Market By The Bay returns
Checking out Market By The Bay Fairhope: On its fifth day of being open for business, curiosity gets the best of Colleen and myself. We stop in at Market By The Bay Fairhope Saturday for lunch. Tuesday’s opening marked the return of Market By The Bay to the city after being closed for three years.
The owners have done a nice job of decorating the interior, which sings of seafood and things nautical (although we learn that steaks will be coming soon). I order half of a shrimp poboy with a cup of gumbo ($13). The poboy is excellent. The gumbo (which the restaurant has long been famous for) is so good that a cup seems almost criminal–I could easily devour a bowl. The menu shows six coming soon dinner entrees including steaks and red beans with rice; Hillary, our server, says the new entrees should start in about two weeks. She also has a suggestion for me: Order the hushpuppies as my side and try dunking them in the gumbo. Okay, I tell her, I’ll trust you. It turns out that her suggestion is spot on. By the way, a hushpuppy warning here: Try eating one and only one. Good luck with that. For her meal, Colleen picks two sides: Coleslaw and cheese grits ($3.50 each), both of which she enjoys.
We see the Jubilee Platter ($38) mentioned on the menu–this contains crab claws, fish, oysters and shrimp. We discuss splitting one of these platters on a future visit. That might be a tough job, but hey, I’d do it.
Our cash total without tip comes to $25.62 (add 3.5% if using a credit card). Besides the good dunking advice, Hillary does an excellent job serving us. When the restaurant was open years ago on Greeno Rd, the food was always top notch. Our visit today shows that MBTB hasn’t lost its touch. People looking for fish during Lent will have a new option. Open Tuesday through Saturday, Market By The Bay Fairhope is located at 7 S Church St at the corner of De La Mar Ave (the old Dragonfly spot). Between good food, attentive service and a pleasant atmosphere, Market By The Bay Fairhope leaves us no choice but to come back, and that, we will do…
