My wife and I were out and about for our list of Sunday errands when we found ourselves over in the vicinity of The Rim looking for a few odds & ends at World Market. Just a quick question for those of you who frequent the shops in that area.
Can you tell me why they have these creepy looking butterflies hanging off the beautiful stonework entry of The Rim? Is this some Christmas in July sort of thing? 
Anyway, since it was lunch time and we hadn't planned on any special trip to find someplace new and exciting, we decided to give the restaurant inside the Bass Pro Shop a try. We have never heard a bad thing about the place, so there was always a chance we could find something to complain about, and that would be fun.
I can't pronounce it, but the place is called Islamadora Fish Company, and they are part of a bigger chain of fish places of varying names - Hemingway's, Blue Fin, White River Fish House and the like. This one, IFC is quite a grand thing. It is very large and actually fits well with the huge Brass Pro Shop it is connected to.
I should tell you now that I failed to take loads of pictures inside the Bass Pro Shop because I was sure that I had written about it before. We went there not long after it opened, and I was sure I gave a full report. But a quick search of the blog did not turn up any evidence of it. So, suffice it to say that A) my wife was right and 2) you ought to go by there even if you aren't an outdoors enthusiast. I dig the clothes they offer and there is lots to see by way of displays. Like Cabela's in Buda, Bass Pro Shop is a zoo for dead things.
Our waiter came and took the drink order and offered us a loaf of bread that seemed extremely fresh. Did you ever go to the Wonder Bread factory when you were little and get one of those little loaves of bread? I thought of that when he brought it out. But it was not sliced, it wasn't in a Wonder Bread wrapper, and for some reason, they sprinkled sugar on top of it. The hell? Really; stop doing that.
When I was little, I would sneak into the kitchen and make sugar and butter sandwiches. Two slices of fresh bread, slathered in butter then covered with sugar and smashed together. No wonder I'm such a fatass. The bread itself was good but please, reconsider that sugar business or at least bring it as a free dessert after the meal.
In spite of the sugary start, my wife wanted to get an appetizer, so we went with the fried calamari. I thought it was really good but my wife went total Happy Dance on me. She insisted it was the best ever. The breading was very light and the dipping sauce was good. If you like calamari, I promise, you'll enjoy this.
The menu is full of wonderful options and we mulled it over for some time. They have buffalo burgers and alligator. But being a seafood place, we both decided to give it a try.
My wife ordered the Fish & Chips. In this case, the chips are not french fries, but actual sliced potatoes like potato chips. The huge pieces of fish were batter fried just right and having tasted a hunk myself, I can assure you the taste was excellent. Mr. Cod could learn a thing or two about portion for price and cooking times. I admit, when the plates arrived, I thought they might be a little overdone, just based on the color. The fish was fine, but I thought the chips were a tad overcooked - maybe IFC could learn a thing from Mr. Cod! Either way, my wife loved them; so there ya go.
I had to try the catfish and I was not disappointed at all. If you have read this blog for any time, you will know that I use Clear Springs Restaurant as the standard for comparing catfish. Without question, when someone has asked me where to get some good catfish, I have never hesitated to offer up Clear Springs (and I still won't), but I must tell you that the catfish I had today, combined with the tarter sauce, IFC was better tasting. I suspect my grandfather is spinning in my grandmother's grave (long story) as we speak. He loved Clear Springs but I suspect he would give a thumbs up to IFC as well. It was that good.
I should also throw in kudos for the Cole slaw. Not too dry, nice and creamy and just a good match with the fish.
The price is a little steep for the frugal minded, but not for the quality of the food and the atmosphere. I guess what I'm saying is, don't go into Bass Pro Shop and then slip into IFC thinking it is like the K-Mart Diner where you can get the daily special for $4.00. Appetizer, Iced Teas, and two entrees came out to $37.00 before the well deserved generous tip. But it was well worth it.
As our waiter was taking our plates, something happened and a small bowl of tarter sauce fell from a plate. You should have seen it! The tarter sauce shot out in a skipping motion and streamed across the carpet. Nobody was injured, though some lady walking by did seem to flinch a little thinking that some sauce might hit her shoe. Good times!
I often look at the Yahoo and Google reviews that people submit about places we go, just to see how we compare. I suspect the IFC here got off to a bad start based on what I have read. Ignore them. If our experience today is anything like what they are doing on a regular basis, it is safe to go in and enjoy. In fact, Islamorada Fish Company is a Tasty Treat, and we will go back for more. I gotta have the Buffalo Burger.
