Friday, May 22, 2009

Fish City Grill II


My, my, isn't life full of nice surprises? My wife went to Fish City Grill tonight, but I told her I was not hungry. She was going with my daughter, a neighborhood friend and her daughter. She was going to also bring my father a fried tilapia sandwich. Imagine my surprise when she also showed-up with Tabasco Shrimp Pasta.

While I was not hungry, I knew I had to check this dish out while it was hot. I was pleasantly surprised that it traveled really well and was indeed hot. The other thing I noticed is that the employees at Fish City Grill actually draw a nice little picture of your dish on the top of the styrofoam so you know which dish is in each container. Nice touch!!

I only took a couple of bites of the dish, but found it to be deliciously spicy. The penne pasta was perfectly cooked al dente, the cream sauce was spicy and light and the shrimp were tender. The only thing I did notice is that it didn't seem to have very many shrimp. I told my wife the dish was indeed great, but wasn't as spicy as I would have thought. However, after a few bites and then wrapping it up in a container to enjoy tomorrow, I felt the heat creeping on. You know how it was creeping up on me, so I won't go there again. Needless to say, I am looking forward to finishing this dish tomorrow.

From the little bit that I did eat, I have to call this dish a winner. I am going to also give this dish three Stiffy's and promise I'll actually go to the restaurant soon to check-out their atmoshere and service.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Fish City Grill


Fish City Grill
348 North Nova Road
Ormond Beach, FL 32174
(386)677-8484

A Fish City Grill recently opened in Ormond Beach and I couldn't be happier. It is always nice to have another place to dine and explore. It is especially nice when you find out that you really like the new place.

I cannot take credit for finding this place as my wife happened to pass it one day as she was driving around. Thankfully, she took my father there one night and called me at home to ask if I wanted her to bring me anything. Usually my answer would have been, "No" as I am not a fan of food delivered in a styrofoam container. I find the heat of the food tends to make the food inside soggy and it just turns me off. However, if I would have declined that night, I would have missed a great meal.

I seek perfection in three things:

1. Clam Chowder
2. Philly Cheese Steaks
3. Crab Cakes

In my travels, I have found it is hard to find perfection in these items outside of Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Because I am on this crusade of sorts, I have eaten a lot of bad imitations and have been lucky in a few instances. In the case of the Fish City Grill, my challenge would be the crab cake sandwich.

The sandwich comes on a whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato & onion with a spicy remoulade sauce. It comes with fries, but I have also had it with red beans & rice. The crab cake is really good. It is loaded with crab and was cooked to perfection. The bun was toasted just right and the lettuce, tomato & onion were very fresh. My wife also brought me a side of hush puppies, which are made with jalapenos. You don't notice it at first and then the heat creeps up on you like a mugger in a dark alley. I started sweating and my lips were tingling. The hush puppies are great! The red beans & rice are great here as well. You should certainly try these two sides if you have the opportunity to visit. At $7.79 for the crab cake sandwich, I thought it was a great deal.

On a future visit I would like to try the Tabasco Shrimp Pasta. It is shrimp in a red chili cream sauce with Tabasco infused penne for $11.79. The menu is loaded with dishes that any seafood lover would find adequate. I also need to try their clam chowder to see how this stands up.

Fish City Grill gets three Stiffy's, but I am thinking they will jump to four or five once I check the restaurant out in person. If you find yourself in Ormond Beach, I urge you to check it out. Additionally, they do have locations around the United States, so if you are traveling Google them up before you leave and have a great meal.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry

Domino's Pizza II

So I finally had the opportunity to try one of the sandwiches at Domino's Pizza. If you remember from my earlier post, I was upset about the ridiculous employees that filmed themselves at a Domino's Pizza location doing crazy things while preparing sandwiches. I wrote how this can be so detrimental to the business of Domino's Pizza and vowed to go in and try a sandwich just to show my support of the organization. I have to say, I am glad that I did.

There isn't a Domino's location near enough to us to offer delivery, so I had to go in to get my sandwich. This actually worked out better than delivery as I wanted to speak directly to the manager and tell him that I was there specifically to get a sandwich after seeing the story on the news. He told me he appreciated my business and assured me those employee's actions were not something that would be tolerated.

I ordered the Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich. It was up and ready for me to take home at a pretty good clip with little wait time. When I got home, I found the sandwich to still be hot and the bread was nice and toasty. The chicken was tender with crispy bacon, provolone cheese and a tasty ranch sauce. It is plenty big enough to satisfy the heartiest of appetites. I would put this sandwich up against any of the other sub sandwich operators that serve toasted subs. You wouldn't think a pizza location would do sandwiches this good, but they have done a great job. I'll have to go back to try one of the others. They also serve a Philly Cheese Steak (don't get me started), a chicken parm and an Italian.

I am going to have to give them three Stiffy's for the Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich. Also big props to the PR folks at Domino's as it seems they were able to just make this story go away and fade into the darkness. Overall, I think the general public is just over hearing about unruly employees doing stupid things in restaurants.

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry