Black Arrow

Chef Brenden Crocker is a straight shooter when it comes to the vision he has for his restaurant.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "We're one hundred percent focused on food and service here."

So when he opened his new spot named Black Arrow, his mission was clear.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "We're not a craft cocktail bar, we're not a night club or a lounge.  It's really a food focused restaurant."

And he's keeping that food simple, and simply delicious.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "I don't do cube shaped food, or foams or stuff that you can't pronounce, and it's been very well received so far."

Brenden has been a fixture on the North Shore restaurant scene for more than twenty years.  But opening Black Arrow here in Manchester-by-the-Sea is a homecoming, because he grew up in this small town and now he sees plenty of familiar faces filling his forty-four seat dining room.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "It's a small town and a lot of people that come in are from Manchester, so a lot of people know each other in the restaurant, and there's a lot of people talking back and forth between tables, a lot of people getting up and talking to somebody at the bar."

The restaurant is located right on the water, and the space is decorated with lots of nautical touches, and large French doors that let in plenty of natural light, with the overall goal to simply make customers feel welcome.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "I want my customers to feel comfortable, welcome, and happy.  People walk in here, they get greeted with a smile, they get sat, we feed them.  My main objective is that everybody leaves happy, full, and satisfied."

The menu at Black Arrow is filled with recipes culled from Brenden's culinary career, with an emphasis on what's simple, local, and delicious.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "We've always sort of leaned towards what we call grass roots cuisine and that is just start with simple ingredients and keep it simple, and we do really do anything foo foo."

So starters include local clams sautéed with lemon, butter, and herbs, served with housemade bread for dipping, a kale and quinoa salad with roasted beets and blackberry vinaigrette, and rare seared tuna with cucumber and avocado.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "It's bright, it's flavorful, it's colorful, it's pretty to look at, it's really tasty to eat."

For something a bit heavier, the roasted shallot and artichoke dip with housemade pita chips is a good choice, and the crispy thick cut potato chips topped with bacon, scallions, sour cream, and aged cheddar is even better.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "You're getting a really crunchy salty potato chip, you're getting melted aged cheddar cheese, a little bit of sour cream, a scallion, so it's multitextural and it's definitely one of our winners."

When it comes to entrees, hopefully you're in a comfort food mood.  And nothing satisfies like the skillet roasted chicken breast topped with bacon jam over a big pile of mashed potatoes.  And this is one chicken dish where you'll want to go all in on the skin.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "It's super super crispy skin, like it almost shatters it's so crispy.  And we sear it at such a high heat that it immediately locks in all the juices and stays nice and juicy.  It's got a good chicken flavor."

For a twist on a New England classic, check out the pan roasted breaded haddock.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "It's got all the flavors of baked haddock, but it's just presented a little differently.  It's two pieces of haddock stacked on top of each other, stacked on potatoes, so it's a cute little dish, but it definitely a favorite."

Of course sometimes you're just in the mood for a good simple burger served alongside a huge pile of fries.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "We were trying to do sort of a fancier burger when we first opened, and every time we put something out there, people would just ask for bacon and cheese.  So now we just do American cheese, onions, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and special sauce, which is ketchup and mayonnaise.  It's a meal."

When it comes to dessert at Black Arrow, you might keep it light with a shortcake topped with whatever fruits are in season.  But as soon as you see this big chunk of chocolate cake, it’s going to be hard to resist.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "It's a big giant piece of chocolate cake, we make caramel sauce and ganache that we put on it with whipped cream.  People love it."

In fact, people seem to love everything coming out of the kitchen here, and chef Brenden and his team are happy to serve it all.

Brenden Crocker - Chef/Owner, Black Arrow: "It never really feels like work, I look forward to coming here every day, I love fooling around in the kitchen, I love cooking.  And it's nice to just come in and with like-minded people we just talk about food all day and next thing you know we're making it, putting it on a plate and selling it and that's it."