No, not the new Red Robin that has been threatening to open in Alamo Ranch, but the one at The Rim. We have been before (several times, actually), but there was some little incident that I could have sworn caused it to close down at least briefly. Something health related. Anyway, whatever that little issue was, they must have gotten it resolved because they sent my wife one of those e-mail coupons for a free burger, and we can't let something like that go to waste, now can we?
When we walked in, they had this poster up advertising the Burnin' Love Burger. Ignite my taste buds? Well, why not? From the looks of the poster, it seemed to have some sort of grilled jalapenos on it, and I am happy to report, that me likey! In fact, if you ever go to What-a-burger and don't have them throw some grilled jalapenos on your burger, you are missing a good time.
We were seated in the front of the restaurant, almost in the bar area, and instead of a booth, we had this tall wobbly table with really uncomfortable wooden bar stools. The place was packed, as usual (I guess nobody else had any concerns about that minor health issue) and we had to wait several minutes for our waiter. In that time, we were able to decide what we wanted, thus when the guy made his way to us for a drink order, we'd get the entire order going all at once. You know, with a plan like that, how can you go wrong?
Did you know that Red Robin has this little deal going where they give you bottomless french fries? We had several different waiters try to hand us baskets of fries during our visit, and each time when we declined, they looked at us like we were nuts, "But they're free!"
We did have a great waiter, Levi was his name if I recall, and he was the first waiter we have ever had that told us we could substitute onion rings for the fries for an additional 99 cents. This is actually a good deal because, if you recall from my previous report, they serve onion rings on this tall ring stacker thing. That little puppy will cost you $8. I know, outrageous. If you add up the rings that we got with our burgers for a combined $1.98, there were just as many. So if you go to RR, just do the substitution and save a few bucks.
In the corner of the area we were in, there was a group of young guys, probably high school or college age, who knows, and they were having a nice time doing the goofy things teens are supposed to do; messing with each other. They had those fruity kind of lemonade drinks where get actual chunks of fruit in it, so one of the antics involved taking a straw and attempting to suck it from one end through the straw. While waiting for more baskets of bottomless french fries, one kid (the second one from the right in the picture) put his head down almost as if the strenuous work of sucking fruit through a straw had caused need for a nap. His cohorts immediately went into action with one kid first taking the salt shaker and shaking a bit into the sleepy kid's lemonade. Not to be out done, another friend grabbed that Red Robin seasoning they have out on the tables, and poured a substantial amount into the drink. This was followed by a third kid reaching over and stirring the new concoction so the specialness of the drink would be distributed evenly. That's important in a high quality lemonade, you know.
When the tired kid lifted his head, the others were doing everything they could to mute giggles and not give away that anything was amiss. Now if you are a cool kid and they spike your lemonade, you should just drink it and pretend you don't even notice. In fact, I'd suggest holding up the glass and stating loudly, "My God, this is the best lemonade I have ever tasted. I wonder if I can get a gallon or two to go?" In doing this, the young pranksters are denied their enjoyment at your expense. Instead, the victim here just said, "Real nice." Then grabbed the iced tea from the kid next to him and drank most of it in a single suck of the straw. That kid has some good lungs.
I'm not so sure while I found the whole episode entertaining. Perhaps it was because these yout's weren't vandalizing the restaurant; just each other.
For some reason, it took an extraordinarily long time to get our burgers out to us. You can always gauge things based upon how quickly people around you are getting their food. Plus, we have been to this pace before and I once commented that their staff was like a well oiled machine. Nobody sits around and waits for anything, they are always busy doing something. So I was surprised at the wait. And sure enough, when some guy from the kitchen finally came out with our burgers, he apologized for the long wait. At least they were aware of it.
My wife went with the Whiskey River burger. We've both had this one before and it is a wise selection. It has the little fried onion things and some sort or sauce. She cut it in half, then went to town on it.
My Burnin' Love burger sucked. Do not waste your time on it. I think what they did was get a regualr burger, pour a little bit of Taco Bell salsa on it, and called it Burnin' Love. I'm sure Elvis would be proud. Oh sure, I ate it, but I kept thinking that I could have had one of those Red Robin burgers that comes with a fried egg on top of it. I hate missed opportunities.
So there you have it. Neither of us got sick, so whatever health issues they had experienced before must have been corrected. Our particular waiter was great, and Johnny-on-the-spot with tea refills, an absolute requirement for me. The wait was a bit longer than normal - okay, a lot longer than normal, and other than me not liking the fraudulaent Burnin' Love burger, all was good.
