Skip to main content

Seems some of them are closing, maybe they have overpriced their meals, I mean when it cost more than $25.00 for two people to eat not including what I have to pay for my child to eat. Some I could name is, Ryan's, Singletons BBQ, Crackerbarrel, Chili's, Applebee's, Texas Roadhouse and a few others.

 

And why do they charge $2.00 for tea, coffee, or a soft drink per person, I can take $2.00 for enough tea to last me for along time. Even if you order nothing but a salad for two it could cost more than $25.00 at some of them.

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

"Favorite" and where I go often are two different things.

"Favorites" are probably Outback, and Ruby Tuesday's .

Used to go to Ryans if I could get there before 4 as it cost $5 at that time. Was barely worth that , but  on Fridays it was OK. Definitely not worth twice that . Now, that price is only until 3pm. Don't go there anymore.

Garden Gate about once a week, Chinese across from southgate mall about once every 2 weeks.

Used to love the ribs at Sidelines , but they are no more.

Tried Crocodile Ed's during Handy and loved it, expensive but worth it. Now they are gone.

Every 6 weeks or so we go to my absolute favorites -Wolf Bay Lodge at Orange Beach, Original Oyster House and Desoto's in Gulf S****s.

Gettin' time to go back.

 

Edited to state the name of one of our states cities does NOT have **** as part of it's name.
It is G U L F  S H O R E S .

Damm this censor is stupid !

 

 

As to the question of why do they charge $2 for tea or Cokes, well , because they can and it is a high profit margin item.

I'm glad Seeweed's fond of the restaurants down on the AL coast.  I personally cannot stand sand and heat--and last saw the Gulf Coast in 1978. 

 

We're perfectly happy running our yacht (LOL) on Lake Wilson.  I just wish somebody would put a decent seafood restaurant on the TN River, where diners could go by boat.  The lot by Happy Hollow Bridge would be a great place for a fish shack.

 

I also long for a really high quality barbeque place--someplace that'd stack up to the old Gridley's, Leonards or Central BBQ in Memphis.  Rick's is okay, and his marketing concept appears to be doing well.  Big Bob Gibson's day to day food just won't hold a candle to Chris Lilly's competition bbq.  Some local restaurants do okay pork shoulder, but they really don't know how to run a full like kick a__ barbeque restaurant.

 

As far as favorite places, Demos was one of my favorites.  The rent was too high, and they just didn't sell enough alcohol in this rather quiet, conservative place.  Much more $ in diners pockets in MidTenn. 

 

I like the Roadkill @ Texas Roadhouse for a bargain item.  The $4.99 specials @ Captain D's aren't bad.  The $2 meal deals @ Taco Bell are a bargain, even with an extra taco or two.  My wife's favorite place (no kiddin') is Krystal.  Legend's burger special on Saturdays is great.  As you can tell, we're low rent eaters, and just about always get water.

 

For a splurge, we go to Nashville and eat at the Magiano's Little Italy out on Broadway just past Vanderbilt.  If you take 4 people, they'll just start bringing the best food you ever dreamed of--and then they'll bring seconds and full to go boxes.  It's much better Italian food than we've ever gotten in our 6 trips to Italy.

Red Lobster is my favorite, there cheese biscuits are wonderful. Go before 4 and eat lunch special. I also like krystal, its good when the small burgers are fresh. I do not like to go to a buffet style resturant. Just do not like people messing around in what I eat. I like it cooked and served to me fresh.

Actually Bamaman, I just plain like seafood over anything else, Went to Seattle a few years back, and after a week, it occurred to me I had had salmon for dinner every single day !

The Gulf Coast has some of the best in the way of shrimp , oysters, and flounder. There is a great restaurant i Jacksonville, Fla called Clark's Fish Camp, with really great seafood,but don't go there too much.

LAH, I forgot Red Lobster. When they have their specials, they are good, but for some reason , we don't sem to go very often . Maybe just because they are on the other side of the Tennessee Ocean.

Originally Posted by Bamaman1:

 

For a splurge, we go to Nashville and eat at the Magiano's Little Italy out on Broadway just past Vanderbilt. 

 

i have been wanting to try magiano's. i usually hit amerigo's on west end.

 

my favorite local restaurants are just that, local. anything downtown.

