Ballyhoo's

For my mother's birthday (almost) every year, I take her out to dinner to a place she doesn't go to often or has never heard of. For someone who likes to play it safe with meals she grew up eating (no matter how gross/boring to a normal person), like macaroni in tomato juice, she is a good sport most of the time on these adventures. This year we stopped by Ballyhoo's. It had been years since her last visit and I'm glad to say she rather enjoyed herself. This enjoyment may or may not have come from the cute young waiter who wouldn't leave the table until she accepted the two-for-one margarita deal.

steamed oysters-- steaming these babies always turns them into little globs of nothing, and although we got a heaping bowl of saltine crackers and horseradish, these little globs of nothing were pretty pricey. I wouldn't order them again.

salmon spread-- Mom really liked this but I thought it was too watery and lacked any real seasoning. (Personally I don't trust her judgement. I have eaten her macaroni and tomato juice. Love you Mommy!) I think it would have been better had there been a nice crusty bread to spread it on and a heaping spoonfull of Old Bay. Instead we were given more crackers. I could have made an entire meal with the amount of crackers we had on our table. I think it's a poor choice for a restaurant to offer crackers as part of the meal.

firecracker shrimp-- these tasted fine but I wish they had come with some sort of dipping sauce. I originally wanted the buffalo shrimp but Cute Young Waiter insisted these were much better. Picture tiny buffalo shrimp with sriracha sauce carefully swirled around the plate. Add $2. Now picture my sad face. Now picture my sad face with just a hint of sweat and swollen red lips. I don't tolerate heat well. 

fried green tomatoes-- I remember loving these things as a kid but I haven't been able to find a decent version...until now! These were great! I don't care if they come in frozen and then get cooked in the oven. They were thick, crunchy, and came with a bowl of tasty dill aioli. The portion was perfect too.

california roll--  Mom does not do sushi. I am trying to ease her into it. Right now the closest we are to it is eating things that resemble sushi. We both loved this and would definitely order it again. I would do it just to watch Mom try to figure out again how much wasabi is too much. Anyone know what the pickled green slaw under the ginger is? She ate it so I'm hoping it wasn't for decoration only.

# of hairs found in food: 0
# of items that did not belong: 0
Flavor: good, better overall experience than I have had in a while
Price tag: semi-reasonable
family friendly: yep
Service: great
Atmosphere: busy though we didn't have to wait, dark, loud like a fun place should be
Do it again? I want to try a few more things on the big sushi menu so YES