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I'm a first time poster so I hope I'm doing this right. I read the boards here frequently but until now haven't felt drawn to post. I must say I was eagerly awaiting this restaurant's opening as this area is sadly lacking in the seafood dept. Having lived in other, much larger cities, I've been quite disappointed with the lack of diversity in dining.

So, anyways, my husband and I decided to try a variety of things to sample. We decided to do carry out since they were so busy on the night we went. On the ride home (couldn't wait LOL),we sampled the hushpuppies. They were cold and overcooked. It was a very dense hushpuppy so it was not to my liking (even if it had been warm). I had the shrimp po' boy (with a side of fries (they were cold..I snuck a few on the way home LOL and slaw--the slaw was missing from my plate). The shrimp were undercooked (they were still translucent) so I sauteed them for a few more minutes. The sandwich was actually VERY good. Of course, if you are expecting a heaping portion of shrimp you will be disappointed as there were only 5. My husband tried the gumbo (which he liked), the crab rolls (he didn't like these nor did I--couldn't taste the crab in them at all. The dipping sauce was a little odd as well. I have no idea what it was supposed to be but it was very oily tasting and very spicy.) The crab rolls came with a side of slaw (maybe this was supposed to be my slaw?) and it was VERY good. I'm not a huge coleslaw person but this was very tasty. We also ordered the calamari (didn't hate it and didn't love it..just meh).

So, I'm not really sure what my final thoughts are on this restaurant. I've gotten lukewarm food before from other restaurants and even undercooked. My question is was the taste good enough for me to want to go back and try it again? My sandwich was very tasty, but the other things were not, so, I'm just not sure.
Last edited by backnbama
quote:
Originally posted by 2benzes:
My first post and, NO, I am NOT their competition.
We just left Crocodile Ed's at 7:15. What a HUGE disappointment this place was.
Bread was inedible-PERIOD. I got a drink that had lipstick on the side of the glass. DISGUSTING! No visit from manager to our table. I ordered the 'seafood platter' and my wife had the 'shells and cheese with chicken' The paltry servings on the seafood platter was literally a LAUGH. I was shocked speechless at the portions. 3 shrimp, 3 fried oysters about the size of a quarter and a HALF of a catfish filet that was greasy. They brought slaw in a sauce container that contained 1 tablespoon of slaw. 18.00!!? The meal my wife had was TASTELESS slop. NO WAY I'll EVER go back to this place. Don't believe me? Here's a pic of my so-called 'seafood platter' before I touched it (gawd I love cell phone cameras!). The poor waitress was excellent in her service. I told her she wouldn't have a job very long. She knows it.




LOL!!!! The Picture of this "meal" totally cracked me up!! Looks like a child's plate. Thanks for giving me a good laugh.
quote:
Originally posted by localCHIK:
If you knew anything about seafood you would know that no one can control the size of the oysters, it is a seasonal thing.


I'm no expert on oysters, but I do love to eat them. I had a conversation several months ago with someone who worked in the kitchen of Bayou Blue. After having eaten there for the first time, I commented on how large the oysters were. I was told that they only order a larger size, and if they get any that are smaller, they don't serve them. So obviously, they can control the size.

What amazes me about all the negative comments here is that they are all by newcomers. These people apparently beat it over to Crocodile Ed's, and then decided they needed to come to the TDF to post their comments, never or rarely having shared anything else with us. It puts all the negative comments into my suspicion basket.

Hopefully, in a few weeks, some of the regulars here will try out the place, and give us a more rational critique. I might do it myself. Will be in Florence for the first UNA home game.
A friend and I went for lunch last week, both of us for the first time. I'll agree with the posters that mentioned empty seats and a long wait.

While heading to our table, I noticed there was alot of frenzied/nervous behavior from the staff, and NO ONE had a smile. I thought maybe it was opening jitters. It wasn't.

While eating our poppy/sesame sprinkled rocks, we got tickled at the complaining going on around us, and actually started watching other patrons facial expressions for entertainment. I mean, we had to do something to pass the time, right? Tick Tock. Tick Tock. (Don't go on your lunch hour)

Our server was rude. She never smiled or even asked how our food was. I suppose she already knew. I had the Fried catfish po'boy, and the fish tasted like someone deep-lined a channel cat, chopped off the head, slung it in some batter and dipped it in hot grease. DIPPED. It was raw, terribly greasy and tasted like mud. The fries.....what?...huh? Fries? That was a wet pile of potato strings. Inedible.

