Orlando Food Blog 008
But luckily, having read urbanspoon.com and looking up reviews, we stumbled upon Lee and Rick’s Oyster Bar just down the street off of Kirkman and Old Winter Garden, where we would eventually consume pounds and pounds of oyster rather than crawfish.
At first appearances, Lee and Rick’s seems to be modeled after some sort of fishing-boat-trailer. Mad shady indeed. After entering the “boat” we walked through a dimly lit, semi-creepy hallway into the “ship’s den” or at least thats what it looked like inside.
I’m on a motherf–kin boat
At least they got straight to the point. Definitely not a date-joint.
When we first arrived, it was just our group in the whole place, but by the time we left half the bar would be full with people getting ready to slurp the little shell dumplings. We were told that on the weekends, there would be rows and rows of people lining up to sit there with the line wait of almost 2 hours at times. That would explain the ship’s crew of over 13 oyster shell shuckers that evening.
Our shucker was pretty accomodating, shucking away as she told us a bit about the history of the place. You see, next year Lee and Rick’s will be celebrating 60 years in Orlando, having first opened in 1950. The restaurant started out when the owners started selling oysters in the front porch of their house and when it grew to a success, they began to convert their house into the giant ship you see today on Old Winter Garden Road and Kirkman Road. Today the place is third-generation owned.
One of my friends ordered the fish dip to dip our crackers in. It was a great blend of white fish and seasonings and went really well with the crackers. A new favorite.
I ordered the crawfish appetizer ($6.95) since I still needed my crawfish fixin to satisfy. It definitely did the job, served spiced up and freshly boiled with a side of butter sauce. I liked how the hot cajun spices were done for these crawfish as they provided the necessary kick to the crustacean’s tastes.
Crawfish or Bust!
But then that second passed and I decided hey you live only once and I’m pretty hungry enough that I would eat that off the table.
This is definitely not a place to go for the atmosphere. But it is definitely a place to go with the buds for a quick fix of oysters and some seafood and some beers. You don’t survive in Orlando for over 5 decades without doing something right.
3.5 Tasty Chomps out of 5 Tasty Chomps!!!.
Lee & Rick’s Half Shell Oyster
5621 Old Winter Garden Rd
Orlando, FL 32811
(407) 293-3587
[…] that, for whatever reason, have stood the test of time and lasted. Beefy King on Bumby Avenue, Lee and Rick’s Oyster Bar off of Kirkman Road, and Hot Dog Heaven on Colonial Drive stand out in my mind as a few olde Orlando […]