You may now safely return to Red Robin.
For years, I have been just like you on my drive in to work, listening to the radio hearing reports about the big Cowboy Breakfast. It is an annual tradition here in San Antonio to mark the beginning of Rodeo, and because of the need to work, I have never joined the thousands of people all duded up in cowboy gear to get free breakfast tacos, biscuits and gravy, and of course, hot coffee.
Today, because I had to take the morning off for a service call at the house, I decided to find out what all the excitement of the cowboy breakfast was, first hand. Oh, my wife was glad to simply observe the event via the local morning news, and while I headed out into the 30 degree weather at 6AM, she was safely snuggled in the bed, no doubt laughing at me and the other suckers attempting to set a record for the most cups of free coffee served.
By the way, I never could get it straight as to what the number was supposed to be. I heard people saying things like 4,000 cups and I heard others saying 40,000 cups. I don't want to sound like a party-pooper, but wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that the Red Cross would easily serve 4,000 cups of coffee during any hurricane event?
Anyway, I got to The Rim without a lot of traffic or fanfare. In all honesty, I was expecting serious traffic issues, but really, there was no more traffic (in my mind anyway) than a normal visit to the same shopping center during Christmas.
One of my main goals was to take pictures of the KENS-5 TV folks broadcasting from the CB. That was a big fat FAIL. As it turned out, I simply could not get to where they were at, apparently behind some sort of long line that involved the free tacos and biscuits and such. Honestly, I could not find them, even though I did see several different people they had interviewed earlier in the morning. Oh well.
The CB had two big stages with bands playing. My fingers were so freakin' cold, I could not for the life of me understand how these artists could play guitar. Maybe they had some blow torch like heaters up on the stages that I couldn't see.
As I looked at the lines of people trying to get their free food, I came across our police chief, Bill McManus. He was nice enough to pose for me twice. The first picture I took was really blurry so I just said, "Wow, that came out really blurry", and by God, he stood there until I could get it right.
His public information officer didn't wait for the better picture. And now look at him.
The CB wasn't just full of important people either. I came across this guy standing in front of a radio station booth, MIX 96.1, and I'm not sure if he was just there hanging out or if he was one of the random characters on the show. Anyway, he needed a hug because it was cold. I offered him the flash of my camera, but not much more. I think he had hugged quite a few people though because to be honest, he smelled a little.
Then there was the chick with blue hair. It turns out that a new magazine was being launched called Stash, and she was passing out copies of the mag and taking pictures with people. I don't know the two guys posing with her; they just happened to be there when I was snapping pictures.
I have to tell you, I spent probably 45 minutes walking around the place and never once even considered standing in line to get the tacos, the biscuits or the free coffee so I could be part of the big record. Because of all the news and fanfare it gets every year, attending was actually a let down. I was hoping to see people getting liquored up and doing crazy things (all before work, mind you) but for the most part, it just seemed like a bunch of really cold people waiting in long lines for food they could have easily paid a buck for in a drive-thru somewhere. And what a mess!
Speaking of messes... one bright spot for me was on my way back to my vehicle. I spotted this gem in the lot parked just a row over from me. Egad! Perhaps these people were trying to get a start on the Cowboy Breakfast clean-up by tossing crap in the back of their car.
Giddy up! See all the pictures over on Flickr.
Update: Here is a small video I made before my camcorder ran out of tape...
We were on our way to World Market out at The Rim yesterday when we happened upon this guy/gal (I really think it was a gal) at the intersection of Tezel and Guilbeau.
What do you think? Hard core UT fan or just someone trying to make a fashion statement?
Oh, while we were out at World Market, we were looking around and I decided to pick up a sampler pack of different beers.
This is what they had to choose from - not very much of a selection for the place being "World" market, in fact, I think you can get a wider choice at some of the HEB's around town. My son inquired about Yuengling, but unfortunately, we have none here in Texas. Whenever I go on a trip to the east coast, that is my brand of choice. What is it, some sort of conspiracy for that whole Coors thing back when you couldn't buy it east of the Mississippi or something?
Anyway, these are the beers I picked up. I was looking for something in a Milwaukee's Best Light, but I settled for these. Perhaps I'll sample them on New Years Eve.
Any suggested brands that I need to test out? Oh, but won't make me gassy? That's pretty much a requirement made up by my wife.
