OPINION —
As I’ve mentioned many times in this column, Lee County has many wonderful restaurants to enjoy. I’m grateful for this, not only because my husband Mike and I love to eat out; the large number of restaurants has allowed me to write my column for the past three years.
There is one type of restaurant, however, that I would LOVE to see come to our county: an all-seafood one, preferably a Mom and Pop’s.
Back when Mike and I lived and taught in LaGrange, one of our favorite restaurants was Hoofer’s, which served an amazingly huge and delicious seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday nights with every kind of Gulf seafood imaginable: shrimp, deviled crab, crab legs, oysters, flounder, etc. A lady sat and doled out about three crab legs per person at a time. Mike and I thought that was funny since you could come up to her as many times as you wished.
However, we always passed on the crab legs; to us, cracking those legs was too much work for too little food.
Years ago, the owners got tired of working on the weekend, so they stopped having the seafood buffet. Instead, they served Southern cooking for lunch (dinner) on the weekdays. Mike and I, along with all of LaGrange, were very unhappy. However, we couldn’t blame the owners; working on the weekend is really a drag. But I digress.
Recently, Mike and I visited my hometown of Alexander City (“Eleck” City to the locals) and decided to try a seafood restaurant about which we’d heard good comments.
Wharf Casual Seafood is located at 4011 U.S. 280 in Alex City. When Mike and I entered the restaurant, we liked the bright, roomy, cheerful interior. We also loved the column that posted signs that said, “Sylacauga-25 miles,” “Wetumpka-35 miles,” etc. And since we love the Gulf Coast of Alabama, we felt right at home with the slogan, “The Coast is Here.” We knew that we were in the right place.
James Manning, a manager in training at Wharf Casual Seafood was so kind and helpful, answering all of my questions. It was only his third day on the job, and he was rocking it.
Manning said that one of the restaurant’s owners, Noah Griggs Jr., lived in nearby Tallassee.
Stephen Duggar, the other owner, lives in Tallahassee, Florida.
Kenslee, who took our order, and Tammy, our server, were both so sweet, helpful and patient.
Wharf Casual Seafood received bonus points from this retired English teacher for serving Diet Dr. Pepper, my beverage of choice.
Mike and I both ordered a cup of gumbo as an appetizer, and it was terrific. For his entrée, Mike selected the blackened catfish, French fries and coleslaw. I chose the grilled shrimp, fried catfish, smashed potatoes and a side salad.
All of our meal, from start to finish, was outstanding. Mike really loved his coleslaw, which is made fresh daily. Now, in some seafood restaurants, a side salad is almost an afterthought, with only lettuce and tomato. Not mine. My salad was colorful and fresh, having spinach leaves, iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, slivers of almonds and cucumbers. It was as beautiful as it was delicious.
In fact, everything was slap your Grandma two times good. I LOVED my smashed potatoes.
Tammy told me how they were prepared. The cook first boiled red potatoes in a Cajun seasoning. Then the potatoes were smashed and deep fried with cheese and garlic butter.
Too. Good. For. Words.
Our catfish and grilled shrimp were also top notch. We ate so much, Tammy almost had to bounce us to our car. After our meal, I told the manager in training to tell the owners that we need a Wharf Casual Seafood in Lee County. Trust me, run and do not walk to this restaurant. It is certainly worth the short drive.
Wharf Casual Seafood also offers diners delicious appetizers, Po Boys, tacos, salads, bowls and sandwiches. The restaurant also serves a large variety of entrees, some of which include: Early’s salmon, honey pecan shrimp, oysters, mahi mahi and grouper.
Wharf Casual Seafood is open on Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Wharf Casual Seafood makes the grade with an A+ from this retired English teacher. Remember, “Pooh-sized” people NEVER lie about food. Enjoy!
Stacey Patton Wallace, who retired from teaching language arts for 30 years, is a professional diner. Her column, “Making the Grade,” will appear every other week in The Observer. Stacey may be reached at retiredlangartsteacher2020@gmail.com.