we go to Blue Island on Mondays sometimes bc they have $1 oyster night so it's better than the $3.50/$4 per oyster they normally charge. the oysters are from Long Island, they are tasty but boy they are tiny. i mean i miss this!
and yeah, the best catfish, shrimp, gumbo, etc we've had here is def Pappadeaux, so there's that.
funny story about AJ's...summer we first got here (2022) i was on a bbq mission and i found AJ's. we'd already tried several other bbq places and were severely disappointed (wtf is with serving de-boned chicken and chopped up brisket?? weirdos.) we walk in AJ's and i'm like 'well at least this place looks and smells right!' it was pretty good... i'd say the best we've found here, we've gone back a few times, but still not quite 'it'.
fast-forward about a year and we start seeing it mentioned in a bunch of local media and social media posts...turns out AJ's was added to the Michelin guide for Denver lol. i felt proud for having found it on my own already haha.
anyways i think i know the problem with bbq here...big outdoor smokers are prohibited by local clean air ordinances. even AJ's has an indoor smoker/grill with a giant hood over it. i think that's why none of it here can really nail it.
our neighbors have a weekend place up in Estes and supposedly there's a bbq joint up there with a big smoker out back that they swear is the best bbq around, will give that a try this summer. i did try a bison rib at a joint up in Longmont, that was pretty fun/good 😊