I want to be brave. I want to try new foods. I just prefer eating what I like or have tried before. But, I know that we humans only live once, and it’s important to eat a variety of foods. Living in Wisconsin, though, I find that seafood places are, well…they are typically pseudo at best. Fish Fry spots abound during Lent, and even those aren’t my favorite places to dine. I grew up the daughter of a fisherman, and freshly caught fish, cooked the same day can’t be beaten.
Maybe I’m spoiled rotten by my dad’s cooking and I know for sure I am by Mr.’s cooking, but…am I spoiled? Maybe, but Nah…again, like I said, “I like what I like.” BRAT! Still, I’m trying to be more adventurous.
Mr.: “Remember you promised you’ll try something new?”
Me: My famous last words, “Yes, I promised, I’m going to try new things. Why?”
Mr: “Great – let’s try peel and eat shrimp.”
Me: “Uh…okay…is there a place like that around here?”
Mr: “Yep, Dad wants to take us to The Juicy Shrimp Shack for shrimp, like we tried in Florida years ago. It was good, and he’s got a hankering to try this new place.”
Me: “Okay, I’m game, the shrimp was good in Florida.”
And we were off, cruising in a little red Corvette.
Prince would’ve been proud.
Destination arrived.
Where the heck do you park? Oh, nice…right in front of Private Pleasures.
Sigh…
But, like the Facebook page said, they’re open.
Okay, we’ll take a booth seat, please.
We checked out the menu.
When the waitress came to ask us for our orders, I asked her what she likes to eat. She said, “The shrimp, with house sauce and corn.”
Me: “Okay, I’ll try the shrimp, mild spice, with garlic butter. What does it mean with potatoes, are they small red ones?”
Waitress: “No, it’s a large potato, mixed in with the shrimp. (Sensing the look on my face didn’t comprehend)…Weird, I know.”
Me: “Okay, I’ll stick with just the shrimp.”
The rest of our dining party ordered shrimp and sauce variations, after all, that’s what we went there for. And one of us ordered a cheeseburger. Hmm…she must know something I don’t know?!
The place hasn’t been open for very long, they don’t have a liquor license yet, so beverages included tea, pop (sodas), or water. Free refills though. Mr. and I had the raspberry tea. It was good but really way too sweet for me. I’m thinking a beer may have helped me relax a bit?
We watched some other patrons eating their chosen lot of shrimp. They were dressed in gloves and bibs. I’m thinking…”Oh, boy, this is going to be messy?!” Some patrons took bags of leftovers home with them, so a # of shrimp is a lot to eat?
Yeah, I’m thinking so.
We received our uniform for the dining experience.
Nothing special for the cheeseburger eater to wear. Me and Mr. looked happy to be taking this adventure.
And then the meals arrived – cheeseburger on a plate and the shrimp in plastic bags.
Me: “So what do you do with the shells?”
Waitress: “You discard them in the outer bag.”
Me: “Okay…” So there are two bags.
The other three in our party started to dig in. The mastermind for the trip was very happy.
The cheeseburger lover asked for a knife to cut her burger. It was a big handful sized burger. The waitress said she didn’t think they had any knives, went to check and then came back with a plastic knife that worked for the task at hand.
The rest of us started to dig into the shrimp bags.
Me: “EWE! They’re WHOLE…how do you eat them?” The mastermind of the trip…still smiling demonstrated again how to grab the shrimp…YIKES!
Mr: “Yes, they’re whole. You just pull the head off, break the shell down the spine, and then when you get to the tail, pull it off, and then eat it.”
Me: “EWE…but isn’t the poop line supposed to be gone? Aren’t they supposed to be deveined? You always devein them…??”
Mr: “They’re cooked, just eat them, don’t try to devein them.”
Me: “EWE…this is just too gross, I’m trying to get the vein off and the poop is spreading all over this one, I tried to clean it out first before eating.”
Mr: “Just try another one.”
Me: “Okay…this one is smaller, and the vein isn’t there. I took a bite…EWE, it’s mushy. I CAN’T DO THIS…I’m done!”
Mr: Chuckles, as if he knew me trying this shrimp thing wasn’t going to work…”At least you tried.”
Me: “Yeah, this is not for me.” I rolled up the bag and pushed it to the center of the table.
Me: “Someone else can take these home to eat.” And I removed my gloves, left the bib on – splatter from the Mr.’s de-shelling of his shrimp serving wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
Waitress: “How is everything tasting.”
Me: “I don’t like this at all.”
