simple and satisfying a great cajun meal
Using butcher's paper for your tablecloth, dumping a bucketful of seasoned, boiled shrimp, crawfish, sausage, crab claws, corn on the cob - what a treat! It's delightful!!!! Wonderful family atmosphere, too!


   [29 Aug 2006 15:01:02]

Food:    Service: -   Ambiance: -   Overall: 

     ­Mickey   

In the middle of a swanky coastal area of Fulton (Just past the Fulton Mansion)from the outside this place looks like a throw-back to the times of two lane highways and juke boxes. But the warehouse clad decor on the outside is carefully crafted, and if you look closely at it you will realize that a lot of work has gone into giving this place its now unfortunately practically anachronistic "feel".

That "feel" would be a family gulf Cajun shrimp boil on the beach watched over by a concerned Mom where everyone participates and has a good time. I hear the owner has been in business for 20 years, and has a web site at www.dotsboilingpot.com (not much on the site except you can see the logo.

If you get there after six you will have a wait - and there is certainly a lot of seating all filled. There are nice breezy dining areas outside under roofs integrated into the restaurant as well as the bar and playful inside. As you walk in you may see two or there attractively dressed young ladies, in shorty shorts and a T-Shirt and then a very pleasant hostess will seat you. I thought of Hooters, but really its not that at all, more like the girl next door at the clam bake with her sleeves rolled up.

It is a rowdy, mirthful place with subdued white christmas lights blending in with signs and walls papered with childrens drawings on the same fishpaper you get spread on your table. So if you have kids you probably will get a box of crayons and they'll be tickled and excited about the experience.

Then your server comes along and puts big bright disposible lobster bibs on everyone and you see the menus which is as limited as they get. But that's fine - you are at a neighborly beach party, right?!

The Cajun Combo at 15.95 can feed two unless both of you eat a lot. Soft Drinks are refillable and a good deal, and all the other drinks are quite reasonably priced. I would definitely get a couple extra delicious blue crabs (the Combo we ordered had one blue crab, over a half pound of polish (cajun?) sausage, less than the half pound but none the less a good quantity of medium head on shrimp, four spicy sweet corn half cobs, and if I recall a couple of extra blue crab claws. All were boiled nicely in the same pot with in a spicy handful of herbs, and the server took pride in the ritual dumping of the drained food in the middle of our table. However, only the corn absorbed enough picant spices especially to taste spicy, and after eating a bit of it, you'd forget that (It was great).

Overall it was well worth the experience. I didn't like my inexperienced young server as she did not to fit in with everything else and had no personality to speak of, but still she did her best to serve with a smile, so no real complaint (It just could have been so much better if we had a server with some coastal personality to go with the place).

Finally, I just had returned from a deep sea fishing day trip totally seasick, and this restaurant had been on top of my anticipation list for the entire trip to the region.

Unfortunately, I couldn't eat anything or enjoy anything, and my fairer half who isn't much of a seafood or spicy fan gave me the vicarious thrill I so so much missed out on. I'll definitely make it a point to go back if I can travel to the Texas coast again.

The next morning I still was a bit queezy from fishing but the leftovers they let me take in a wonderful plastic lidded tub with the restaurant's logo tasted great and I was crying we had to go home.

Note, this is no "parillada", by the way (prior reviewer) since a parillada is off a grill. This is as traditional Americana as you can get. It's boiled with a French colonial latin spicy flavor that New Orleans and the Mississippi shrimping coast can get. I personally would have preferred the sausages a little more spicey themselves (which was especially notable the morning after), but as long as you don't agonize for 7 hours on an open ocean fishing trip, I promise you will be more than satisfied and happy you discovered this interesting place right past the first bridge turning left along the bay on the way to the exclusive Fulton Beach. The wading birds on the bay were a fantastic addition to the trip out and back.

Finally, some restaurants prepare fish for you as all this is a fisherman's paradise. Not the Boiling Pot. They only do there thing. But I have to thank mnanagement for telling me that in a nice way when we brought our half pound fillet straight from the fishing trip. They apoligised and gave us a big plastic tub withy compliments loaded with ice. Nice place!!    [29 Aug 2006 15:04:22]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 

     ­stelenes