My wife likes to sign up for these online clubs with restaurants where they will send you a free coupon via e-mail for 20 percent off or a buy one, get one free sort of thing. A while back, she signed us up for the birthday club at Red Robin. Come to find out, I was the birthday boy this month and they sent us a coupon for a free burger. When was the last time I turned down a free burger?
So with all the errands we needed to run today, we figured we'd slip by The Rim and eat lunch at the Red Robin. I like the really huge wreaths they hung from the signs at The Rim, but geeze, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet!
Anyway, I like Red Robin and when they are giving food out for free, why the heck not. My only issue with the place is that for some reason, my hearing goes bonkers in there. The place has no sound proofing at all and it sounds like you are on a school bus with a bunch of loud 6th graders on their way to a Hanna Montana concert. Hopefully, when they build the new one in Alamo Ranch, they'll rethink that design.
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So my wife needed to run into The New Balance Store over at The Strand off IH-10 & Huebner. You know you are going to spend some cash when the people offer you a bottled water while you have your feet sized.
For the price of shoes there, they ought to give you cold beer and a plate of nachos, but I suppose that would take away from the healthy image they are trying to put forth.
My wife never leaves home without clean socks. You never know when you might be in an accident I suppose. Oh, and her feet don't really point out like that, she was just trying to mess with the sales lady to see if she would say New Balance had a shoe that could correct that dysfunction.
And speaking of that, since when did tennis shoes become a "system". Our shoe waitress was very nice and knowledgeable but if the free bottled water didn't give a clue that they were looking to sell a Cadillac, the fact that she brought out additional accessories with the shoes was all I needed to know. Oh yes, with the New Balance System, you can swap out the crappy inserts and put in some of these fancy cushion support things in for only an extra $50.00. And if you'd like, we can give you an extended warranty. Seriously, I don't see Al Bundy going through all the training that was probably required of our sales person, just to push some high dollar feet covers.
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On our way home, we were over by the medical center so we stopped into that HEB on the corner of Huebner and Babcock. Sweet sainted mother of turrets, I never realized how many messed up people live so close to a major medical center. Makes you thank your lucky stars for not having some malfunction that requires you to have batteries attached to your scalp. Geeze, I hope that poor guy doesn't happen upon this blog and think I'm making sport of him.
Anyway, besides the numerous people with medical situations, I realized that this was one of the old style HEB's in desperate need of a remodel. We felt lost the minute we walked in and nothing was where it is supposed to be. Even the things in the produce market seemed out of whack. And the lines were packed with Sunday shoppers all crammed into a short compact area. I was really feeling claustrophobic and would have much preferred a visit to the HEB Plus where we normally do our Sunday HEB'ing.
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And finally, a reader left a comment on an older blog entry about Bussey's Flea Market. This guy has several blogs of his own, but one made my wife and I sit and giggle so to speak. Well, why don't you go ahead and check it out for yourself, here.
My wife and I experienced something this afternoon that really left us pissed off and a bit frazzled for a while. We went into The Rim to run into the JC Penny's before heading out to Boerne. By chance, I pulled into a parking spot just in front of the Kirklands.
As I was getting out of the truck, I happened to look down in the car parked beside me and saw a dog sitting in the back seat. I did a double take because the first thing I realized was that the windows on the car were rolled up. I snapped a few pictures before whipping open my phone and calling SAPD. Meanwhile, my wife ran into the Penny's to ask the staff there to call The Rim security, which of course they did.
I stood by the car because I was going to wait for the police and if the dog appeared to have the least amount of stress, I was going to take great joy in busting one of the windows on the car.
Now let's be clear. The owner of the car was gone when we pulled in, so we really have no idea if the dog had been left in the heat for a minute or an hour. So when the lady walked up to the car and saw me taking pictures of her license plate, she had sort of a weird smile on her face as if she realized why I was standing there. I asked her if she realized she had left her dog in the car with the windows rolled up. She didn't look shocked at all but rather pulled off one of those, "Oops, I thought I left the windows down" excuses. The lady is lucky my wife was still in Penny's.
I then said to her, "Well why don't you at least open the door so the dog can get some air?" and she immediately opened the back door and said, "Oh, he's fine." Again, the lady is lucky my wife was still in Penny's. Not that she has to apologize to me, but for Christ's sake, show some concern or remorse, if only pretend.
I just shook my head in disbelief as the lady climbed into her car and pulled out. It was obvious that the police call probably hadn't been made at this point, but I was hoping for a quick arrival by security. I called SAPD back and told them that the lady with the dog had left so they may as well not bother, but I did give them the car description and the license plate number.