 

as far as chain restaurants, i hit texas roadhouse on wednesdays for $9.99 11oz steak with two sides and i love 5 guys burgers.

Maggiano's has fixed price meals for 4 or more people, and they're covered on the below menu.  Trick is to eat a helping and ask for seconds on the items you really like.  When you're stuffed, order one more round of food--and then ask for a to go container after it's delivered.  You'll get two more meals per person out of the to go container.  When we're not so free spending, we get a flatbread appetizer and split a dish--and come out stuffed.

 

http://www.maggianos.com/EN/Lo...u/R.001.025.0195.pdf

My favorite is usually determined by the type of food I'm in the mood for.  If I had to pick one restaurant in the area that I'd miss the most if it left or closed I'd have to say that would be New Orleans Transfer.  For Chicken I'd have to say Popeyes and for steaks I'd have to say Oh! Bryans.  Dales and Georges are great steaks but for the money and consistency I'd have to say Oh! Bryans and now that they are in Tuscumbia it's close.  For Shrimp or Red Snapper then no question about it that would be George's.  For Chinese then it's Rice Box.  It's tough though to say one favorite.

I am right there with you on Maggiano’s.  It is well worth the drive to Nashville.  We always go to the one at 3106 West End Ave near Vanderbilt.  The atmosphere is unforgettable.  Once when we were there, a member of our party was celebrating a birthday.  Our server sang “Happy Birthday” in Italian.  Man, what a beautiful tenor voice!  I love their Classic Pastas.  My favorite is the Taylor Street Baked Ziti. I always choose it as my take-home meal.  With their Classic Pastas, you get a second full serving in a covered tray to take home.  Their flatbreads are the best I have ever found anywhere.  Folks, believe me, it really is worth the drive.  We go there about twice a month from the Shoals to meet family for an early evening out.

Originally Posted by seeweed:

Actually Bamaman, I just plain like seafood over anything else, Went to Seattle a few years back, and after a week, it occurred to me I had had salmon for dinner every single day !

The Gulf Coast has some of the best in the way of shrimp , oysters, and flounder. There is a great restaurant i Jacksonville, Fla called Clark's Fish Camp, with really great seafood,but don't go there too much.

LAH, I forgot Red Lobster. When they have their specials, they are good, but for some reason , we don't sem to go very often . Maybe just because they are on the other side of the Tennessee Ocean.

I can make a meal with the biscuits and salad. There's a nice place to go in Moulton, It's a steak and seafood. I had there catfish and it was very good. It's on 157 past the salebarn on the right. I really enjoy seafood. I want to go back to the coast sometime in the near future.

Originally Posted by LAH:
Originally Posted by seeweed:

Actually Bamaman, I just plain like seafood over anything else, Went to Seattle a few years back, and after a week, it occurred to me I had had salmon for dinner every single day !

The Gulf Coast has some of the best in the way of shrimp , oysters, and flounder. There is a great restaurant i Jacksonville, Fla called Clark's Fish Camp, with really great seafood,but don't go there too much.

LAH, I forgot Red Lobster. When they have their specials, they are good, but for some reason , we don't sem to go very often . Maybe just because they are on the other side of the Tennessee Ocean.

I can make a meal with the biscuits and salad. There's a nice place to go in Moulton, It's a steak and seafood. I had there catfish and it was very good. It's on 157 past the salebarn on the right. I really enjoy seafood. I want to go back to the coast sometime in the near future.

======================

 

Those biscuits are a real problem for me. I can't seem to stop eating them, then I get bloated !

Haven't tried the place in Moulton , but I basically work on the theory that the closer you get to Pickwick Dam the better the catfish is.

There is a really great catfish place in Iuka, called the Country Squire. Haven't eaten there in several years tho, just not the right place at the right time.

Pickwick Lodge , when they cook the whole catfish (special days like Valentine, Mother's day, etc) have good catfish. Still none of them can hold a candle to Bill Bellos Botel back when Bill ran it.

We don't have a shortage of great places to eat in the area and my favorite one just depends on what I'm in the mood for at the moment. Right now I am sorta craving some catfish which means Newbern's is my favorite. They consistently have the best catfish that I have had anywhere, I would bet I have eaten there a couple hundred times or more over the years and I could count on one hand the times that I was disappointed with the fish. They have better fries than anyone else too, their hushpuppies are sort of a hit & miss thing between the best ones I have ever eaten and mediocre. 

