Cheap Eats on 30A

[Smiling JOe]

...
The place my husband gets the biggest kick out of is the Corner Cafe in Freeport, located at the intersection where Highway 331 ends at the signal. It is in a shopette with a hairdresser, an oyster house, and a well driller. The well drilling crew comes in at noon for a big lunch of mullet and veggies. The walls are hung with strange paraphanalia, such as plastic laundry baskets from the 1960s (which I had to explain to Yankee husband is the shrimp and crab trap of choice for us local "Fishheads"). Husband ordered a 1/4 lb. of boiled shrimp and received a huge platter that was close to a pound and they were wonderful. The cost was $3.49 for his plate. They also have a very good hamburger. Do not order the coleslaw...I think it is made from swampweeds.

You should try the full breakfast plates for under $3.50. Don't try the pancakes though.

 

[DBOldford]

SJ, I have had that breakfast platter and yes, the pancakes there had a sour milk taste when we had them. We figured the milk had soured, but there might be something more enduring going on in the pantry. Bad pancake batter can give a soul powerful stomach gases... The worst we ever had was a "batter-gone-sour" batch up at the El Tovar Lodge, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. I will not tell the story of sophomore humor husband's ode to the Canyon on that trip.

 

[SHELLY]

" Wait a minute, is a Bacon White Cheddar Kobe burger considered a bacon cheeseburger?

Not if the customer is swinging a Prada bag!

 

[GVM]

why??? When there is such an obvious need of kick back places?

At least 5 reasons: November, December, January, February and March

 

[tylerT]

wow, all these great inexpensive places to eat. mmmmmmm. can't wait to try them. thanks everyone for the info!! :clap_1:

 

[Beach Runner]

We dropped by Pandora's one night and looked at the menu. Didn't look cheap to us, so we left and went to the old Shades. To me, cheap at SoWal is a meal in which the entree is under $10 per person, like a burger or a mahi-mahi sandwich with fries like at the old Shades. I wonder if you can get those sandwiches at Shades on the Loop for under $10.

 

[beach lover]

Shades at the Loop is awful!! I have given that place many tries, no more. I've spoken with the owner, but still poor service, cold food, been insulted by wait staff( been told many are on drugs).I'm a person who RARELY says anything. I really wanted it to be a good place to go as I live here and want to support our businesses. The design is nice with outdoor space, TV's and many beer choices on tap,but enough is enough.

 

[Beach Runner]

Shades at the Loop is awful!! I have given that place many tries, no more. I've spoken with the owner, but still poor service, cold food, been insulted by wait staff( been told many are on drugs).I'm a person who RARELY says anything. I really wanted it to be a good place to go as I live here and want to support our businesses. The design is nice with outdoor space, TV's and many beer choices on tap,but enough is enough.

Boo! How disappointing! I still want to try it for myself, though, before I give up on it.

 

[SHELLY]

Shades at the Loop is awful!! I have given that place many tries, no more. I've spoken with the owner, but still poor service, cold food, been insulted by wait staff( been told many are on drugs).

Doesn't surprise me in the least...staffing is going to be a major concern going into the summer season.

 

[Paula]

For now, I'll stand by my apprecation of Shades by the Loop. There's a guy who acts as "host" there and I think he's excellent. I agree that the service is uneven and some of the service staff are not as welcoming as one would hope (basic service). I've never had a bad meal there, and we went there as 4 adults and 3 children in early January and all of us enjoyed our meal very much.

We joked, however, about how the waiters take your order and then slide the little pad into the back of their pants and walk around with these little pads sticking up out of their pants. I've seen that done in other restaurants, too. I wish waiters would use those little aprons with front pocket. I don't want my receipt coming out of the back of their pants. The service was considerably slower when we went as a group as well.

That said, I'm happy with the quality of the food and the prices.