So, As I am walking toward Penney's and my wife is walking out to tell me security is on the way, we turn around and see that the lady has now pulled into the fire lane in front of Kirkland's to have some stuff loaded. When she saw us stop to look at her, it looked to me as if she had changed her mind about leaving the dog in the car again, and this time, pulled the dog out on his leash (Thank God he was okay), and then yelled to us, "It's okay, you don't have to watch me."
I despise a scene or any drama, but my wife yelled back at the top of her lungs something about don't worry about us, you should worry about your dog and stupid people shouldn't be allowed to have pets etc etc. Had we been closer, I think we might have had a situation.
By the time we finished our quick stop in Penney's (four $40.00 shirts for $6.97 each), the security lady had arrived and my wife showed her the pictures I took along with the license plate number. The security lady told us it was definitely a felony and the lady was lucky she got out before the police got there, or she probably would be going to jail.
We're just glad the dog was okay. Look, anyone can make a mistake or become forgetful, but how many times do we have to see on the news that dumbasses in Texas, where on any day it can soar into the high 90's, keep forgetting their kids and pets in locked and sealed pressure cookers? I honestly hope this lady won't make the same mistake again, for the sake of the dog.
Oh, and I guess the obvious question is, why the hell does one take a dog to The Rim in the first place?
Let's be clear; I am a Chili's person. I have said it before and I continue to believe that for a reasonable price, you can go to most Chili's restaurants, get some decent food, and it will be consistent with your previous several visits, regardless of location.
But in the past six or eight months, I have noticed an extremely consistent trend in crazy service in the bar section of the 1604 and Culebra Chili's, and I simply can't let it go beyond this evening; Chili's, you people need to know that directly across 1604, all that dust and construction and loads of new traffic are several new competitors that are just waiting to get started on earning my business.
But let me just fill you in on our experience tonight. First, it isn't so much our waiter. We have had this kid before and he is a good, friendly waiter. The problem is with the rest of the people milling about as if shift change is like some sort of two-hour overlap process where nobody does any actual work.
When we walked in around 4:30PM, the place was empty. The hostess immediately went to seat us in the regular dining section but my wife asked her if we had to sit in the bar to qualify for Happy Hour specials. (Don't even get me started on Happy Hour!) The hostess turned us around and sat us at a booth in the bar area and aside from the fact that there were only a few people in the area, we immediately noticed that there was no bartender.
This was not a problem because our intent was to eat, but it was a sign of something bad. An experience we had on previous seating's in this same area. By the way, am I the only person who finds it a tad bit unhealthy that they toss the receipt for the drinks in the tops of the drinks? In other words, say you are sitting in the regular area but you order a beer. Your server goes to the bar, orders up your beer then walks away to take some other customer their drinks. When the bartender (assuming they are there) fills your beer to about two inches below the top of the tall glass, thus serving you the same amount as if your ordered a regular size, he or she then takes the receipt and tosses into the top of the glass so your server will know which table to take it to. I trust the ink is edible.
So anyway, our server comes by and says he'll be right with us then leaves for about 10 minutes. I notice that two guys, apparently contractors of some sort, are seated at the bar near our table. Both these guys are working the cell phones, but are kind enough to leave the restaurant each time the phone rings.
The result is, for the majority of the time we were there, these two guys would take quick chugs of beer, then be outside for 5 to ten minutes at a stretch.
I trust they were coordinating the building of a new restaurant in Alamo Ranch while waiting for refills of beer.
I keep noticing the staff just hanging around, maybe having a meeting of some sort, and even though they are technically standing in the "employees only" area, they are in clear view of the customers. I could just tell that this was not going to be a quick dinner.
I ordinarily limit my Chili's consumption of beverages to either unsweetened iced tea or a single tall Miller Lite. Because of the unreasonably slow service, I was forced to order a second tall Miller Lite. This would have been fine had I not been waiting for an extra long time. 
And here is the real problem. If you sit in the bar area, you see everything that is going on in the bar, you know that you could simply get up, serve yourself a tall water, a fresh lemonade, or in this case, a Miller Lite, and it would happen in a reasonable time. If it was a case of a bartender constantly making drinks, mixing Margaritas or doing all sorts of Tom Cruise Cocktail tricks, you could sit back and wait your turn. But there was no one at the bar, yet three feet away, multiple Chili's uniformed servers chit-chatting and milling about like they were waiting for the results of a horse race.... and then my burger came. 
