The Original Take 2

The Original Oyster House 2
3733 Battleship Parkway
(The Mobile Causeway)
Mobile, AL
251-626-2188

grilled shrimp lunch plate with potatoes, collards, and hushpuppies

(again, sorry so blurry, photo from the iPod, not a real camera)

This place is called the Original Oyster House 2, but how can it be original when it is the 2nd one? The 1st one is in Gulf Shores, AL, and this one, the 2nd one is on the Causeway overlooking Mobile Bay, and across the street from the famed and National Historic Landmark U.S.S. Alabama. Should that rename the "land"mark to "ocean"mark? The Original Oyster House 2 is located on really interesting ecological and environmental land. The OOH2 is build high on stilts just in case of flooding. Along the causeway, where OOH2 is located, you will see little wood and chainlink fences that are about 1 - 1.5 ft high. How silly it is to have fences that low, even a shorty like me can just walk right over them. These fences are not for humans, they are to project the sea turtles that live around the area. The fences are for sea turtles who come ashore to lay eggs. The turtles walk out of Mobile Bay, and continue to walk until they can't anymore and then they lay their eggs. These little fences protect those sea turtles from walking up to the road and inhabited areas, and keep them on the sandy bay areas perfect for the nests.

I have been to the OOH2 multiple times, and each time I was just a little bummed out because I had always been steered to get fried fish. I just don't like fried fish of any kind. This time, absent from the table was the fried fish pusher, I discovered that there are grilled, broiled, and boiled options which I like better. Also, I have lived landlocked for so long now, that fish, even averagely prepared fish is better than no fish in my landlocked state. On this day at OOH2, I got steamed crab claws with old bay to start, and a grilled shrimp plate as my lunch entree. The steamed crab claws were actually really delicious. For years, I thought you could only get the crab claws fried, which I did not like at all, but I discovered they had steamed. What a world of difference. Steaming the claws just brought out the flavor of the crab and the accent of old bay was quite nice. I played it safe for the entree, and it likely the shrimp I ate was not from the Gulf of Mexico, but rather they were farmed somewhere because they were just too small and perfect in size to each other. The last time I got Gulf shrimp, they were all different size and bigger and heartier than farmed shrimp. I really liked the grilled shrimp and the boiled new potatoes. I have also reconfirmed I dislike hushpuppies. I don't like the texture, flavor, or greasiness of the hushpuppie. It doesn't matter if they are the world's best hushpuppies, I am not going to like it.

It was a real treat to see the USS Alabama, see the natural splendor of Mobile Bay, and have some unfried seafood to boot.