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gulf coast grill
By Kelli J. Cook Mom says, "Outstanding." Kids say, "Awesome." From every perspective, our dinner at gulf coast grill was something to rave about. I should have known it from the moment we pulled in the parking lot and noticed that at 5:50 p.m. it was already packed. In fact, we got the last table available in the nonsmoking section before the customers had to wait. We were promptly greeted by our waitress, who introduced herself and took our drink order. I was afraid we’d hit our first bump in the road when my youngest ordered Dr. Pepper and was told they didn’t carry it. But before disappointment could set in, our waitress suggested a Shirley Temple. She kept his glass filled all through dinner without being asked. Needless to say, he was smitten. There must be a great training program in place here, because the service was superb. Our waitress started the evening by inquiring if we’d ever eaten here before, then detailed how their grilled fish is prepared (marinated in lemon and lime juice, soy sauce, and garlic) and the evening’s specials. She directed us to the kid’s menu and suggested appetizers. We ordered a cup of the soup-of- the-day (seafood gumbo) and took a closer look at the menu. The menu also receives a high grade for being concise and easy to read. There are no fancy dish names that you have to have translated. The prices are "nice restaurant" reasonable, especially on the kid’s menu. All child entrees are $3.95 and have choices such as grilled or fried fish, shrimp, chicken fingers, or pasta alfredo chicken. We were just settling into our fourth game of tic-tac-toe (the white paper table cloths and crayons are another kid-friendly plus) when out came our soup and fresh bread. You know the soup is well prepared when your child unknowingly eats hunks of red bell pepper and okra and Mom barely gets a taste. The salad was crisp with an interesting low-cal raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Freshly ground pepper made it complete. Our "table cloth" was almost covered by our decorations when the entrees arrived. The grilled scallops were excellent, as was the child’s pasta alfredo chicken. My oldest son had steve’s crab cakes. The portion seemed rather small (two 2.5 oz cakes) but they tasted great! Maybe that’s why he wanted more. I would be remiss if I failed to mention their vegetables. Their green beans, grilled corn-on-the-cob, and cheese grits soufflé were wonderful. My one complaint would be that no spoon was served with the grits, thereby making it impossible to scrape the bottom of the cup! When it came time for dessert, we were forced to make room for it. I ordered the key lime pie and was not disappointed. The homemade whipped cream was the perfect detail that sets this pie apart from others I’ve tasted. Needless to say, we were pleasantly "stuffed" when we left. The kids say "two thumbs up!" and want to know when we’re going back. Mom says gulf coast grill is a rare find amongst restaurants. Great food, great service, fair prices and kid friendly? We’ll be back soon. v |
