Squeak Peek: Capitol Oyster Bar Sea Dogs Relocate As River Rats

We at LITG had been saddened to hear of the closing of our enigmatic Capitol Oyster Bar given our high rating while at its former location in a prior post. We were also disappointed that the Marina Bar & Grill had closed even though we still miss poor Nibbles, our fallen GGP comrade, starved by the slow service experienced when the Marina Bar and Grill opened in March of this year.

There was, therefore, much excited squeaking around the GGP barracks when we received hard intelligence that the COB had recently reopened at "The Marina" on Shady Street (a more aptly named street there has never been). Of course, the GGPs were tasked with visiting the recently opened COB and clearing it for LITG regulars. And we did.

It was, alas, a mixed result. The experienced staff and cooks at the COB can and will make the best of any surroundings. After all, they made a grungy Pizza Hut building on the Southern By-Pass seem like it was Tacky Jacks on Perdido Bay. And today they were still working out the kinks with a location with severe kitchen size limitations. Ticket to table today timed out at over 30 minutes (that's 1 1/2 months in Guinea Pig years). We almost would have lost Sgt. Puffer but for the abundant saltines in the basket at the table. We were also a little taken back by the prices. The cheapest meal for lunch is going to be $9.95 without the $1.50 tea. You could, if you were crazy or Cajun, order the frog legs as an appetizer and save a buck. We GGPs find them too similar in size and appearance to the Ecuadorian delicacy Cuy.



The food (fried oysters and shrimp) when it arrived did somewhat save the review from negativity. The COB slaw has always been very good. It rivals the slaw at Jubilee. Their fries are also decent. However, you can hold the "Texas toast" (between your knees) as far as I am concerned. Next time I will get the much better Hush Piggies. The oysters were reported by Sgt. Puffer to be tasty but I found the fried shrimp to be average. They we also not as hot as you would expect when you receive your lunch 30 minutes after it was ordered. That is especially true when you know the experienced staff working in a small kitchen would never miss an opportunity to get food out the door. The portions are certainly fair as the picture below attests:


Upon departure the review was completely redeemed by all of the cool "Blue's" posters tacked in the entrance area documenting the many known and obscure Blue's bands which appeared at the old location over the years and with the owner's promise that the COB will have more of the same at the new location at the Marina. The owner also promised that their liquor license was one/two weeks away and they would have Pabst Blue Ribbon just like they did before. We all know that fried seafood tastes better with a beer--especially a PBR--even at lunch. So our company left the COB encouraged that they would work out the kinks with practice and alcohol. The promise of a better day and the truth of the application of alcohol to the COB clientele was proudly displayed on this poster over the shelves where the liquor will soon be:


When they have the PBR, we will return!

[UPDATE! September 2, 2011: Capitol Oyster Bar now has liquor license. Great deck to watch sunset with your favorite beverage. They have PBR Cornbread Carp!]

Wintzells: Does “No Good” Oysters mean “No Good” Service?

The "Salad"





Concerned about the recent publicity over the seafood situation in The Gump://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20108110348, I decided I would head for lunch at the Seafood Mecca of Downtown, Wintzell’s Oyster House, http://www.wintzellsoysterhouse.com/ to put my finger on the pulse as to the “real skinny” on things. I had heard the seafood situation was so difficult, Wintzell’s was changing its menu to include items like, conecuh smoked sausage sandwiches, ribs and other meat entrees. All the while, I’m scratching my head thinking, why would I go to a seafood place to eat meat? That’s almost as crazy (showing my sensitive side, notice I didn’t use the R-word like Jenifer Aniston did recently) as going to Dreamland and asking for seafood.

















"A'int no seafood here nowhere."

Say it ain’t so Joe (which by the way, I saw Chef Joe DiMaggio back in town checking on his prize Saza’s)! Anyway, another reason for going to Wintzells is because I can see one of my favorite barmaids from Ruddles http://lunchinthegump.blogspot.com/2010/08/all-you-need-is-lunchthe-rutles-would.html as she sometimes moonlights behind the bar at lunch on Thursday and Friday. As I walked in, sure enough, in plain daylight, the oysters looked like they weren’t “no good”.

















Did I smell oysters?

