Tri-Country Seafood (Cordele, GA)

401 S Pecan St, Cordele, GA

 

 

Small restaurant next to a fresh seafood store that serves a wide variety of fish and seafood, mostly grilled and fried. They also have burgers etc.

 

As a starter I get the Gator Bites ($7). Gator tastes a bit like, you guessed it, chicken and I had gator bites before and liked them. But these Gator Bites are very chewy and almost uneatable. 

 

I then get the Grilled Catfish Sandwich ($7) with side of a slaw. The Grilled catfish is very underwhelming and it is not helped by the bland tartar sauce. The slaw looks funky and doesn't taste particularly good.

 

VERDICT: 70/100

Despite being connected to a seafood fresh market, I found the food very underwhelming.

Coasters Seafood, Steaks & Spirits (Santee, SC)

9135 Old Hwy 6, Santee, SC 29142, T: 803-854-9955 (Exit 98 off I-95)

Coasters is not a classic pig out spot, specializing in seafood, steaks and spirits, but it nevertheless offers a good selection of fried foods. In addition to the subtle shark coming out of the roof, the restaurant goes with a kind of Hawaiian surf theme inside.

While Coasters has a full menu, with dishes ranging from burgers to seafood, I had chosen it because of the fact that it offers alligator tenders. Thus, I ordered the Alligator Basket with Fries, while my wife went for the Mixed Fried Seafood. The alligator tenders were lightly breaded and perfectly fried; some were a bit chewy, some were even more tender than chicken. They tasted delicious with the zesty Asian-style chili sauce. The thick fries were a bit undercooked. My wife really liked the soft and tasty fried scallops and shrimps, which came with a red horseradish sauce and a tartar sauce. The side of coleslaw was spicy and very tasty.

VERDICT: 86/100

Coasters is a good place for fried seafood and alligator. Rather than taking fries as a side, go for the coleslaw (if you like spicy!).