Fried Fish at its best....

Legal Seafoods

When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease a little over 3 years ago, one of the many things I thought I would never be able to eat again in a restaurant, was fried fish. As a child I can still recall the taste of a fried flounder sandwich served up fresh, hot and crispy on cheap white bread(tastes much better than it sounds) with a side of crispy delicious french fries from my local seafood market.I often scoured the net looking for such a place that may be able to accomodate at least part of this equation, I didn't quite find it, but I did find the Holy Grail of fish places in a most unlikely and a bit obscure places, Legal Seafoods.When I first heard of this, I thought for sure it was unbreaded grilled fish like so many other places.While I love grilled fish, its healthy, nutritious and can be quite tasty, sometimes I just crave the unhealthy, fried, fattening fish of my youth.Legal Seafoods fits the bill, for both fried and unfried tastebuds. The decor of the restaurant is very casual but clean and comfortable--not someplace to get dressed up and celebrate a special occasion. The menu is expansive, they serve all types of fish from grilled, sauteed, steamed etc.At this visit I was most interested in the fried calamari which was breaded with cornmeal.I used to love this dish pre GF diet and enjoyed it for awhile at PF Changs before it was unofficially removed from the off GF menu preparation--more in another blog.It by no means was the same as traditional wheat battered calamari, corn meal is a bit grittier; however, once accustomed to this change, it was very very good.Fried to perfection, crispy and extremely tasty and satisfied my crispy calamari urge to a "T" .The service was very good and I felt comfortable in their competence as well as concern for ensuring the order was placed correctly.I also ordered cajun Seabass as my entree which also was very delicious, albeit a bit too mild and not as spicy as I would have preferred but I can never get anything spicy enough so I'm sure its perfect for most people, and the portions were very nice as well.I finished off the meal with the absolutely best GF chocolate cake I've ever had--availability is subject to local restaurant ordering and not available nationwide.It was SO good, I had to keep inquiring if they were sure it was gluten free, and even called the next day anonymously to ask if they had gluten free desserts to be sure they mentioned the cake. All in all, for the fried fish fan, and even the plain seafood lover, this is a great restaurant with a great menu as well as, if your lucky enough for your local location to have it, a great decadent chocolate dessert.