My favorite's for just "multi purpose" dining when I am not craving anything in particular and going somewhere that everyone will be satisfied with are: Logan's as they have all around decent food and usually the best service of anywhere in the area, Cracker Barrell as they have a wide variety of food and they are great for breakfast, and Chili's. For Chinese I like Rice Box and Papa Wok or for a buffet the China House. For Italian I like Ricatoni's, I don;t care much for Frank's but that's just mho. If you want Mexican there is no comparison to La Hacienda, they are the best in the area. For a burger I prefer Stagg's but Five Guys is pretty good too, the best place for chicken tenders is Curbside Grill and their fries are pretty good too. Best Pizza in the area is Primo's on Cloverdale road, it's **** good and everyone should try it. Stephano's deserves a mention on best pizza too, Primo's has them beat by a little (lot) on the pizza but it is still way above average not to mention that Stephano's makes a great sandwich and their chicken Parmesan is awesome. For a breakfast buffet, The Rocking Chair in Tuscumbia has a good one on Saturday mornings and even have country ham on it, the only down side there is that the buffet is small and they seem to have some difficulty keeping it stocked. For a steak, if I don't feel like making my own I like Dale's but I do tell them to go light on the Dale's Sauce. I have never tried George's but intend to at some point, I always' liked Oh' Bryans! steak but I have not tried them since they opened the new place in Tuscumbia however I will visit them soon. 

The type of places we seem to lack are really good BBQ and a really good seafood joint. For good BBQ I just make my own but it can be difficult to find the time to tend to a boston butt so that is a rare treat. Rick's BBQ is decent but nothing special, it is consistently decent though so sometimes I get takeout from there. For seafood I occasionally go to Red Lobster but it ain't all that great but a little garlic butter can do wonders for some so-so seafood, of course as I mentioned above, Newbern's can fry up some mean catfish, and for other fried seafood I enjoy Cajun's.

I used to say that Ruby Tuesday had a great salad bar and was an almost close second to Logan's on my all around faves but I ate there the other day and instead of diced ham on the salad bar, I am pretty sure it was bologna which was highly disappointing. Another good place for Asian food is Ichiban in Tuscumbia (or is that Sheffield?), it seems a little more authentic than most of the other places and a lot of the Japanese students at UNA go there fairly often. I like the place when the mood strikes but most of the time I do prefer my Asian food to be a little more Americanized

If it's a chili dog you want, go to the little cafe at Sam's (no I am not kidding) they have the best one I have tried around here.

Originally Posted by seeweed:
Originally Posted by LAH:
Originally Posted by seeweed:

Actually Bamaman, I just plain like seafood over anything else, Went to Seattle a few years back, and after a week, it occurred to me I had had salmon for dinner every single day !

The Gulf Coast has some of the best in the way of shrimp , oysters, and flounder. There is a great restaurant i Jacksonville, Fla called Clark's Fish Camp, with really great seafood,but don't go there too much.

LAH, I forgot Red Lobster. When they have their specials, they are good, but for some reason , we don't sem to go very often . Maybe just because they are on the other side of the Tennessee Ocean.

I can make a meal with the biscuits and salad. There's a nice place to go in Moulton, It's a steak and seafood. I had there catfish and it was very good. It's on 157 past the salebarn on the right. I really enjoy seafood. I want to go back to the coast sometime in the near future.

======================

 

Those biscuits are a real problem for me. I can't seem to stop eating them, then I get bloated !

Haven't tried the place in Moulton , but I basically work on the theory that the closer you get to Pickwick Dam the better the catfish is.

There is a really great catfish place in Iuka, called the Country Squire. Haven't eaten there in several years tho, just not the right place at the right time.

Pickwick Lodge , when they cook the whole catfish (special days like Valentine, Mother's day, etc) have good catfish. Still none of them can hold a candle to Bill Bellos Botel back when Bill ran it.

Yes, I have been to the country squire alot. They do have good fish, but there salad bar is great. Haven't been there in a while, I use to live close to it, but have moved. I know what you mean about the biscuits, when they are hot they almost melt in your mouth. I use to be a steak and seafood cook, its all in knowing how and keeping your veg oil clean. I love Newberns catfish, they always get it done and I like mine salted after it comes out of the cooker.

