Gulf Coast and Blues Trail

[Tonyfinch]

Have to disagree with Fat Guy about King Neptune's Seafood in Gulf Shores. Production line food and incredibly surly service. In fact there must have been dissension in the ranks because at one point a waitress chose to inform us that "some of the people who work here are most inconsiderate". Why this remark was made to us I have no idea. All the staff looked miserable. I have to say it was cheap though.

Thanks for the recc. for Wintzell's Oyster House in Mobile. Eccentric and over the top place with hundreds of cliches,proverbs and homilies plastering the walls.But in this Southern land of chain restaurants it was highly individual and the Oyster Po'Boy was delicious.

[Fat Guy]

What did you eat?

[Tonyfinch]

My wife had the lunch special of shrimp in a sauce on rice.The supposedly incuded side of cole slaw never arrived and had to be demanded.

The sauce tasted factory produced and was way OTT on dried oregano. The apple pie dessert was nice.

I had a dozen oysters on the shell which were fine,but hard to get wrong.

It was more the atmosphere that was odd. Maybe they were all having a bad day. And was that solitary black family made to wait longer for their menus and for service than anyone else, or was that just my imagination?

[Fat Guy]

Well, it is Alabama . . .

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[butch]

Don't miss KCs in Cleveland. Wally Joe is the Chef and has recently opened a new restaurant in Memphis which is named Wally Joe's. He is spending about all his time in Memphis. His brother Don runs the Cleveland restaurant and is very knowledgeable about wine. Tell them Butch sent you.

Raji is no longer open in Memphis. Unfortunately she died of cancer.

Try Melange or Erling Jensen's in Memphis.

[Tonyfinch]

Thanks for that. The most interesting restaurant I've found in the Orange Beach area is called Mangos on the Island, which is out at the Orange Beach Marina. It describes itself as "casual fine dining"and is definitely more ambitious than the majority of seafood and steak houses which abound round here.

Dishes such as Tilapia encrusted with nuts and served with a sweet glaze,and jerked shrimp with mango salsa and garlic mash worked well and two fish cakes-one of crawfish and one of crab made a for a rich starter.

I may go back to sample some meat dishes before we leave the area on Thursday. If so I'll report back.

[Fat Guy]

It doesn't sound as though you're going back to King Neptune's. If you do, I guess a couple of things to bear in mind are 1) be sure to go to the original location (as I recall there are two), and 2) get the royal red shrimp prepared with the crab-style spices, the fried oysters, and the gumbo.

[Tonyfinch]

Mangos on the Island unfortunately did not stand up to a second visit,and the meat dishes were inferior to the fish. Meals were sloppily plated and presented.Everything was so SWEET-duck breast with sherry and ginger sauce,and tenderloin of pork with a pepper glaze were like desserts. Actually we noticed that southern food was consistently sweeter than what we're used to in the UK. That BBQ sauce that smothers the meat for example. So much sugar.

NEW ORLEANS-one night only due to re-scheduling. Madness. Would like to have stayed for a year (although I'm not sure I'd last a year eating and drinking in that city.What excess!) Where to choose? Eventually plumped for Bayona and had a fine meal which included Rabbit "Remoulade" which was the best rabbit dish I've eaten by some margin, a succulent tenderloin of veal in a wild mushroom sauce,juicy sweetbreads as a starter and a heavenly fig and apricot tart.

GREENVILLE,MISSISSIPPI-Doe's Eat Place-the most...er....memorable restaurant I've ever visited.Well dodgy area. We were told by our hotel receptionist on no account to try to walk there even though it was only about 15 mins. walk away. "But you'll be safe once you're inside"she added. I think this was supposed to be reassuring.What a place! Ramshackle,rambling old shack,roaring kitchens in the middle of the entrance and main room old uneven furniture,no menu, the SMALLEST steak was a 2lb T-Bone at $33. Sirloins weighed in at 3lbs. We shared the T-bone which was a perfect piece of meat,superbly cooked. Accompanying were chips(homemade-what a rarity,what a treat) and a salad.Advertized bread never arrived but was really not required. We were stuffed and could only gaze in awe and wonder as the guy next to us finished his T-bone and proceeded to order and consume a plateful of spagetti and meatballs as a follow up. And I liked to think I was a trencherman.

