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Fish City Grill Just Okay
• Promenade restaurant working kinks out
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Saturday,
February 21, 2009
In today’s poor economy, good intentions in the restaurant business are good for one thing: one visit. Blow it the first time, and customers aren’t coming back. For us, the jury’s still out on Fish City Grill.
This cozy Cajun franchise in the new promenade shops of Coconut Creek specializes in PO Boys, crawfish, oysters, gumbo and other Louisiana favorites. They’d been open about a week on our first visit and our server made it apparent they “were working the kinks out.” A phrase uttered more than once in the hour we stayed.
Food-wise, the experience was mediocre. Kudos to the Blue Crab Stuffed Mushrooms with zesty jalapeno cream and Raphael’s Mexican Shrimp Cocktail, a salsa-like blend of cilantro, sweet onion, tomato and citrus tossed with shrimp and served in a frosty mug. From here, our experience went south.
My overcooked Oyster PO Boy came on a slice of seemingly store-bought baguette, laced with Fish City’s house remoulade, a drippy, bland version of the classic. The hush puppies were okay, a little overcooked, and the gumbo we didn’t have because they were out. They also had no Homemade Bread Pudding with Caramel Whiskey Sauce; another specialty item any chef worth his or her salt would have made sure was ready for service, especially the first week open and on a Saturday night.
What was most apparent during our visit was Fish City’s lack of operational expertise and training, especially for a franchise of this magnitude. Managers were un-attentive to what was happening on the floor. Ticket times were long and recipes were wrong. Specialty items were 86’d and they told us the “lemonade hadn’t been delivered yet” – we suggested they make it fresh with lemons and sugar. Alas, still no lemonade in sight.
Sloppily-dressed busboys circled in and out of the dining room and kitchen. Servers' job knowledge was questionable and Samba music played – not Zydeco, Bayou or something with a New Orleans flavor. This seemed to work against the Louisiana concept.
On our way out, I asked the hostess to see a manager to share our experience. She said the manager stepped out for a moment. Inside I'm thinking, "What could possibly be more important than being on the floor your first week open?"
I expected more from a restaurateur entering the market at this time, especially from a relatively well known franchise such as Fish City Grill. Is it possible that we just happened to run into the B-team that day? Time will tell. And well, time will be short for Fish City unless they tie up some seriously loose ends.
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Copyright 2009 Cassius Group Inc.
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