There are two ways you can pack a casual New Orleans seafood house: a) fry vividly fresh seafood to order, serve it hot and crisp, and have good gumbo, poor boys, and a few interesting appetizers; or 2) serve enormous portions of everything at very low prices in a minimal environment. Smitty's uses strategy 2). I'd say it's better than most of the pile-on places, in that the seafood is of generally good quality. It's inconsistent in the fried department, with platters showing more time out of the fryer than they should.
Smitty's opened in the late 1990s, and hasn't changed much since.
The place feels like a double-wide trailer, and trembles when the serious seafood eaters walk through the place. That is, of course, a hallmark of the great old seafood joints, an environment that a lot of local people find comforting somehow.
Raw oysters, boiled seafood, and seafood boats are the best food. Stuffed dishes and the likes of crab cakes hold the least promise.
| Attitude | 1 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 0 |
| Hipness | 0 |
| Local Color | 1 |
| Service | 0 |
| Value | 1 |
| Wine | 0 |
