Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Best Shrimp on Island?

After eating shrimp for years down here, I'd like to throw it open and ask y'all "Who has the best shrimp on the Island?"

I mean come on, for bait they're great but great shrimp are actually hard to find. As far as ambiance I like the Wanna-Wanna because it is handy and close by, but honestly, their Sysco frozen bags o' shrimp have lost their flavor. Anybody getting shrimp from Sysco just isn't buying local, anyway - boo!

My favorite is a nice day or evening at Dolphin Cove, which seems to have real shrimp with some real taste. Extra points for the best cole slaw on the Island, and French fries that actually tasted like they had some potato in them. Hand-made?

Amberjack's has OK shrimp of an indeterminant kind, and it's been years since we've been to Scampi's for what was an award-winning peanut butter shrimp combo - and no telling if they're cooking $20 prawns or what. Many places zip up the shrimp with loads of spices so you can't even taste the shrimp anymore, bummer. Surprisingly, the best dish at Jesse's Cantina is shrimp enchiladas verdes, where the hot stuff compliments rather than takes away from the fresh taste of Gulf shrimp.

We're still on the quest ... let us know if you've been having some really good, wild shrimp lately.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Palm Street Pier won a contest with their Chipole Shrimp. Not on the menu but they must have the Chipole jelly on hand as they served it to me the last time we were down :)

I haven't forgotten your care package Sammy, just been busy!

Ken

Sam said...

Good one, how can one forget Palm Street Pier? Well, my daughter rather would but that's a different story ...

I don't know if Sheraton has them on the menu, but at a convention they put out some BBQ shrimp wrapped in bacon that was simply divine! I tried to reverse engineer it and got either raw bacon or really burnt shrimp.

And I surprised the kitchens aren't more creative with the noble shrimp, including dripping sauces such as Chipotle, Habanero, chutney, and so forth.

Anonymous said...

Louies upstairs (sports bar) has a good shrimp basket and it is real gulf coast shrimp. As far as a good slaw i think padre island brewing company has the best.

Sam said...

Ooh, Louie's has a seafood basket not only with great shrimp but also scallops - what can I say, I love scallops!

And yes, I've always loved the Brewing Company. The shrimp there is OK ... I'll try the coleslaw next time.

~Melissa said...

Louie's has there Shrimp Brochette which is a grilled shrimp. That is always one of my favorite. Though the Blackened Shrimp at Blackbeard's and Daddy's was pretty darn good.


But nothing beats that 5 pound bag of shrimp I always bring home for myself!

~melissa

Sam said...

Hi M, we were just saying at Louie's that the best shrimp we ever had, bar none, was the kind you bring home from those little stores in Port Isabel. I'm a fool for a brochette, though, so I'll have to try that next time!

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen anyone mention Al's.

When we are down there and eat out nearly every day, Al's shrimp have become a mainstay of our diet (until the lines become completely out of control)and most of the time I think their shrimp are great. Besides that the price is right.

I'll have to try the Palm Street Pier and Louies (on a day other than Sunday when the ribs win out) for shrimp.

Now I'm ready to get on the road and have at those gulf shrimp.

I've always wondered, are there seasons for the fresh shrimp? When are they the best?

Joni