My friend got the Shrimp po boy, and since I will only comment on my food, I will say that she left there physically ill.

And as for the comments about the 'flown in' seafood.......you guys should really do a better job of hiding the Sysco boxes out back.
I felt bad when we left, because I know this place won't last.

Oh HEY....The music was great! Razzer
quote:
Originally posted by CrustyMac:
quote:
Originally posted by localCHIK:
If you knew anything about seafood you would know that no one can control the size of the oysters, it is a seasonal thing.


I'm no expert on oysters, but I do love to eat them. I had a conversation several months ago with someone who worked in the kitchen of Bayou Blue. After having eaten there for the first time, I commented on how large the oysters were. I was told that they only order a larger size, and if they get any that are smaller, they don't serve them. So obviously, they can control the size.

What amazes me about all the negative comments here is that they are all by newcomers. These people apparently beat it over to Crocodile Ed's, and then decided they needed to come to the TDF to post their comments, never or rarely having shared anything else with us. It puts all the negative comments into my suspicion basket.

Hopefully, in a few weeks, some of the regulars here will try out the place, and give us a more rational critique. I might do it myself. Will be in Florence for the first UNA home game.


OK, I'm not exactly a newbie and I can pretty much back up most of the negative stuff. In a nutshell, the service was horribly slow, bread was hard as a rock, portions were small, and as a lot of people pointed out, a tremendously long wait even when the place isn't full. I will say the gumbo was very good. And some of the servers/bar staff did seem to be genuinely trying their best, but nothing could make up for the kitchen and management's shortcomings.
ok, I took time off my busy schedule of investigation for a good meal. The Crock Rocks!

crab cakes... off the chain.
fries... not so big of a deal. shoestring fries.

Apps., I had sushi.... wonderful. best sushi I've found in the shoals add on a couple of beers and it was truly a great dining experience!
I walked in the door at 7:30 and was seated and ordered in under 10 minutes.
overall... I give the place a rock solid 9 outta 10. (hey, nobody is perfect..... well, almost nobody!)
Hey, I'm a new kid to the Forum and to be perfectly honest the reason I joined is because several people I know were talking about the reviews that Crocodile Ed's was recieving. I just had to see for myself. Wow!..not good. My spouse and I eat out frequently, in the Shoals, and would love to give this new dining establishment a try. Have things improved or should we wait a while longer? I don't have money to waste and would like some honest feedback. Thanks To All
I have eaten there 4 times now and I think the food is great. Service has been hit and miss as it expected in a new restaurant trying to train servers with little experience but I suspect that will work out. It's not like they had a big city pool to recruit from. The shrimp and oyters are as good as I have found on the Gulf. The Shrimp and Grits is outstanding. The portions are really big - a bit too big in some cases. I am glad we have a new option in town that is not a chain. Give them a little time to iron out the wrinkles and I think we will have a great new restaurant!
I have been there twice now. I went 3 days after it opened. My order was wrong. They brought out a roll with my meal that was hard as a rock. Well, I went last night. My order was perfect. They brought out soft rolls and mexican cornbread with my meal. I had like 7 pieces. Was very good. Maybe they just needed some adjustment?
Ate there for the first time last night around 7pm. The parking lot was busy bit not to capacity. Was told the wait would be about 20 minutes, took a seat at the bar. In less than 10 minutes we were seated.
I will not relate the entire sequence but will say the main problem they have to overcome is the wait staff. They are in desperate need of instruction. From timing to attention, down to the basics of service and plate handling. The restaurant and customers would both benefit.
The food was tasty and prepared as I would expect. We started with the mussels, they took a while to arrive (10 minutes in a hot pan??) and were swimming in the white wine sauce, otherwise, quite good. I had the shrimp and grits, a low country favorite of mine. The shrimp were cooked perfectly; the andouille sausage however was flavorless more like a kielbasa. The serving did arrive a little past it’s prime and had been under a heat lamp. My dinner companion had the blackened seafood platter, which suffered from the same late delivery.
All in all I will be back to see if this was an isolated incident. If the service does not improve it will be my last visit.
Side note – What is everyone’s obsession with eating early, between 5:30 and 7:00? I can understand if you have kids in tow, but everything dies down at 8:00. In most any other area 7:00 is when service starts. This is not a condemnation just an observation.
I went to Crocodile ed's for the first time yesterday as well.
I didn't like having to wait for the 5pm opening, but a crowd gathered quickly and we were seated soon, a table of five. Since the crowd built so soon we ordered two appetizers, the Calamari and croc wings. They came out soon enough, both was OK. The wings did have the sauce cooked into them, Calamari was good.
I ordered the blackened seafood platter, it was excellent, had plenty of seasoning on it and plenty of food. The other couple both had the fresh Mahi Mahi, one was blackened and the other was cooked another way. These two dishes came out as entirely different and both commented how good they both was, again with plenty of food. Sonny had the fried shrimp, and again there was plenty food and it must have been good cause he ate it all.
Now four out of five is not bad, but my wife had the flop dish of the evening. She ordered the fried catfish and was dissapointed that the menu said Mississippi grown catfish, she expected at least one whole fish. Instead, she got two very small strips of the fish with a huge pile of fries and about one ounce of slaw. It was brought to the attention of the waitress, and she said that is how it is? I certainly hope they get this issue corrected. It just seems to me they screwed up the most simple dish that was ordered. I doubt very seriously my wife will be ordering the Mississippi catfish from there the next time. The waitress did bring out a complementary dessert for my daughter who was celebrating her birthday.
The total tab for the five of us to eat was only $120(including $13 tip) so I am looking forward to return in the future.
quote:
Originally posted by unclegus:
I went to Crocodile ed's for the first time yesterday as well.
.