Originally Posted by LAH:
Originally Posted by seeweed:
Originally Posted by LAH:
Originally Posted by seeweed:

Actually Bamaman, I just plain like seafood over anything else, Went to Seattle a few years back, and after a week, it occurred to me I had had salmon for dinner every single day !

The Gulf Coast has some of the best in the way of shrimp , oysters, and flounder. There is a great restaurant i Jacksonville, Fla called Clark's Fish Camp, with really great seafood,but don't go there too much.

LAH, I forgot Red Lobster. When they have their specials, they are good, but for some reason , we don't sem to go very often . Maybe just because they are on the other side of the Tennessee Ocean.

I can make a meal with the biscuits and salad. There's a nice place to go in Moulton, It's a steak and seafood. I had there catfish and it was very good. It's on 157 past the salebarn on the right. I really enjoy seafood. I want to go back to the coast sometime in the near future.

======================

 

Those biscuits are a real problem for me. I can't seem to stop eating them, then I get bloated !

Haven't tried the place in Moulton , but I basically work on the theory that the closer you get to Pickwick Dam the better the catfish is.

There is a really great catfish place in Iuka, called the Country Squire. Haven't eaten there in several years tho, just not the right place at the right time.

Pickwick Lodge , when they cook the whole catfish (special days like Valentine, Mother's day, etc) have good catfish. Still none of them can hold a candle to Bill Bellos Botel back when Bill ran it.

Yes, I have been to the country squire alot. They do have good fish, but there salad bar is great. Haven't been there in a while, I use to live close to it, but have moved. I know what you mean about the biscuits, when they are hot they almost melt in your mouth. I use to be a steak and seafood cook, its all in knowing how and keeping your veg oil clean. I love Newberns catfish, they always get it done and I like mine salted after it comes out of the cooker.

====================

 

I have never tried Newborns, heard they are good.

I have just about quit eating fried catfish. I love it, but an awful lot of it now taste "earthy", may be because all of it now is pond raised, and not river caught. Also , fried catfish has kinda gotten to where it gives me indigestion. Guess i'm just getting old !

Originally Posted by OBI Wan:

The Barge Inn. Good food, atmosphere and service. But this is their last weekend to be open. Due to management of the harbor, they lost their lease. She needs to lose hers. The Barge Inn is trying to relocate soon. 

That's crazy and I hate to hear it.  The Barge Inn had great Pizza and I hope they achieve getting another location and do good at it.  There certainly is a problem with management of the harbor but that lady/gal must have some political info on someone because she seems to get away with everything.  I thought the Barge Inn was a good draw to the harbor and boaters who were out on the water. 

My favorite places are City Hardware, Sweet Magnolia and Franks.  I will also go to Texas Roadhouse and Logans once in awhile but they are just so noisy you can hardly hear yourself much less carry on a conversation. I don't care for Dale's but Georges is OK.  Whenever I'm in Huntsville I like to go to

PF Chang's or Carrabba's.

JJ:  You're in a different price bracket than I enjoy.  City Hardware, Sweet Magnolia and Franks are good, but I just don't choose to pay $19 for a chicken dish.

And you're right about the noise @ Texas Roadhouse & Logans--really loud.

It's nice to have an eating experience for special occasions, but after all--it's just food.

We try to limit our eating out to once per week.  It allows us to take great a great vacation per year to somewhere special, like Italy.  There, we eat and drink our way from city to city.

Dinosaur- I always drink water since that is all most of the $2.00 tea is and $2 is too much.  I then add 20% of drink cost to the tip in order to be fair to the server.  Seeweed - Drive to Catfish Haven for your catfish. I will also add that fish must be salted during or before cooking.  The fish at Newbern's cannot be cajoled to have any flavor lately.  Chick, you can make a quart of freshly brewed tea - no ice packing - for 6 cents  Think about the profit margin!

Originally Posted by earthmomma:

Dinosaur- I always drink water since that is all most of the $2.00 tea is and $2 is too much.  I then add 20% of drink cost to the tip in order to be fair to the server.  Seeweed - Drive to Catfish Haven for your catfish. I will also add that fish must be salted during or before cooking.  The fish at Newbern's cannot be cajoled to have any flavor lately.  Chick, you can make a quart of freshly brewed tea - no ice packing - for 6 cents  Think about the profit margin!

