FOB stands for Fried or Broiled, and this little seafood restaurant on Blackstone isn’t new to us. We’d eaten here before, but this was our first visit since we started doing restaurant reviews, so naturally we had to come back and refresh our taste buds.
At the time of our visit, FOB offered specials throughout the week, including Oyster Sundays, Blue Crab Mondays, Crawfish Tuesdays and Lobster Wednesdays.
We happened to visit on Crawfish Tuesday, which probably wasn’t the best night if we were hoping for a quiet dinner.
REVIEW AT A GLANCE
Location: California
City: Fresno
Craving: Seafood
So Many Seafood Choices
FOB had expanded its menu since our last visit, which meant we needed a little extra time to decide what we wanted.
Jen isn’t a big seafood lover, so she stuck with something familiar and ordered the fish and chips. There were several seasoning options available for the fries, but she kept things simple with the regular seasoning.
I, on the other hand, like a mixture of seafood.
I ordered a combo plate with fish, shrimp, calamari and a side of fries.
And then there were the dipping sauces.
They had an assortment to choose from, so naturally, we decided to try them all.
The Food Was Worth the Wait
And there definitely was a wait.
When we first walked in, there wasn’t anyone there to greet us. We stood for several minutes while servers passed by without a hello or even a quick, “Someone will be with you in a moment.”
Eventually, someone told us it would be about a 10-minute wait to be seated.
No problem. Ten minutes isn’t bad.
But when it was finally time to sit down, we were told we could sit wherever we wanted.
Jen looked at me and asked the obvious question:
“Why did we have to wait if we were seating ourselves?”
Fair question.
We later learned they were extremely busy because it was Crawfish Tuesday, there was a large party ahead of us, and only two servers were working that night. One server who was already supposed to be off even stayed to help.
Unfortunately, the food took much longer than we’d expected. We were seated around 6:15 p.m. and didn’t receive our food until about 7:28 p.m.
Thankfully, once it finally arrived, the food was worth the wait.
The portions were generous, the seafood tasted great, and we felt like we got a good amount of food for what we paid.
Where the Night Went Wrong
The long wait wasn’t the only problem we had that night.
We were told the manager was going to come over and speak with us, but that never happened.
Then Jen spotted a cockroach crawling toward the table behind me and according to her, this wasn’t some little cockroach. It was medium-sized and looked like it was on steroids.
That pretty much did it for the Wife.
For the rest of our meal, she made sure her feet and purse didn’t touch the floor, and she kept watching that cockroach to make sure she knew exactly where it was.
Meanwhile, I was still enjoying my seafood.
We arrived at the restaurant around 6:00 p.m. and didn’t leave until about 8:00 p.m. Between the wait, the service and our unexpected dinner guest, it definitely wasn’t the experience we’d hoped for.
Would We Go Back?
Despite everything that happened that night, I really enjoyed the food. The portions were generous, the seafood was good, and I felt like we got our money’s worth.
I would go back.
Jen, on the other hand, has already made it very clear that if I want FOB again, I’ll be going without her.
Mike
Mike is one half of Couples Dining Out. He’s all about seafood, Chinese food, and BBQ, although ribs don’t make the cut very often because his goatee usually pays the price. Give him a cold blonde beer to wash it all down and he’s happy. And dessert? Unless there’s pie involved, he’ll probably pass.