But, hey, that didn’t stop me because down from the oysters was the smiling face I’m used to seeing. I promptly sat down and asked, “What’s the scoop”? Little did I know the shock I was about to receive. “Today’s my last day”, my favorite barmaid said. Yep, times being what they are and not being able to get the hours she needed, Wintzell’s now has two less reasons for me to go back again. No “good oysters” and “no good service” are two strikes against any seafood restaurant. As I picked my chin up from the floor, my friend said, “but hey, they changed the menu up”. I told her I had heard about the menu change and wasn’t the least bit interested in getting Dreamland at Wintzells and vice versa. Being the best barmaid-waitress that she is, even as the door was about to hit her back side this afternoon, she told me of a pearl to be found in the bed of oyster shells---A mahi mahi (that’s 2 mahi’s so you best be hungry), shrimp cobb salad. She promised, “You’ll love it”. Always believing her, I ordered it and you know what, she was right , the salad was really-really good.





















Tracy the ex-Wintzell's waitress




So I finished polishing off a great salad and ending a conversation with my favorite server. While it won’t be the same without the “good help”, I made a new friend with the salad.

Lunch in the Gump: Wintzell's Oyster House Non-Countering Counter-Point: Where A Drool and His Money Soon Parted

Heard the boys hit Wintzell's Monday in my absence so I visited today with "cover guineas" to try it out for myself assuming the real group had decided, due to the untimely death of Doyle B, to call a moritorium on information. Not laboring under such restrictions, I saw the opportunity to hit the web with my own take but, alas, just saw the previous blog. Darn it if my take is not all that different from Bama Bing but since the following was already written here goes:

It was indeed hard to go back to work so soon after the tragic passing of a rogue Chris' Hotdog through poor Doyle B's stomach lining, but life goes on as does commerce. Speaking of which, Wintzell's Oyster House, formerly an old Mobile family seafood house, has gone "corporate" (not that there is anything wrong with that) by opening its ninth location at 105 Commerce Street in Gump Central (and supposedly looking for franchisees for East Gumphry and Prattville). Now, given what I have just said, you must realize that the following constitutes a non-sanctioned personal review of a lunch spot that really does not meet all of the loose LITG criteria and because of the obvious involvement of "oysters" must be subject to an ever greater disclaimer than usual. But, of course, Dreamland was reviewed and did not technically meet the criteria but once we let that hog's nose under the smoker hood we predictably descended that proverbial "slippery slope" here coated with slimy oyster gradue such that we have to now deal with Wintzells due to the clamor of the mob packing this eatery 7 days a week.

First and foremost, let me say on Tuesday the Wintzell's lunch product was pretty good and you better get there early or late to get right in. The place is currently very popular. Your humble author had the blackened "catch of the day" (supposedly grouper but I did not see the DNA tests so famous for outing Mobile seafood establishments) and it was seasoned, fresh, hot and served on a warm buttered bun. It was also $9 bucks (USD). So with $2 tea and a $3 side salad instead of fries, my tab (with the City Council's share) came to almost $15 (9 pounds) pre-tip. A guinea pig next to me really liked the spicy gumbo and somehow managed getting two cups and being charged for one. I, for one, am not willing to beg. I recommend skipping the tea and trying the still tap sweet river water the Gump is so famous for.


Having the option of grilled, blackened or fried seafood for lunch is an additional option for lunch in New Philadelphia i.e. Gump Central. However, some of us worry that our local establishments with equally fine seafood offerings (like Lunde's or Bama Bistro for example) may fail because we true believers in Gumpicuria do not patronize them. It is perhaps a Hobson's Choice --but not really.


Second, despite the newly constructed and modern location adjacent to the snazzy Renaissance Hotel, the tacky and traditional "Wintzell's Words of Wisdom" cover almost every square inch of the walls and are "to some" annoying. For sarcastic cynical know-it-alls like, for example, Shadow Pup they are beyond hokey and something that could be fodder for endless jokes by adding "at Wintzells". For example:

"A fool and his money are soon parted at Wintzells"

or this:

"The only difference between a Po-Boy and a Poor-Boy is lunch at Wintzells"

I am sure you have already thought of funnier lines you would love to see on the walls at Wintzells. If so, post as comments.

I also noted that Tojo apparently has already visited the place because some of the "Wintzell's Words of Wisdom" posted on the walls appeared to be authored by him. A couple or three stood out:

"What fish good to eat here? Catch of Day! What if not good fish?"