Thanks for the report Gus. It is the first one that I can give any credence to. As for the catfish, I've read that catfish farms have been closing - ponds being filled in by the farmers - which may explain why the quantity for the price is so high. Who would have thunk that catfish would ever be pricey?
Ate at Croc Ed's tonight. Food was very good I had Blackened Mahi Mahi and my dinner date had steak. Both dishes were great and the portion size was more than enough. We also had calamari which was good but had a dipping sauce I didn't like also had a Banana chocolate dessert which was good. Service was a little disorganized but the waiter had a great attitude and worked hard to please his customers. Based on this experience I will go back.
Boiled shrimp are just like at the Gulf, the shrimp and grits is outstanding, trout is very good as is the ribeye. Mussles are wonderful and I like the cornmeal crusted fried shrimp more than the beer battered although it was good as well. The gator sausage is very tasty although I did not love the red beans and rice. The clam chowder is good but has a sharp taste that I really don't care for. Fried green tomatoes are very good and the local greens salad it great with the house made bleu cheese dressing. The muffaletta was just ok, the meat on it was cold.
I have eaten here 3 times (lunch). The 1st was before reading anything about the place here. The 2nd & 3rd time after reading the comments here.

The 1st time I had unagi nigiri for an appetizer with muffaletta and gumbo as my main. Service was more than adequate (no restaurant in northwest Alabama has excellent service IMHO...excellent servers live on tips & go where the tips go...folks around here, in general, do not know how to tip...IMHO) and the food was really good...again, not excellent, but really good. The lunch special was 1/2 muffaletta & gumbo...thinking "I'm a grown manly man!" and ordered the whole sandwich; I ended up taking the other 1/2 home.

The 2nd & 3rd time I went for lunch was after reading all of the horrible things posted here about the place. I had had a pleasant experience once and must say that I thought maybe the comments herein were some personal vendetta-type stuff against the owner. So, each of these times I went in looking for something horrific...long wait w/open seats, child-size portions, horrible service, under-cooked food, over-cooked food, etc. Sorry folks, but I had the exact same experience both of these visits as I did on the 1st visit...greeted at the door, seated immediately, served promptly/properly and my food was delicious (both of these times I had the alligator sausage). I also paid very close attention to those around me...looking for anything that would fit any of the negative claims made here...nothing. Both times the place was 80-90% full and everyone I observed seemed to be having the same experience I was...positive. I watched people coming in, as they were seated, while they ordered, the look on their faces when their food was served, the look on their faces once the server walked off, etc....still, nothing negative. Maybe I'm just lucky?

I will go back and I will continue to make positive statements about the place and recommend it to my friends.

For those of you that believe everything you read herein...PM me for a P.O.Box you can send cash to in order to save the world...it's coming to an end you know; save it now by sending me $$!
quote:
Originally posted by REDNEVEDNAV:
I have eaten here 3 times (lunch). The 1st was before reading anything about the place here. The 2nd & 3rd time after reading the comments here.