Waitress: “Oh.”
I took a closer look at the bag…EWE – they’re WHOLE…and the eyes were staring back at me!?! Yuck…I’m such a spoiled brat…I prefer all-prepared, ready to eat shrimp I guess.
My cheeseburger eating partner cut off a quarter of her burger and gave it to me as a consolation prize. Even that was hard to stomach. Not because of taste, it was good – I just found it hard to get over not being able to eat the shrimp. I had lost my appetite…
At least I tried.
My cheeseburger eating partner: “Since you couldn’t eat the shrimp, want to extend your day’s adventures and head into Private Pleasures to see what’s happening there?”
Me: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Holy crap…I’m such a scaredy cat, this trying new adventures thing, is gonna take me a bit to get used to…!
PS – My critique of the restaurant…The Juicy Shrimp Shack restaurant is new and they admittedly have some bugs to work out. The location is juxtaposed for travelers wanting to get a quick meal in before shopping the strip mall of sorts. The decor is sea like festive but would be more appealing had it been waterside somewhere. Parking is sparse. The bathrooms were clean. The obsession with the staff monitoring their Facebook page seemed weird from the view from my seat. I suppose if I had been more interested in my food, I may not have even noticed what the workers were doing. The staff was pleasant. Not overly willing to please, especially for someone not enjoying the experience, but, that’s the brat in me talking! The shrimp was edible (from the other’s perspective), definitely not the same as fresh shrimp in Florida. And, the picture on the menu, signs, etc. is accurate. The shrimp are served whole. So if you can stomach that, you’ll likely enjoy the dining experience. Me…I might go for crab next time, or a cheeseburger…if I ever go back.
I’m with you. That sounds pretty unappetizing to me.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts – it wasn’t what I hoped it would be, that’s for sure!
Oh boy! I’d have been right there with you, sister! Nope on the heads on thing, no way on the not deveined and I don’t think eating anything that you need to be wrapped in plastic is a good idea and dinner served in a plastic bag….just not appetizing. I cooked my first shrimp boil this weekend for our guests. Took about 30 mins, delisious, no heads or poop. Lol
LOL – thanks for the support! 🙂 Congrats on your first shrimp boil – sounds like it turned out delicious!
P.S. That is a great picture of you and your hubs!
Thank you :-)!
I assume Private Pleasures is the kind of a place I think it is, i.e. lots of men in trenchcoats, hats pulled down so you can’t tell who they are…
I’m with you: I got grossed out just reading your description.
Yes, John, you’re right on your assumptions! Oh…sorry I didn’t mean to gross you out, just wanted to be honest in my experience! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
And you did a good job. 😉 I don’t know what I would have done in the same situation.
Thank you, John. I’m just taking this adventure in stride…and getting smarter in the process (I hope!)!
As a fellow picky eater (and lover of shrimp), I would have found it difficult to tear into those critters too! Great photos. And even greater blog post title, I’ll be singing with Prince all day now. 🙂
Thank you for your thoughts of support! :-)! I’m glad you said that about the song…I’ve had it stuck in my head ever since I wrote the post too! Happy remembering Prince today to you!
Oh…and by the way, I love your fun blog and THANK you for tweeting my little red corvette post on Twitter!
You’re welcome! Sharing is caring 🙃. And thanks for the compliment!
Right back at ya! Sharing is caring, lovely way to be a great blogger! :-)!
As a coastal nor’easter, who grew up on shrimp and lobster, I would have thrown the bag right back in the cooks face. Or better yet, the owner who thought of this preposterous way to serve up a very expensive shrimp dinner. Tacky is a word that comes to mind. What are we? Animals?
Shrimps are a delicacy back here and not to be treated poorly.
Well, anyway, you did the right thing.
I never would have put up with such ill manners.
Over the many years that I have eaten shrimp, I developed an allergy to iodines, so I can no longer eat shrimp or lobster. Figures. The two delicacies are off my list. UGH!
I have become so sensitive to shrimp that if I even tough it, my hands break out in hives. I always have to carry around antihistimines should I have an outbreak. I get welts all over my body and my throat closes up and guess what? I can suffocate to death. Lovely.
To heck with those shrimp, I say!
You did right, girlfriend!
Oh, my goodness, Cindi, thanks for sharing the real deal on how shrimp should be treated! That’s so sad you’ve developed allergies to shrimp and lobster. UGH is right, that sounds horrible! Thank you for your support and for stopping by to share your thoughts, I always enjoy hearing from you!!