I went with the Jalapeno Smokehouse Big Mouth Bacon Burger. When cooked right, this puppy is seriously YUM! But if we mistake "medium-well" for "stick it in the microwave until it is overdone, then leave it on the counter until it is only slightly warm", it isn't that great.
My wife ordered some mushroom burger and asked for bacon on it, but was then upset that her bacon wasn't the same real thick good bacon that came on my Big Mouth Bacon Burger. Bacon discrimination: Call LULAC. Oh, I checked my receipt later. We didn't even get Happy Hour prices on the drinks we ordered. WTH?
Yes, Alamo Ranch is open. We Culebra folk' now have our own version of Bandera Pointe - no, better yet, The Rim! So let us count the competitors ready to take my money:
- Logan's Raodhouse: I used to go to the one up on I-10 until Texas Roadhouse opened at Ingram and 410. This Logan's will be closer.
- Mama Margie's: We enjoy the one on I-10, but this one is, say it with me.... Closer!
- Ruby Tuesday: Fairly new around here but I've enjoyed them in airports and this is going to be a shocker, they are pretty much like Chili's.
- Red Robin: How many times have I yammered on about Red Robin? And now I won't have to drive to The Rim. Hell, I'll pull into Home Depot (or the new Lowe's if they don't get their act together) and then pop in for one of those huge stacks of onion rings, and a burger with an egg on top.
Be warned Chili's at 1604 and Culebra, your competitors are calling and I'm not in the mood for crappy service.
Can you tell me why they have these creepy looking butterflies hanging off the beautiful stonework entry of The Rim? Is this some Christmas in July sort of thing? 
Anyway, since it was lunch time and we hadn't planned on any special trip to find someplace new and exciting, we decided to give the restaurant inside the Bass Pro Shop a try. We have never heard a bad thing about the place, so there was always a chance we could find something to complain about, and that would be fun.
I can't pronounce it, but the place is called Islamadora Fish Company, and they are part of a bigger chain of fish places of varying names - Hemingway's, Blue Fin, White River Fish House and the like. This one, IFC is quite a grand thing. It is very large and actually fits well with the huge Brass Pro Shop it is connected to.
Our waiter came and took the drink order and offered us a loaf of bread that seemed extremely fresh. Did you ever go to the Wonder Bread factory when you were little and get one of those little loaves of bread? I thought of that when he brought it out. But it was not sliced, it wasn't in a Wonder Bread wrapper, and for some reason, they sprinkled sugar on top of it. The hell? Really; stop doing that.
In spite of the sugary start, my wife wanted to get an appetizer, so we went with the fried calamari. I thought it was really good but my wife went total Happy Dance on me. She insisted it was the best ever. The breading was very light and the dipping sauce was good. If you like calamari, I promise, you'll enjoy this.
My wife ordered the Fish & Chips. In this case, the chips are not french fries, but actual sliced potatoes like potato chips. The huge pieces of fish were batter fried just right and having tasted a hunk myself, I can assure you the taste was excellent. Mr. Cod could learn a thing or two about portion for price and cooking times. I admit, when the plates arrived, I thought they might be a little overdone, just based on the color. The fish was fine, but I thought the chips were a tad overcooked - maybe IFC could learn a thing from Mr. Cod! Either way, my wife loved them; so there ya go.
I had to try the catfish and I was not disappointed at all. If you have read this blog for any time, you will know that I use Clear Springs Restaurant as the standard for comparing catfish. Without question, when someone has asked me where to get some good catfish, I have never hesitated to offer up Clear Springs (and I still won't), but I must tell you that the catfish I had today, combined with the tarter sauce, IFC was better tasting. I suspect my grandfather is spinning in my grandmother's grave (long story) as we speak. He loved Clear Springs but I suspect he would give a thumbs up to IFC as well. It was that good.
As our waiter was taking our plates, something happened and a small bowl of tarter sauce fell from a plate. You should have seen it! The tarter sauce shot out in a skipping motion and streamed across the carpet. Nobody was injured, though some lady walking by did seem to flinch a little thinking that some sauce might hit her shoe. Good times!
I often look at the Yahoo and Google reviews that people submit about places we go, just to see how we compare. I suspect the IFC here got off to a bad start based on what I have read. Ignore them. If our experience today is anything like what they are doing on a regular basis, it is safe to go in and enjoy. In fact, Islamorada Fish Company is a Tasty Treat, and we will go back for more. I gotta have the Buffalo Burger.
