6/21/14
It was a Saturday, and I had promised to take Nikki to the beach. We’re both early risers these days, so we had a hunch we weren’t going to make it all the way to the beach before getting hungry. We hadn’t been to Lap’s on the Causeway yet, and we knew they served breakfast, so we decided to check it out.
Lap’s is located on Battleship Parkway, commonly known as the Causeway, which connects Mobile and Baldwin Counties. It’s been garnering mixed reviews since it opened in 2013. The amount of time, effort, and money that’s been poured into the location is impressive, but we wanted to know if the food stood up to the rest of the Lap’s experience.
We spent about 15 minutes exploring before getting a table, but more on that in a minute…
The space is very nautically themed, decorated with fishing poles and whatnot. I really like it. They’ve achieved a good balance of upscale feel and coastal grit.
It was still morning, so we did end up ordering off the breakfast menu. All breakfast plates are served with your choice of:
-Hashbrowns or grits
-Biscuits or toast
Nikki ordered the Rise N’Shine ($7.99). It’s two eggs served as you like with your choice of bacon or sausage. She ordered her eggs scrambled with bacon, grits, and toast.
I went with the seafood omelette with grits and a biscuit. I was impressed with the freshness of the chopped peppers in particular. They didn’t get lost in all the other flavors and complimented the dish very well. I do wish they had maybe chopped the shrimp a little finer. As you can see, they fold whole shrimp into the omelette. No big deal, just not what I was expecting. I’m not sure about the species of shrimp or where they were caught or anything like that, but I would hope and assume they’re local.
Lap’s also is the only restaurant in the area that we know of that offers Cafe Du Monde beignets… Well let me rephrase that. Laps’s offers beignets made with Cafe Du Monde mix. They’re certainly not bad, but I have family in Louisiana, and there’s just nothing like being in the Big Easy and eating fresh beignets. You can’t judge beignets until you’ve had them at an actual Cafe Du Monde location. So, like I said, these were not bad but certainly not worth the $5 they charge… and now we know for next time.
So in addition to (for the most part) great tasting food, Lap’s also offers a downstairs party area…
…seafood market (to the left)…
…grocery area…
…bait shop…
…and our personal favorite, alligators! And there is a ramp that the gators can walk up and a slide they can go down, if they’re in the mood. I haven’t seen it in person, but on video it’s pretty entertaining. Check out Lap’s being featured on Studio 10.
We’ve been hesitant to visit Lap’s because, like I said, it’s received mixed reviews, but our experience was very positive. And aside from good food, there is beautiful scenery and plenty of space to explore. It’s certainly no Felix’s Fish Camp food-wise, but check out Lap’s if you’re in the mood for something new on the Causeway.
LAP’S GROCERY AND GRILL
1595 Battleship Parkway
Spanish Fort, AL 36527
251-626-0045
a regional pairing 