Bama Bistro with Coratio Sauce!!

Bama Bistro to Go!

Back where I come from we sometimes eat fish for breakfast. I know my fish. Also, given my problems with gout, I have had to cut back on my extravagant lunch habits and my consumption of carbohydrates. These two ideas collided today with the idea of trying "Bama Bistro" again but, this time, ordering the grilled Tilapia. I hate to brag, but I believe I out-ordered the entire Gump today. That means you Whig in a Blanket! And, as a convenience, I ordered it to go so I could dine alone on my private lunch patio deep in the cool depths of the Gump.

This is what greeted me when I opened the Styrofoam:

Shown on my personal dining patio (doesn't everyone have one?). Fancy tablecloth not included.

When you order the grilled Tilapia from Bama Bistro and Chef Coratio is behind the grill, you are going to get a freshly grilled piece of fish AND a made from scratch buttery sauce with Tarragon (?) that rivals anything I have had in a while. For my sake, due to the low-carb diet, Chef C omitted the rice and substituted collards (with real ham hocks) and green beans, both of which were NOT from a can. Being a legal alien, I am not really sure what a ham hock is so I took a picture:

A "hock"

If you do not like "hocks" in your collards, go to an all you can eat buffet where the collards are poured out of gallon-size cans. To me, a hock in your collards or beans means "home cooked."

The price for this feast (with diet beverage) was just around $8 with tax. Well below the Tojo line. I would recommend calling ahead, however, because the entree really is cooked to order and it takes a few minutes to prepare. But today I enjoyed a nice chat with the patrons while waiting and learned a lot about why representing women in domestic relations cases is a pain in the.....(but that is a whole different story).

But while waiting I did learn some good news: Bama Bistro now has a liquor license and serves breakfast (for $3.99)! I love a nice tot of Jameson with my fried eggs don't you? To top it off, they are talking about opening on weekends too.

Bama Bistro's phone number is (334) 240-6938. It is located at 15 Commerce St. next to ServisFirst Bank (the old Colonial Bunker).

They are truly locally owned and deserve our seal of approval (which is a surprised-looking carp):

No offense Cornbread.

Microgump: Making a List and Checking it Twice at Isaiah's

[Ed. Note: We welcome the "Carp" to our fold with his first submission]

Although technically not a "Lunch in the Gump" target (since it is not open on Mondays), Isaiah's at 135 Mildred Street meets every other criteria as a locally-owned lunch spot that serves "comfort" food mostly to those in Gump Central. However, I will say that if you Google the place you will see numerous favorable reviews from travelers from all over the country such as this annoymous lady from the Land of Fruits and Nuts shown here with Isaiah himself.

She raved about the lemon crusted carp err catfish. She even took a picture of it:
Looks yummy.

(the fried corn is at the top and the poor little corn muffin to the left)



On Friday a quorum of LITG reviewers gathered for a microgump at Isaiah's at the suggestion of Mimi Furst. Present were: Tojo, Reginald, Docartie, Mimi, Shadow Pup, Pikedaddy and yours truly. After raising our 1/2 and 1/2 tea/lemonades to the memory of poor burked Binion, we reviewed our menu/check-lists and made our lists and checked them twice. Pens were thoughtfully provided. Cool thing about filling in your own order with the prices listed for each entry is that you cannot whine about it when you take your own list to the register to pay. (Of course, that would not stop the Shadow Pup from denying her own paw prints).

My only gripe was, of course, about the cornbread. The check-list menu clearly stated that my lemon baked chicken would come with one side and my requisite corn muffin. When the order arrived, dressing and gravy had been substituted. Granted, it was very good dressing and gravy but the omission of the muffin forced me to beg a muffin off the dentist who had just had his own teeth cleaned. By the time the begging had been sucessfully accomplished, the muffin was cold and lifeless and no butter was nearby. Thankfully, the chicken and gravy was fresh and good. Not so much the "fried corn."

I will add other comments from our staff of reviewers as they trickle in below. Suffice it to say that with a total charge of $9.13 with tax (or 5 shares of Synovus stock), its proximity to Gump Central, its friendly staff, and ONE HUNDRED HEALTH RATING, Isaiah's is a place worthy of being a regular on your lunch rotation.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our LITG followers!

Mimi: My comments are these:The lima beans are my favorite—they have a subtle lima and pork gravy that holds them all together and sticks them to the ribs, and in my case, probably the hips too. Collards are just right. I have had the sweet potato pie, and it is a slice of love. In the summer, the cream cheese pound cake with fresh strawberries is not to be missed. Enjoyed the talk of the shady developers busted projects, the booming downtown of trial lawyers and pub crawls. Swapping tips on the best way to avoid the new camera red light tickets and DUI’s (other than not running the light or driving sober of course). The Old Ship AME Church light-up sign across the street says “Faith is fragile—Handle with Prayer.” Love a place you can get lemonade and sweet tea mixed (an Arnold Palmer). Don’t forget the secret rooms and 100% health rating. [I didn't]