I think that Newberns fish is very tasty and they get them done. I like the taste of the salt on the fish fresh out of the grease. The salt is in the ingredients that they dip them in, but I like extra salt.Yes, at most places the tea is $2, but that is with refills. So if you drink alot while eating, then you are getting your monies worth.

Originally Posted by gbrk:
Originally Posted by OBI Wan:

The Barge Inn. Good food, atmosphere and service. But this is their last weekend to be open. Due to management of the harbor, they lost their lease. She needs to lose hers. The Barge Inn is trying to relocate soon. 

That's crazy and I hate to hear it.  The Barge Inn had great Pizza and I hope they achieve getting another location and do good at it.  There certainly is a problem with management of the harbor but that lady/gal must have some political info on someone because she seems to get away with everything.  I thought the Barge Inn was a good draw to the harbor and boaters who were out on the water. 

Where is the Barge Inn ? Is that the place floating in the Florence harbor. ?

Originally Posted by seeweed:
Originally Posted by gbrk:
Originally Posted by OBI Wan:

The Barge Inn. Good food, atmosphere and service. But this is their last weekend to be open. Due to management of the harbor, they lost their lease. She needs to lose hers. The Barge Inn is trying to relocate soon. 

That's crazy and I hate to hear it.  The Barge Inn had great Pizza and I hope they achieve getting another location and do good at it.  There certainly is a problem with management of the harbor but that lady/gal must have some political info on someone because she seems to get away with everything.  I thought the Barge Inn was a good draw to the harbor and boaters who were out on the water. 

Where is the Barge Inn ? Is that the place floating in the Florence harbor. ?

It was.

Originally Posted by dinosaur:

I went to Wright's BBQ today and that is the worst BBQ I have ever had, I dumped it into the trash, I will drive to Athens next time to get some real BBQ at Whitt's the next time, maybe they will come here soon.


 I have to agree with you about Wright's, but you don't have to go to Athens to get good barbecue!

 

 I recently went to Pop's in Saint Florian and made the comment to my companion that that was the best bbq sandwich I have  bought in a long time. So, I do recommend you give Pop's a try!

The Barge Inn. Good food, atmosphere and service. But this is their last weekend to be open. Due to management of the harbor, they lost their lease. She needs to lose hers. The Barge Inn is trying to relocate soon.


The Barge Inns last health score was 86 and has been consistently low since they opened. They may have good pizza but at least papa johns is clean. Maybe the management didnt agree with the way they run their establishment. OB favors this place because they give him work and they probably give him free food for a good blog on his site, who knows. I guess what ever the reason management is not renewing the lease is for good reason since they had a long standing contract, The Barge Inn must have broke that agreement some how.

Look, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know the sanitary conditions that were maintained at the Barge in or if they deserved that grade.  I do know that state of the building and condition of the building, something that the barge inn didn't have direct control over, often accounts to 5 points here or there and that could easily keep their ratings below 90.  I don't know the month after month reason for the values given but it is something that is a possibility.  My family and I do look at and observe ratings and they do play into whether or not we choose to patronize the location for that particular visit.  Usually we try and only patronize places that have in excess of 90 but do make some exceptions depending on what they had been hit on.

For Florence, I would have to say my favorite is probably City Hardware.  I have yet to have anything there that I did not like on some level.    My wife and I eat out in Huntsville a lot and there are a lot of restaurants there that I really enjoy.    I love the Bonefish Grill, Bandito Burrito, Chipotle, and my favorite that's no longer there was The Apollo Cafe.

 

Last weekend I went to Nashville and ate at Joe's Crab Shack for the 2nd time.  It was great, per usual.

Originally Posted by dinosaur:

Seems some of them are closing, maybe they have overpriced their meals, I mean when it cost more than $25.00 for two people to eat not including what I have to pay for my child to eat. Some I could name is, Ryan's, Singletons BBQ, Crackerbarrel, Chili's, Applebee's, Texas Roadhouse and a few others.

 

And why do they charge $2.00 for tea, coffee, or a soft drink per person, I can take $2.00 for enough tea to last me for along time. Even if you order nothing but a salad for two it could cost more than $25.00 at some of them.

_____________

You should try starting a business.  You will be amazed at what it costs you in things other than the direct materials needed to push out a product.

Add Reply

Post

Untitled Document
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×