Frequently, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s always-hungry reporter has lunch at a local restaurant and tells you about the experience.
By ANON E. MUSS, Journal Services
What makes a good radio or television commercial?
Maybe it’s a catchy jingle. Could be a piece of video, or a phrase, which tugs at your heart.
The bottom line is that a good commercial is one which gets your attention, and makes sure you remember the name of the advertiser.
Not long ago, while driving, I was listening to a local radio station. In a time frame where several commercials ran back-to-back, one commercial did what it was supposed to do. It caught my attention.
No jingle. No emotional plea. Just the following words:
“For the best fried fish or chicken in town . . . .”
Hmmm . . . . That’s a pretty bold statement, as we have several restaurants which serve really good fish and chicken. But Sharks Fish & Chicken (7303 East Texas Street, Bossier City) stepped out on that limb. So, was Sharks guilty of false advertising, or truth in advertising? On a recent Friday, I invited a friend to meet me for lunch, so we could find out together.
The first thing you need to know is that Sharks isn’t easy to find. My GPS took me to the right location, but I had to look long and hard to find the restaurant. Sharks does not face the road, and is connected to (and on the far end of) the Gold Mike Casino I-220 Travel Plaza. The plaza includes a Chevron gas station, which is closest to Sharks.
Once inside at 12:40, I found a small but modern looking dining room with a few customers. With 11 two-chair tables, the space had a counter for ordering, and a fountain drink station. The restaurant looked fairly clean, however, there was a bucket and mop which was in – and stayed in – view the entire time we were there. Thankfully, I chose to sit in a chair facing away from the bucket and mop, so I didn’t have to look at it while eating.
Sharks’ name is a bit misleading, as the eatery offers more than fish and chicken. The four-panel electronic menu above where you order and pay showed appetizers, shrimp dinners, frog legs, sandwiches, and desserts. But my friend and I had come for one purpose – to find out if the fish and chicken were, as the commercial said, the best in town.
While browsing the menu, I felt a sense of disappointment. When I hear “Chicken,” I think fried chicken. You know, like the chicken you get at KFC, Church’s, or the kind grandma used to make on Sunday. But Sharks doesn’t offer fried chicken – at least not traditional fried chicken. Instead, Sharks is heavy on chicken wings. You can get as few as three or as many as 18. If you’re feeding your family – or if you’re really hungry – there’s a 100 Whole Wing Party Tray. You can also choose a Chicken Waffle, Chicken Gizzards, Chicken Tenders, Chicken Nuggets, or Chicken Liver.
Since there wasn’t on the menu the kind of fried chicken I like, my attention turned to fish. I could have catfish fillets, catfish nuggets, catfish steak, or tilapia. Each were offered in small and large sizes. Again, if you’re looking to feed the family – or if you’re really hungry – you can get as many as 21 pieces of catfish steak.
Sharks has a $7.99 Lunch Special featuring a few chicken and fish choices. However, it didn’t look like my friend and I would get very much food for that price. So, we decided to forego the special. I chose the Large Catfish Fillet Dinner ($14.49), which came with my choice of two sides and a slice of bread. I ordered Cole slaw, and Corn. However, after sitting down, I was told Sharks was out of corn. So, I went with Fried Okra. I also had a medium Coke ($1.79).
My friend decided on the Large Chicken Tenders ($10.99), which also came with his choice of two sides and bread (he selected red beans and rice, and French fries.). My friend had a medium Root Beer to drink ($1.79).
We paid at the counter, where I found it interesting we were not given the option to leave a tip (which was fine, since tipping before the end of the visit defeats the purpose.) I wonder if Sharks has figured a tip into the food cost? It’s unlikely that after eating, someone would choose to go back to the register and express the desire to leave a tip.
In a reasonable amount of time, the nice, do-it-all lady who took order brought our food. I opened my Styrofoam container and found four long but thin pieces of fish, dashed with Cajun seasoning. The fish was good, and stayed hot throughout the time I ate. But, as I said, the pieces were thin, so they weren’t particularly filling. The Cole slaw was good – not too creamy, not too firm – and the corn, which was on the cob as opposed to in a bowl, was unremarkable.
My friend’s chicken tenders and fries looked fantastic. However, according to him, looks were deceiving. “They were big hunks of chicken strips. For the most part, they were fairly juicy. There’s nothing worst than dry chicken. These weren’t dry. But there wasn’t a whole lot of flavor.
As for the fries, “They were too plain. They lacked seasoning. Smothering them in ketchup wasn’t enough to bring any sort of flavor to the fries. A lot of times, the fries are the first thing I eat. I didn’t even finish all my fries, because they just didn’t have a whole lot of flavor.”
Now, here is where my friend and I disagreed. Somehow, a single fry found its way into my container of food. I ate it, and thought it was terrific. It was hot, thick, and had that “country fry” taste. But that was a (very) small sample size.
“The red beans and rice were decent,” my friend said. “You’re going to find better red beans and rice at other places, where it has a little bit more seasoning, flavor, and kick. These were red beans and rice. They were fairly plain, but okay.”
For dessert, Sharks had several types of cake, including cheesecake (plain or strawberry). While I never assumed the desserts were homemade, they looked pretty good. So, I opted for a piece of strawberry (not cheese) cake ($4.99), while my friend went with a piece of German Chocolate cake ($4.99).
When ordering our meal, the nice do-it-all lady asked if we wanted our cake then, or if we wanted to wait. At first, I said we would take it “Now.” Then I realized the case in which the cakes were sitting was refrigerated. I love cold cake, so I changed my mind, and said we would leave the cakes in the case until we finished our entrees.
I will try not to break my arm while patting myself on the back. My strawberry cake was cold, soft, and tasted fresh. My friend thought his cake was “the best part of lunch,” although his bar was fairly low considering he didn’t care for his chicken.
The cost of our meal before tax was $39.04. Not a bad price for two meals, two drinks, and two desserts.
I give Sharks Fish & Chicken Three Forks. I would eat there again, but I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way. If you’re nearby, and have a desire for fried fish or (non-traditional) chicken, Sharks is fine. I’m not going to report them to the Federal Communications Commission for false advertising, but I’m not going to recommend an award for truth in advertising, either.
1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to visit for lunch?
Email SBJRestaurantReview@gmail.com.