The 1st time I had unagi nigiri for an appetizer with muffaletta and gumbo as my main. Service was more than adequate (no restaurant in northwest Alabama has excellent service IMHO...excellent servers live on tips & go where the tips go...folks around here, in general, do not know how to tip...IMHO) and the food was really good...again, not excellent, but really good. The lunch special was 1/2 muffaletta & gumbo...thinking "I'm a grown manly man!" and ordered the whole sandwich; I ended up taking the other 1/2 home.

The 2nd & 3rd time I went for lunch was after reading all of the horrible things posted here about the place. I had had a pleasant experience once and must say that I thought maybe the comments herein were some personal vendetta-type stuff against the owner. So, each of these times I went in looking for something horrific...long wait w/open seats, child-size portions, horrible service, under-cooked food, over-cooked food, etc. Sorry folks, but I had the exact same experience both of these visits as I did on the 1st visit...greeted at the door, seated immediately, served promptly/properly and my food was delicious (both of these times I had the alligator sausage). I also paid very close attention to those around me...looking for anything that would fit any of the negative claims made here...nothing. Both times the place was 80-90% full and everyone I observed seemed to be having the same experience I was...positive. I watched people coming in, as they were seated, while they ordered, the look on their faces when their food was served, the look on their faces once the server walked off, etc....still, nothing negative. Maybe I'm just lucky?

I will go back and I will continue to make positive statements about the place and recommend it to my friends.

For those of you that believe everything you read herein...PM me for a P.O.Box you can send cash to in order to save the world...it's coming to an end you know; save it now by sending me $$!


How about you be grateful you had 3 great experiences instead of bashing others who had poor experiences
quote:
Originally posted by Parker Lewis:


How about you be grateful you had 3 great experiences instead of bashing others who had poor experiences


LOL, my post is 'bashing others'?? Pure genius! I have managed to come up with a previously nonexistent form of 'bashing'...I RULE!! Thanks, Parker Lewis, for identifying that for me...might have missed it otherwise...

[I sure hope TD can forgive me for being so rude and inconsiderate of others (i.e., 'bashing')....oh crikey! Maybe they won't ban me!]
quote:
Originally posted by REDNEVEDNAV:
quote:
Originally posted by Parker Lewis:


How about you be grateful you had 3 great experiences instead of bashing others who had poor experiences


LOL, my post is 'bashing others'?? Pure genius! I have managed to come up with a previously nonexistent form of 'bashing'...I RULE!! Thanks, Parker Lewis, for identifying that for me...might have missed it otherwise...

[I sure hope TD can forgive me for being so rude and inconsiderate of others (i.e., 'bashing')....oh crikey! Maybe they won't ban me!]


As Ronald wold say "you need to slow your roll"
quote:
Originally posted by bubbaluck:
I have eaten there 4 times now and I think the food is great. Service has been hit and miss as it expected in a new restaurant trying to train servers with little experience but I suspect that will work out. It's not like they had a big city pool to recruit from. The shrimp and oyters are as good as I have found on the Gulf. The Shrimp and Grits is outstanding. The portions are really big - a bit too big in some cases. I am glad we have a new option in town that is not a chain. Give them a little time to iron out the wrinkles and I think we will have a great new restaurant!


I may have to change my tune about this. Ate there last Friday night and the food was horrible. Poorly prepared, one plate cold and all around bad. I still maintain that the shrimp is very good but they got a way to go in several dishes. It makes me sad because I want it to be successful.
I waited until Saturday (October 25) to see if the issues that have been mentioned on here were addressed. I'm not doubting any of the statements made here about the service, food, and taste but I can only make my (and the wife's) observations known. Both the wife and I were very anxious about our visit but we felt that this was long enough to allow in order to try a meal there. I had the (beer fried) shrimp, tasted the Gumbo, and the wife had the 12 oz Ribeye Steak cooked medium with a baked potato.

We were seated right away, upon walking into the restaurant and the folks that worked there were very friendly and cordial. Our waitress got to the table, to serve us, quite fast and was friendly and made suggestions, when we ask.

