Captain D's Seafood: pros and cons
Written: Jul 09 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Healthy alternatives with good-tasting baked fish.
Cons: In Colorado, the fish was horrible; in Kentucky, it's been perfect.
The Bottom Line: Captain D's is one of only two fast food places I eat, mostly because it offers small, healthy, affordable portions.
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| Shanti's Full Review: Captain D's Seafood |
I don't eat fast food, with the exception of Captain D's baked fish and Good Times bambino burgers, which are made from higher quality Coleman beef. The rest of fast food places are too greasy for me, and even their "healthy" salad options seem a little dead to me.
When my parents moved from Chicago to Kentucky, they asked local southerners where the best fish "restaurant" is in town. At least 5 different people told them Captain D's. So they followed directions to the nearest Captain D's and were very dismayed to find a fast food joint.
But, with one taste of Captain D's food, they changed their mind; it soon became their favorite "seafood restaurant." And, now it's mine.
First of all, Captain D's doesn't just serve a "bucket full of trash" (as Bubba Gumps would call their pile of fried fish). Yes, they have the fried fish, French fries and even fried okra and hush puppies. But they also have healthier baked options, namely the tilapia and the salmon.
I'm not a big salmon fan -- it has to be fresh or grilled right for me not to turn up my nose -- but this salmon truly is good. My favorite sandwich is the tilapia though.
As far as fried goes, they offer lightly fried and more battered fried for those committed to fried food. Not being a greasy food eater, I've mostly eaten their fries, which, I must say are quite good: crisp, rather than oversoaked in grease.
One of the nice things about Captain D's is it's fast, and it's priced right. You can get a baked fish sandwich for $3.99, or deluxe seafood platters for a little over $10. A wild salmon sandwich (by the way, wild salmon is much more healthy than farmed), with a big bun, contains 670 calories, 33 grams of fat and 39 grams of protein. That's compared to the four-piece fried fish dinner, containing 1,400 calories (woah), 87 grams of fat and 38 grams of protein.
The deluxe seafood platter offers the greatest variety, with batter dipped fish fillets, breaded shrimp, stuffed crab shells, hush puppies and two sides. Sides include not only fries or hush puppies, but also healthier items like red potatoes (and regular baked potatoes).
Salads come with fried chicken or shrimp, or, amazingly, a healthy baked salmon!
The family and kids meals are mostly fried, fried, fried, which is a bit of a shame.
The Captain even serves up specialities like cocnut shrimp, blue bay crab cake or shrimp scampi.
<b> Now for the cons</b>
After going to Captain D's a bunch of times, I've found some cons.
First of all, growing up in Chicago, I have this fantasy/false belief that any pecan pie one orders in a southern state will be amazing. Wrong. Captain D's pecan pie is too much gel, not enough sweet, and not a good crust.
Second, I expect all Captain D's food quality to be the same. Wrong. I've had absolutely no problems with eating a PLAIN baked tilapia from any Captain D's in the state of Kentucky. BUT, I found a Captain D's in Colorado, where I now live, and Yuck! I had to take the tilapia back. It tasted like dirty river water. That's a big problem, I'd say.
Third: It's kind of a bummer that some Captain D's used to offer free soft serve ice cream with anything you ordered (some didn't, like the one in Colorado), but in these rough economic times, it seems they've taken the freebie away. Now you pay 39 cents for ice cream with your order. The silver lining is that it's unlimited ice cream (hey, I like healthy, but I also like to live it up a little!). What's even better is they have root beer at the all-you-can-drink pop stand, so, guess what? Instant root beer float if you order a drink and pay the 39 cents.
Fourth: Again, with the economy, they've substituted apparently cheaper buns for those tasty designer buns that were more foccacia-like. You can still get the premium buns, but, again, at a slight price increase.
But those are the only bad things I can come up with (OK, no. 2 is a doozy) for Captain D's. The atmosphere is fun and has been clean where I've gone, they usually have little on-line promotions (I just got two $1 off coupons by typing in my drink code, and I could've won $100,000 ...), and the decor includes seafaring, book-reading stuff.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Shanti
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Member: Kimberly
Location: Colorado
Reviews written: 69
Trusted by: 32 members
About Me:
A Colorado girl always in search of creative expression and adventure!
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