diningfeature

Cooters Restaurant & Bar:Good ol’ Florida

sandwich ,and I wantto sayg r o u p e r

tacos and ahandful of

other grouper items. And, yes, they have azillion other items in

addition to theiramazing seafood,such as BBQ BabyBack Ribs, theFamous CooterChicken, a Fishand Chips basket,

the Sirloin Burger,and the list of mouth-

watering items goes on. I actually wanted to try

their killer wings but, hey, didyou forget I was there on Grouper

Moving on, Jonnie was AWESOME. Iknow if I was eight or nine months preg-nant, I would be an ass to every table.Actually, if I was at all pregnant, I wouldbe a jerk. Guys don't like pain or dis-comfort. OK, I'll move on.

I happened, by freak of convenience,to dine at Cooters on a Thursday after-noon, which happens to be SuperGrouper Thursday, when theyoffer a Caesar saladwith groupercheeks, ag r o u p e rReuben, ag r o u p e r

f you Google cool seafoodjoints in Clearwater Beach, myguess is Cooters Restaurant &Bar will be at the top of the list.What a great place. No, you

are not going to be wowed by thedécor, because, again, it's a greatseafood joint in Florida. It's exactlywhat I would picture if I were to imag-ine the perfect Florida seafoodrestaurant.

The atmosphere is casual andrelaxing, and while, yes, I am a totalrestaurant snob, I do not want to sit ina cold and stiff restaurant. I want thewarm, inviting and casual atmospherethat Cooters in CB offers. I know Isaid casual twice, but I don't utilize athesaurus when I describe the interiorof a restaurant. It's charming, it's,well, let's just say it's Florida. AndI love my Florida.

On my most recent visit, Ichose to dine outside on thefront patio, but there is noshortage of seating inside therestaurant. My server was dueto give birth at any given table,bless her heart. Yuck, I hate itwhen Southerners say that, and Ican say that because I am one.

IThursday? So I went with the grouperReuben and the grouper sandwich,because I couldn't decide what to getand so what do you do? You orderboth.

OMG, they were both out of thisworld. The Reuben was amazing andthe grouper went perfectly with theThousand Island dressing, sauerkrautand cheese. The grouper sandwichwas perfectly prepared and the fresh,fresh bun was delicious. And, yes, Imeant to say fresh twice.

Oh, I almost forgot. I also had theShe Crab soup, and let me say this, itwas hands-down the best in the area.I dare anyone to create a better tast-ing She Crab. And just as amazingwere the reasonable, and in my opin-ion, cheap prices. OK, affordable.

Obviously I love the place. It is rightdown my alley and, truthfully, the per-

fect restaurant for me.Well, me and about amillion others, I reck-on.

And I must confess, Ihave been to Cootersa ton of times, so Iknow you also have toorder the Old BaySteamer Bucket,which consists of mus-sels, oysters, shrimp,crab legs and cornsteamed in a bucketand served with redpotatoes and garlicbread. Damn, folks,get in there. I ain'tplayin'!

Cooters Restaurant & Bar423 Poinsettia Ave.Clearwater Beach

727-462-2668

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