Parsons Seafood Restaurant

Its mostly fried food, its ok but not on my level of great seafood, i did expect better, but the service was really good!

My wife and I went to eat at Taco Lu's but there are no tacos on earth worth waiting one hour to be seated so we went to Parson's.  I have been here once before and even though 12 years have passed since my last visit, this restaurant continues to put out average food not worth making a special trip for.  We arrived a little before 7pm on a Friday night and there was one or two parties waiting to be seated..  The front desk was not manned and we waited.  Someone finally came and took the names of all who were waiting and then disappeared.  It took them over 10 minutes to return and seat everyone.  Five minutes after we were seated, a hostess called our names from the hostess stand.  Not a good start.  My wife and I ordered an appetizer and a drink.  My wife requested a glass of milk and was asked if she wanted it over ice.  She politely said no and was then presented with a glass of milk served over ice.  The wait staff is harried, they wear dirty t-shirts and did not show a lot of friendliness.  I felt bad for our waitress who looked as though she had way too many tables to handle at one time.  They brought our stuffed mushroom appetizer which, I must say, was excellent.  I got excited for the meal.  While eating our appetizer, the waitress came by and asked if we would mind waiting for dinner because they were out of clean dishes.  That was a first for me.  Finally the food came.  My wife ordered the clam chowder which was not very thick (the way I like it) but she said it was quite good.  She also took my sides (applesauce and onion rings).  The applesauce was much better according to my wife.  I, on the other hand, ordered the seafood scampi over rice.  It was pretty tasteless.  They must have forgotten to add both butter and garlic.  It was as if I were eating plain rice.  The shrimp was overcooked and dry.  When dinner was done, the waitress asked if we enjoyed dinner and I told her that my wife's was fine but mine was not.  She asked if I wanted a replacement dinner but since I ate most of it, I declined.  Kudos to the waitress who came back at took my scampi off the bill.  She said that she appreciated the fact that neither my wife nor I complained about the wait and were extremely understanding about their short-staffing.  I may go back for that reason but is that really a good reason to travel to eat mediocre food?   I could not recommend Parson's as a good alternative if you have other options.

a 4 only because  the setting isn't 5 star. Such a great deal - 10 dollars for @20ish steamed shrimp w/grits and spinach. The 2 guys in our group were loving the huge portions of tasty fried shrimp, Don't hesitate - go!!