CLARKSDALE,MISSISSIPPI- Madidi-a cool,sleek restaurant,exposed brickwork and art on the walls. Kind of out of context in Claksdale. Food similar "fine dining" style to Bayona but less sophisticated.Tuna and crab starters were uneventful. Rack of lamb with very moreish garlic mash worked well but pork tenderloin was on the dry side although the accompanying sweet potato swirls were wickedly buttery.Standout was a featherlight cheesecake on a pistachio biscuit base with a sumptuous toffee sauce.

At the Ground Zero Blues Club (so named before Sept 11th) the Saturday night act was a singalong 80s pop band,requested by a wedding party. When I expressed disgruntlement I was told "the people here dont want to listen to the Blues ALL the time yaknow" Suitably chastened we retired for an early night.

MEMPHIS,TENNESSEE-We were there Sunday and Monday nights and Rendezvous, Cosy Corner and Cielos were all closed both nights.Hueys menu asserts that their burgers have been voted "the best in Memphis since 1984". I'm not sure who constitutes the electorate for this contest but the burgers were damn fine due to the very high quality of the beef used- a proper burger,succulent,cooked medium rare,they actually tasted of meat in a world where most production line burgers taste of nothing but all the condiments slopped on to them. Best EVER I'd say.And great thick chips and heart stopping onion rings.

Automatic Slim's Tonga Club has the same ownership as Cielos.This was the most disappointing meal of our trip. The restaurant claims to be serving South American/Caribbean food. We ordered jerk duck with blackcurrants and a special of jerked beef tenderloin with mash. There was certainly plenty of it-the duck came buried deep in a bottomless pile of onion rings-but there is more to jerked food then just rubbing it with a "jerk" spice mix. It implies a marination and a slow cooking method as well. The beef was,well,just a steak that had had some dry spices rubbed on just before cooking, also the fruit was too sweet for the duck and overpowered any "jerk" flavour. Not good enough for what is an expensive restaurant. The wine was ropey too,and served too warm,and overpriced.

In case anyone was wondering, Automatic Slim is a character in the Willie Dixon song "Wang Dang Doodle" and the Tonga Club is,or was, a well known Memphis juke joint.

CHATANOOGA,TENNESSEE-Sticky Fingers. Two perfectly pleasant and acceptable slabs of ribs.Very nice beer at the big downtown brewhouse.

RUTLEDGE,GEORGIA-the best meal of all courtesy of Mr and Mrs. Stellabella who welcomed us into their lovely home and served up a sumptuous southern dinner of fried green tomatoes, shrimp with grits,various roasted vegetables dressed with oil and herbs,lovely cheeses with fresh picked figs,lashings of wine. They even provided a free bed for the night so I'd queue up to get into this place folks. It was a wonderful evening only made possible,of course by egullet. Thanks a million also to Molly and Ed who run the wonderful caboose cafe in a converted railway carriage in downtown Rutledge and who most generously provided us with best ever BBQ sandwiches and homemade fudge to eat on our journey back to grey old London. They were much appreciated.

[Tonyfinch]

Forgot to add. Thanks to everyone for all the recommendations and suggestions. They were most helpful and contributed towards us having a great trip through this fascinating part of America.

[Scottf]

Great post Tony! Sounds like you had a fantastic time. Pleased to be home?

[Tonyfinch]

Thanks Scott. Yeah. Always pleased to get home. But have got to spend another holiday eating New Orleans.

[stellabella]

Tony, hubbie and I are still beaming from the visit from the Finches. You are wonderful and I hope we see you again soon.....thanks for putting The Rut on the map where it belongs ....

