Bluewater Seafood is a small local chain and has been in the neighborhood for many years. I had never been and wanted to try it, so we went with some friends for a Father's Day dinner. The place was crowded
but we had the option to sit outside, which we did and were glad of
it--somewhat less noisy, even with the rain on the roof, and the
restaurant actually seemed pretty cold inside.
It was kind of an
up and down meal. The best item I had was the boudin balls--they had a
nice crisp batter and flavorful (not too spicy) filling. Would
definitely get more of those. We also had onion rings and fried pickles
for appetizers, and they were very good--very little added salt on the
pickles so the pickle flavor came through.
On the low end, my
blackened mahi-mahi was not too good--a bland, kind of off sauce on
somewhat rubbery fish. Didn't finish it. Many others in our party had
entrees they were happy with--the catfish had a crispy, salty breading,
the shrimp were fresh and ate well, and our one non-seafood eater was
happy with her burger, even though it's a prefab patty. For sides, the
green beans were very tasty and well-cooked, perhaps just a little oily
but yummy. Cole slaw was not much--barely any flavor other than
cabbage.
We had a banana pudding and a sundae for dessert. The
pudding was quite good, it is very apparently homemade and has great
banana flavor--no hint of artificial flavor. The sundae was a big hit,
brownie on top and on the bottom.
Service was very good, we had a
friendly and relaxed waiter who made many trips to our table. The
bathroom was not too clean, but not bad for a very busy evening.
Overall it was fine, but there are better seafood places if you go
farther afield.
My Yelp Review
Monday, June 24, 2019
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Which Wich?
I have never been to a Which Wich before, though I've seen them around,
so it was time to stop in and try it out. Am glad I did, the sandwich
was delicious.
The ordering process is a bit different here. Since I walked straight up to the register I got an orientation, which was friendly and polite. You go to a counter near the register and pick up a form, study the menu at your leisure, fill out the form, then get in line for food. I like this better than coming and feeling pressured to make a decision quickly when there are a lot of options, which there are, including gluten-free and vegan options.
They have several signature sandwich options, or you can build your own sub. I went with the CheeseburgerWich. It's made with their sirloin Philly steak beef and bacon, with cheese, tomatoes and sauce. I had it with the house chips and a chocolate Courtney's Cake. As stated, the sandwich was first-rate--the beef is well seasoned and all the ingredients combined well. The sandwich holds together pretty well for eating, instead of falling apart as some do. I will be very happy to try more of those. Their house chips are good also.
A few minor down sides for me. They have no Coke products, and the root beer wasn't working. That's just a matter of preference. The cake was an OK packaged product, but kind of dense. Shake next time. Several reviewers have said service was slow--for my visit it was neither fast nor slow, but it seems they are not trying to be as fast as a Jimmy John's. And it's pretty pricey, a combo meal will set you back at least $12 before the tip. It looks like a fast food place but it's closer to fast casual in food and service.
They have two gender-neutral restrooms, which makes a lot of sense to me--why should two people of the same gender have to wait for the designated bathroom? And why should people who don't identify with either have to choose? They were very clean and ready to go when I was there. I will for sure be back.
My Yelp Review
The ordering process is a bit different here. Since I walked straight up to the register I got an orientation, which was friendly and polite. You go to a counter near the register and pick up a form, study the menu at your leisure, fill out the form, then get in line for food. I like this better than coming and feeling pressured to make a decision quickly when there are a lot of options, which there are, including gluten-free and vegan options.
They have several signature sandwich options, or you can build your own sub. I went with the CheeseburgerWich. It's made with their sirloin Philly steak beef and bacon, with cheese, tomatoes and sauce. I had it with the house chips and a chocolate Courtney's Cake. As stated, the sandwich was first-rate--the beef is well seasoned and all the ingredients combined well. The sandwich holds together pretty well for eating, instead of falling apart as some do. I will be very happy to try more of those. Their house chips are good also.
A few minor down sides for me. They have no Coke products, and the root beer wasn't working. That's just a matter of preference. The cake was an OK packaged product, but kind of dense. Shake next time. Several reviewers have said service was slow--for my visit it was neither fast nor slow, but it seems they are not trying to be as fast as a Jimmy John's. And it's pretty pricey, a combo meal will set you back at least $12 before the tip. It looks like a fast food place but it's closer to fast casual in food and service.
They have two gender-neutral restrooms, which makes a lot of sense to me--why should two people of the same gender have to wait for the designated bathroom? And why should people who don't identify with either have to choose? They were very clean and ready to go when I was there. I will for sure be back.
My Yelp Review
Monday, June 10, 2019
El Mariachi
I had never been to this place while
it was Hacienda Isabel, but our family decided to come give this place a
try under its new name.
The service was overall OK but a bit on the slow side given that it was only moderately busy. We ordered a queso with our chips, which was fine. The chips are slightly thicker than average--some say that makes them hard but these were crisp and good. They serve their salsa warm.
We ordered a combination enchilada plate, the spinach enchiladas, and the La Bamba special platter. I would say the enchiladas were fine--I don't have very discerning taste on those, and they seemed competently done. The La Bamba platter was a little disappointing.
