In August, Shenkman will turn the Anchorage into Sam's Chowder House. He's shooting for a traditional New England-style seafood house, the kind found along the East Coast.

"When I moved out here in 1987," says Shenkman, "I was amazed that up and down the coast, these kinds of places don't exist."

The property, currently split into two, closed about 2 1/2 years ago. The remodel, by Barry McAdoo Design, will gut the inside, creating one large space. An oyster bar will command attention near the entrance, but will compete with the floor-to-ceiling windows with ocean views.

Cetrella chef Lewis Rossman is the consulting executive chef.

Slurpy oysters and cracked crab are some of the traditional oyster bar offerings, but Shenkman will introduce non-New Yorkers to the pan roast -- a mix of seafood steamed in broth, cream and herbs -- which he first had at New York's Grand Central Oyster Bar.

There will also be a full menu with seven to eight varieties of grilled fish, all things fried, and clambakes, either tableside or set up privately on the beach below for parties.

Non-seafood choices include grilled steak, pork chop and chicken.

And, as the name implies, there will be a variety of chowders, oyster stews and seafood soups that rotate through the menu. Entrees will be $19-$26.

There will be 125 seats inside, 40 outside on a deck and Adirondack chairs set on a bluff right above the beach. Just in time for summer -- or at least the Bay Area's version of summer -- Sam's Chowder House is set to open Aug. 1.

Mmm... "all things fried"... I'm SO there.