Gulf Shores / Orange Beach, AL
We're spending our second summer vacation in Gulf Shores. I thought I'd share our dining so far:
My wife an I ate at the Ginny Lane at the Wharf. Very good. We shared the pecan grouper and the shrimp and grits. This summer the economy has hit the crowds hard and there was no wait anywhere. I'm sure there will some resataurant casualities this year. I hope Ginny Lane won't be one of them. We highly recommend Ginny Lane for the area.
My whole family visited the Zeke's Landing Restaurant as well. We should have tried the Geno's fresh catch, also in Zeke's marina, but we thought it would be nice to eat waterside. Service was horrible. There were maybe 8 tables occupied at any given time, and 4 servers and a hostess on staff. We ordered a side of hushpuppies for an appetizer. 30 minutes later, after my mother had gone iside to ask of their status twice, a small plate of small doughballs arrived. They didn't compare to Captain D's. An hour later our meal arrived. My two boys had kid's mac and cheese... My wife and grandmother had salads. I had a Mahi Mahi steak with corn and red potatoes. My grandfather had a side of corn. Seems simple enough -- I can't see how that could take over an hour to prepare.
The Mahi Mahi was dry, flavorless, and overcooked. My side of red potatoes consisted of a single red potato cut in half and a half ear of corn, also over cooked. The server overheard me commenting on the lack of potatoes and brought more with the lemons that I requested. When she asked if everything was OK, I responded that it was "just ok". In other words, it was edible. We would have fared better with filet-o-fish's at McDonalds or Burger King. For $77 plus a tip, we surely didn't get our money's worth.
I'd highly advise anything other than Zeke's way below par establishment.
-
Ginny Lane is one of our local favorites. I, too, have noticed the drop in the crowds. Hope our faves make it okay.
I don't know how Zeke's even stays open. They have that huge space and I never see anyone there, with good reason. Your experience seems to be the rule and not the exception.
While you're here check out Original Oyster House, Cosmo's (though they have been experiencing service issues, the food is still great) and Jesse's in Magnolia Springs. I hesitate to tell people about Tin Top in Bon Secour because it's already crowded enough, but it's a great evening with great food.