...as Tony says, queue up--meeting eGullet folks has been one of the highlights of my summer, and I'm always happy to meet more.

[Tonyfinch]

To those who reccd. the Florabama Bar on the border of Florida and Alabama (FLORA BAMA, GEDDIT?????) it was a great place but rough? Don't make me laugh. If you want rough I'll take you to a couple of Irish pubs down the Kilburn High Rd at closing time on a Saturday night next time you're in London.Or to a couple of downtown pubs in Newport, South Wales,where you can cheerfully stroll by a fight on every street corner.

The Florabama lounge-full of pussies-although I admit I didn't say so in a particularly audible voice at the time.

[southern girl]

The Flora-Bama is just a fun dive with lots of LA (Lower Alabama) characters mixed with vacationers...It also is the only bar I have ever been thrown out of...but, that is another story . There used to be a guy there named Jimmy Lewis who parodied Jimmy Buffet...he did songs like Idi Amin Is My Yard Man...and Blue Hairs Driving in My Lane (particularly accurate in So. FL!).

[Ron Johnson]

Well, sorry that you were disappointed in your Memphis meal at Slims. One of my best buds is the manager there. It is more a place to see and be seen that it is known for its food. The chef with the real ability, Don Fox, left to go open Cielo with Karen Blockman, the owner. The best time I ever had at Slims was when El Vez, the Mexican Elvis, played a show there.

Cozy Corner is great 'cue, sorry you missed it.

Good call on Huey's. Thats about 2 blocks from my old apartment. I have consumed a few thousand of those burgers. Did you blow a toothpick into the ceiling?

[Blondie]

To those who reccd. the Florabama Bar on the border of Florida and Alabama (FLORA BAMA, GEDDIT?????) it was a great place but rough? Don't make me laugh. If you want rough I'll take you to a couple of Irish pubs down the Kilburn High Rd at closing time on a Saturday night next time you're in London.

You're on

It's good to hear the Flora-Bama is still open anyway. Along with Judge Roy Bean's, it was one of my favorite hangouts on the Gulf Coast. Is it still a dump?

I'm glad you liked Wintzell's as well. I worked nearby in college and practically lived on their fried oyster po boys. Mmmm

southern girl -- Don't leave us hanging! What could you possibly have done to get thrown out of the Flora-Bama?

[butch]

Sorry you missed both KC's in Cleveland, Ms. and Wally Joe's in Memphis and also sorry you didn't have more time in New Orleans. My wife and I will be in London next May and will be asking for suggestions closer to time.

I had a friend who was kicked out of Flora Bama after he tried to buy it.

[southern girl]

After a bad day on the golf course for my beloved during the Pensacola Open (he needed a par on the last hole to keep his PGA Tour card for the next year...he knew he was going to make bogey...had a "swordfight with the ball"...got a twelve between strokes and penalty strokes...was accessed a fine for "conduct unbecoming a professional" by the officials...$1000 fine and of course lost his card) we began drinking in the clubhouse...with other guys in the same situation (losing their cards)...this was about noon...carried the festivities to the beach and continued drinking...then on to the Flora Bama around 7...for...just what we needed...more alcohol. After a couple of rounds the band made the bad decision to take a break...and we still wanted music...so our contingent went up on the stage and proceeded to provide "music" ...I think it was when we got near the drums that management decided we needed a timeout...so, we were bounced...thankfully not banned. We were allowed back the next night and even asked by the band if we wanted to provide backup... .

[Tonyfinch]

You know the neighbourhood's going downhill when those bloody golfers move in.

[southern girl]

[mr food]

We're spending a Sunday night in Perdido Key next month and need restaurant recs. Help Please on places open Sunday evening.

TIA

[joiei]

Check with Jackson's on South Palafox in downtown P'cola. The best food in town. Perdido has had a bad rep for years, I hope they have a new chef. And there is an Oyster bar under the highrise bridge to the island, on the island side. I do not remember the name. The deck was fun a couple of years ago.