Or:

"No Shirt, No Shoes, No Tojo"

or:

"Never look at gift fish in the mouth. If not gift, it cost too much at Wintzells"

In conclusion, I would rate Wintzell's high on service, quality and taste, questionable on wisdom and low on value. Three shrimp out of five gumbos.

We will miss old Doyle B. May he find a buffet in heaven.

Binion

Lunch in the Gump: After Doyle checked out, LITG checked out Wintzell's

Yesterday morning the Lunch in the Gump gang all went to see Doyle B on his deathbed. With his dying breath, Doyle reminded us that we hadn’t tried seafood lately, so we decided we'd hit the new Wintzell’s Oyster House if Doyle would go ahead and pass away before the end of the traditional lunch hour.

Just like he was at a Holiday Inn Express, Doyle checked out by 11:30 AM. We went through his pockets, found three wadded-up twenties and Show Dog said, “Woo hoo! Lunch is on Doyle today.” After starting on a downer, this particular Monday was looking up.

Doyle’s defective common-law wife, having long since absconded with anything of value, was of course nowhere to be found (that bitch). So we called the funeral home with the address, told them Doyle was there on the sofa not going anywhere and left the front door unlocked. We got to Wintzell’s ahead of the crowd, with healthy appetites and Doyle’s $60, which he sure wasn't going to need wherever he was headed.

We were pretty jazzed up about going to Wintzell’s. While the place is part of a chain, LITG has been known to waive the no-chain rule if the chain originated in Alabama. Wintzell’s was founded in downtown Mobile in 1938 (see original at left) and was as well-known for its irreverent interior signage (“Emily Post threw up here” being an example) as it was for its old-school staff, cold drinks, fresh seafood, and world-class gumbo. The original Wintzell’s was in the same class as some of the famed New Orleans oyster joints.

Well, this version of Wintzell’s was a disappointment. First of all, it's at the Renaissance downtown in a space tricked out like the Gotham Bar & Grill. The preprinted, homey little sayings on placards covering the walls don't disguise the fact that if Wintzell's doesn't make it, David Bronner can move Chez Fru-Fru right in. The food was ordinary, bland and/or overcooked and none of the Gumps in attendance was particularly excited about any of it. Maybe we all ordered wrong or caught them on a bad day.

Before I even took a bite... I guess there was so

much rice in there, some settling occurred.

My gumbo was tasty, but the shrimp had been cooking in there so long they had shrunken to the size of Sea Monkeys... tough, chewy little Sea Monkeys! And they didn’t even fill up the massive cup, as shown above.

Catfish ordered an oyster po-boy and the oysters were overcooked to the toughness of well-done chicken. Many things are supposed to taste like chicken --rattlesnake, for instance, or alligator -- but not oysters. Even a fried oyster is supposed to have that certain slime factor.

Show Dog ordered the fried crawfish appetizer and got seven scrawny crab claws instead. I was embarrassed to ask if I could taste one for fear Show Dog might starve to death.

The normally easy-to-please Tojo Yamamoto ordered shrimp and grits. After lunch I asked him how it was, and Tojo replied, “Grits in middle. Six little shrimp in circle. Sauce like baby food. Tojo still hungry.”

$16.04 pre-tip

A $19.04 check (including a $3.00 tip) left me underwhelmed. We agreed that Doyle was probably rolling over in his grave, then Tojo reminded us “Doyle not in grave. Doyle on sofa unless bipolar common-law wife come back to get sofa already.”

We left thinking Lunde’s should be our next stop, for some actual Gulf Coast/Cajun/New Orleans/Mobile/Creole/properly spicy/non-chain/somebody-in-the-kitchen-gives-a-shit food.

We will also cover Doyle’s funeral later in the week.

Young Barn Oyster Bar

Our sights today were set on a new oyster bar at the Casa Napoli II location. We arrived at high noon and were quickly seated. Christina, our overworked but pleasant waitress, promptly took drink orders while we perused the bill of fare. After ordering the fried shrimp and oyster platter we began our wait. After salivating for 45 minutes our meal arrived hot and tasty. The two oysters were big, juicy and well prepared. The four shrimp were likewise. What I left wanting in quantity was made up for in quality. The 32 oz. drinks were included with the meal. For a total of $11.00 with tip I got back to lockup in an hour thirty-five minutes later a tad underfed but overall satisfied with the trip.
Rating: Four out of Five Pearls.