Alabama Appetites

Royal Reds, the king of shrimp. We had them for dinner one evening, and as is usual when our family travels, we eat out a lot. Here are some of the highlights of our food-related adventures in Alabama.

One evening, we went for seafood at Geno's Fresh Catch Grill, where we had oysters and fresh local crab.










Afterwards, Emmett got dessert at the ice cream place a few doors down (everybody else was full).

On a sunny afternoon, we had lunch at Flora-bama, a bar and road house on the beach, just over the Florida border. Emmett tried and conquered his very first oyster! I didn't see it but other bar patrons confirmed, so I was forced to believe. We ran out onto the beach after lunch and touched the Gulf on the Florida side, just to say we had done it.

One day, Ben and I went to Blalock's Seafood and Gourmet Market and bought Royal Red shrimp (a variety of deep-water shrimp that almost tastes like lobster), plus smaller shrimp for the kids. They liked the Royal Reds better! We had a deliciously decadent dinner in the condo, feasting on crustaceans.


One night, we went across the street for Mexican food and we all practiced our various languages. I tried Spanish, Emmett spoke French, Jack spoke Japanese, and the waiter informed us (because we asked) that currently, there are approximately ten pesos in one dollar. We wanted to go to Fort Morgan, but Ann and Jack weren't feeling well and the kids were having so much fun at the beach that we never got there. Next time.

And of course, we can't forget our breakfast at the Waffle House.

On the last night, we cleaned up all our mess. We leave a day before Ann and Jack so we can get to New Orleans. We haven't been there since Hurricane Katrina and we want to see how they are doing--and contribute our tourism dollars. I didn't quite finish Travels with Charley so I'll have to finish it when I get home--I need to return it to the lending library. Friday morning, we said farewell to Orange Beach and to Ann and Jack, and headed due west for the Big Easy.

Good-bye Orange Beach! And thanks, Ann!