Rant and Rave...

RANT and RAVE! Saltwater Cowboys…

Like most things in life, there are good things and not so good things to see. Certainly the setting, on the deck looking over the marshes while the sun was going down last night was as beautiful as anything you can think of. It was a perfect time to be right there, sitting outside.

Our service was good. The waiter attentive and pleasant. But as is true with about 90% of the restaurants we go to, the food really should be better, especially in such an awesome spot.

I can’t fault them for having frozen soft shell crabs, the season for live soft shells hasn’t quite started, but when it does, they should offer them fresh. But the crawfish were frozen too and since we just bought live crawfish from a truck parked on 207 last week, I know they are available. Previously frozen crawfish are rubbery and tasteless. 

The salad was delicious but had been cut too long before it was served. The edges of the lettuce where it had been sliced were starting to turn brown. A decent kitchen should be able to chop a fresh salad in no time, or at least have sufficient turn over if it is made in batches, so it doesn’t sit too long.

They were out of oyster stew because, according to our waiter, they had run out of the “base” with which to make it. I’m thinking: “You don’t have milk and butter?” I know they had oysters because I had a dozen locals on the half shell. I love the locals most of all, so fresh and briny! I was thinking that I should go into the kitchen and show them how to make a great oyster stew in just minutes, but I didn’t want to leave the place in handcuffs with a police escort.

Carla said that her “Shrimp Dondanville” was delicious. It looked like it too. They use local shrimp, good for them! Boo for any local place that serves farmed shrimp. Surprisingly, many do.

A cold Stella, the breeze off the marsh. So good…

But then my pork chop that was on special came out. Despite the grill marks, it was raw. I sent it back and told them to take it off the bill as we had to get going, but whoever is in charge of their kitchen should know better.

A manager came out and apologized for the chop. She told me that it would be taken off the bill as if she was doing me a favor. Of course it should, it was raw, not even very warm. I told her my other concerns and complimented the good things but she seemed to have drifted off even though she was still standing right there.

Sometimes I probably care too much about making food the best it can be. Not everybody does.

So our bottom line is the same with Saltwater Cowboys as it is with many of the local spots we visit. If we like the ambiance, (and really, none are better than Saltwater Cowboys on a Spring night), we know what is a sure bet to order and what may be a toss-up. We go out a lot.

We’ll be back. Next time I’ll order shrimp, oysters, or maybe crawfish if they are fresh. A cold beer and a seat on the deck…a little slice of heaven.

So there you go, a rant and a rave, much like life itself…