Regarding the food quality: I can't say that our visit was perfect as the gumbo that I sampled I didn't order but that was due to the fact that the rice, in my sample, was not cooked done and was noticeably tough and hard. The waitress said she would bring it to the cooks attention. Thankfully the bread wasn't hard but it also wasn't the most tasty that I have had. That said though the taste of the gumbo was great and I plan to visit again and order the gumbo as it was that good. The Shrimp was excellent quality and size. I'm not the biggest fan of the beer batter but I could tell that the shrimp was fresh and as for the size of the shrimp and the portion of the serving it was more than adequate it was as good as could be expected at any quality restaurant. I declined the slaw as I don't like slaw but the fries that came with it were hot and very tasty. My wife's Ribeye was one of the best she has had anywhere. I tasted it also and agree it was perfectly cooked, in temperature, and was great. Not over seasoned and had a very good taste to it. Her baked potato however was undercooked and she wasn't the biggest fan of the potato but hopefully they can remedy that in the future. As for any changes, to the menu, my wife, and I, would rather have Iceberg lettuce in the salad but again that's a specific taste preference and others will not feel the same.

All in all we got our money's worth at Crocodile ed's and will be back. It wasn't perfect but it was no where near the problems many have highlighted, in the past. I can only hope and feel that the staff at Crocodile Ed's listened to the complaints and made corrections. I would recommend Crocodile Ed's to anyone and if you had a bad experience then possibly suggest to allow them one more try. For those that absolutely can't give it another try I can understand that also but for my part I felt not only was our meal worth it but it was one of the best I've had in the Florence area.
I stopped by to check out Ed's and form my own opinion after all of the interesting extreme goods and extreme bads that I have seen posted here since the opening.
It was a Friday or Saturday night, and I was suprised that there was only a few cars in the lot.
I was by myself.
I was cheerfully greeted and I asked if I could eat at the bar, and was told "of course". I was given a menu and I sat down. There was a couple at the end of the bar and myself and that was all. None of the tables in the bar had any customers.
I ordered a draft beer and the bartender told me we are out of that. There was no alternative selection offered. While he stood there and stared at me, I asked what do you have? He rattled off what they did have and I selected another. He then said well you know its Happy Hour, I said no, I have never been here. He said you should get the big size. I said OK. He delivered it and I began to look through the menu. There were a lot of items that were very tempting. I decided on the french onion soup, fried green tomatoes and the rainbow trout. I knew it was too much for 1 but I would take home the leftovers for another meal. I was prepared to spend $50 to $75 and enjoy a nice treat!
I closed my menu, set it next to me and waited to have my order taken. I waited and waited and waited. In the meantime the bartender was constantly chatting with the couple at the end of the bar, the servers at the service bar, looking up drinks in the bartender reference book because he didn't know how to make them...like that tricky one The Manhattan! Yes this is a Weekend bartender in an expensive place!?! He never said a single word to me for 20 minutes until after I was done with my drink. He then said, do ya want another? At that point I had given up on ordering and was doing a slow fume inside. I said no just give your friends at the end of the bar my other drink and let me pay my bill. He looked at me blankly, I asked "what" he said what other drink? I said you told me this was Happy Hour...he said it is "just means your drink is half price...not 2 for 1. I said OK fine.
Here's the kicker...as he is presenting me with my credit card receipt he says....Oh did you want to order food?
I said "not now" and left.
I am sorry Ed's, I am afraid all of the criticisms here are well founded. You may want to cancel building the fresh market, I don't think you are long for this world.
Finally made the trip to Ed's. The first thing that I noticed is that there is a window in the entryway to a side storage room. Someone had sort of tried to hide it, but seeing their junk was really a bad first impression of what I was thinking was going to be a nice restaurant. I was just as surprised when we entered the main restaurant. I guess I had high expectations for all of the time that seemed to be spent on remodeling the place, as well as how nice the Emerald Coast had been, because I certainly didn't expect the decor to be a combination of Red Lobster and Captain D's. The food and service were good, however. No complaints. But overall nothing that made me say, I can't wait to come back here and recommend it to my friends.
chester, sounds like you should have spoke up at some point. i've noticed that sometimes, though you should never have to at a good restaurant, get the bartenders attention. i've always lived by the rule that if you want good quick service you sit at the bar, however it seems you did not get that. thats pretty bad that you got ignored like that, especially since it wasnt busy. in your situation i would have definitely let someone know about your dissatisfaction, of course i'm pretty well outspoken when it comes to the food service industry. i definitely won't be going there anytime soon. if i won't a good seafood dinner i'll gladly drive the extra miles to huntsville to eat at landry's or bonefish.

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