If you look at their menu you'll note that some of the fajita platters are served with the condiments (cheese, sour cream, guacamole etc) in dishes directly on the hot plate. Those condiments are supposed to be cold, and they heat up quickly when served that way. At best that reduces their contrast on the tortilla (warm guacamole is kind of gross), and the cheese becomes difficult to get out of the dish almost immediately. Move the dishes off the hot plate as soon as they bring it if you can.
As for the contents of the La Bamba--the beef and chicken were average. Beef kind of chewy, chicken just a touch dry, which is normal. I thought the sausage would be something tasty, like a chorizo or a smoked sausage, but it was pretty much a hot dog. I've had this in other Tex-Mex places, you would think I'd have learned. The baloney flavor just doesn't compliment the rest of the items. The shrimp were OK, a bit overdone but decently seasoned. It really wasn't too bad, we ended up eating it all, just not great.
Ordinarily I'd order a dessert, but we were ready to leave and I didn't see it turning the meal around, so we'll assume their traditional desserts are OK as well. I give them 3 stars because they are friendly folks and good corporate citizens, supporting good causes. There are probably other things on the menu that are better (the ribeye tacos looked tempting).
My Yelp Review
The service was overall OK but a bit on the slow side given that it was only moderately busy. We ordered a queso with our chips, which was fine. The chips are slightly thicker than average--some say that makes them hard but these were crisp and good. They serve their salsa warm.
We ordered a combination enchilada plate, the spinach enchiladas, and the La Bamba special platter. I would say the enchiladas were fine--I don't have very discerning taste on those, and they seemed competently done. The La Bamba platter was a little disappointing.
If you look at their menu you'll note that some of the fajita platters are served with the condiments (cheese, sour cream, guacamole etc) in dishes directly on the hot plate. Those condiments are supposed to be cold, and they heat up quickly when served that way. At best that reduces their contrast on the tortilla (warm guacamole is kind of gross), and the cheese becomes difficult to get out of the dish almost immediately. Move the dishes off the hot plate as soon as they bring it if you can.
As for the contents of the La Bamba--the beef and chicken were average. Beef kind of chewy, chicken just a touch dry, which is normal. I thought the sausage would be something tasty, like a chorizo or a smoked sausage, but it was pretty much a hot dog. I've had this in other Tex-Mex places, you would think I'd have learned. The baloney flavor just doesn't compliment the rest of the items. The shrimp were OK, a bit overdone but decently seasoned. It really wasn't too bad, we ended up eating it all, just not great.
Ordinarily I'd order a dessert, but we were ready to leave and I didn't see it turning the meal around, so we'll assume their traditional desserts are OK as well. I give them 3 stars because they are friendly folks and good corporate citizens, supporting good causes. There are probably other things on the menu that are better (the ribeye tacos looked tempting).
My Yelp Review
Monday, June 3, 2019
Bahama Buck's
Bahama Buck's is the most established of the shaved ice places--most are
small trucks. I seem to remember that Bahama Buck's was in a truck for
awhile, but that may be apocryphal. Anyway, me and the kids stopped in
the other night for the first time. We had a Pineapple Dream, a
Caribbean Cola, a lime sno cone, and I got a free pina colada bahama
rama mama (something like that, a thing with shaved ice and ice cream).
The drinks were fine. The Pineapple Dream was pretty tasty. The Caribbean Cola is a vanilla coke with a lot of ice--not really worth it. The sno cones are good, lots of syrup and fluffy ice. Service was polite, not super fast as some folks may have been in training.
The place is basic but cute inside. However, this location at least had some cleanliness issues. 1) The floors were sticky, 2) while most of the tabletops were clean, the big booth we wanted had been left dirty, 3) all the tables had trash underneath them, 4) the men's restroom did not lock (they had time to figure out a creative sign asking you to knock, but not to fix it I guess), and the restroom itself was on the low end of convenience store cleanliness. Yuk. There were five kids on duty. When you have that many at the same time, they get more interested in each other and don't get around to things. All got to work when they had orders, but not much else was getting done.
I want to rate them OK as they are good corporate citizens, hire youth, and provide a place where kids can go. But I think I'll get mine from the drive through next time.
My Yelp Review
The drinks were fine. The Pineapple Dream was pretty tasty. The Caribbean Cola is a vanilla coke with a lot of ice--not really worth it. The sno cones are good, lots of syrup and fluffy ice. Service was polite, not super fast as some folks may have been in training.
The place is basic but cute inside. However, this location at least had some cleanliness issues. 1) The floors were sticky, 2) while most of the tabletops were clean, the big booth we wanted had been left dirty, 3) all the tables had trash underneath them, 4) the men's restroom did not lock (they had time to figure out a creative sign asking you to knock, but not to fix it I guess), and the restroom itself was on the low end of convenience store cleanliness. Yuk. There were five kids on duty. When you have that many at the same time, they get more interested in each other and don't get around to things. All got to work when they had orders, but not much else was getting done.
I want to rate them OK as they are good corporate citizens, hire youth, and provide a place where kids can go. But I think I'll get mine from the drive through next time.
My Yelp Review
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)