Well,... most people know I like to grill, smoke and bbq. Love me some bacon too. We'll save that for another blog post.
For the record, the picture above does not represent any food from the three places I'm about to mention. It would be an upgrade.
Today I want to talk about three of the worst places to eat in the Shoals area. There are far more than three trust me so we'll save those for another time also.
All of these places are graded on the same scale. Service, food quality and cleanliness. We all like convenience because we stay so busy. We don't have time to cook or we've just grown to lazy to do so. Most of the time though it is that we are too busy.
I know for myself, being tired at the end of the day is a driving factor of what I cook or where we eat. I like eating out but I want it to be a good experience when I do.
That said,... here is one of the worst places to eat in the Shoals.
Fiesta Mexicana on Avalon Av in Muscle Shoals. The food quality is lacking. It's Tex-Mex at its worst. We haven't been in a while due to poor service AND roach parts in the drinks. That's right, parts of cockroaches served in the drink. In plain view. So maybe the server thought this was the norm. For me, it shows a major problem. Kind of turns you off and you lose your appetite. Roaches also in the mens room,... some dead from someone squashing them, some alive waving hello. Not sure how the place stays open. Hardly any cars in the parking lot. I have my theories.
The next place is also a Tex-Mex place out on 2nd St in Muscle Shoals. Cozumel. When you see roaches in the dining area on the walls and behind pictures, you know they have a problem in the kitchen. Trust me, I used to do Cooks commercial route way back when. I've seen things. While we did go back the last time there, the food just wasn't good. The lack of meat (which might be a good thing) and the blandness of it just wasn't a good value for my money. I did see some wings that actually looked nasty. They looked boiled with sauce on them. Guess I'm too used to my cooking.
The next place is in Sheffield. Stanfields. I don't really do salad but I do hear good things about the salad bar. For the most part, the compliments stop there. We've been a few times and the food is really bland. No seasoning that I could taste anyway. Steak was tough with no taste. For me it's a no no to use A1 on anything but it would actually improve this steak, taste wise. Service was good the times we were there. As a painter though, this has nothing to do with the dining experience, the shiplap in the booths were not primed. The knotholes showing through that look like water stains or nicotine is called tannin. It bothers me that the owners let this slip by. Maybe they didn't know to oversee construction as it happened. Anyway it's just one of those pet peeves of mine. It's a curse actually but like I said, no bearing on the dining experience,... for most.
