A big part of SmithGifford’s culture is lunch. Last week we added a new wrinkle to our traditional lunch routine that we like to call Fast Food Friday. Fast Food Friday will be a sampling and critique of all the local fast food restaurants in the area until we run out of them or get sick. We’re doing all this because it’s not only going to be interesting and hopefully fun but with Roy Rogers as a client it’s important that we know what’s going with the competition.

To kick it off we somehow decided that Long John Silver’s would be the first. Perhaps because none of us have been to one in about a decade. I for one wanted to see if they still had the good service bell at the exit. So three of us picked up the food while the rest waited at the office for our treasure trove of riches from the sea…

First Impression

There is nothing special about this sign.

Right away when entering I noticed the special of the week sign that looked like it was printed from something worse than word. Not a good start for the Long John. We were a bit shocked to see that it was actually very busy (perhaps due to lent, but let’s not by cynical about the LJS). We were all confounded by the line but it gave us more time to survey the scene and figure out what to get. At least we thought it would.

Ordering / Signage

From a design perspective this place has lots of room for improvement. In the line there was no clear sight of the menu so we had to wait until we were nearly up before we could figure out what to get. That being the case just winged it. We didnt’ think it would be that hard. Fast food is easy, right? Usually just say some numbers, they ask you some questions about options for sides, drink, etc. and your done. Well not quite here. First they have they had up to 20 combos and they were in 3 categories. Family Meals, Basket Combos, & “More Meals,” whatever that means. The differences were hard to distinguish so we just started saying numbers and tried to hit all the bases, fish, chicken, clams, shrimp. Amazingly after ordering five meal numbers there were no options for sides and only 1 drink. That pretty much blew my mind. In addition to those five meals we also ordered two options from their new Freshside Grill and Lobster and Veggie Bites. So yeah, we got a lot.

The wall obstructing the menu. Confusion begins.

One combo set is missing to the right. But trust me, it's there. Confusion compounds.

The Eating
Okay, remember this everyone. It’s all the same at Long John’s, it’s all just big yellow boxes of various yellow/brown fried foods. The consensus was that the Chicken was better than the Fish, the were fried goodness, the fries were just hanging not doing much, and lots of people feared the clam strips. But I liked em. As for the Freshside Grill items. I didn’t have any but the word around the SmithGiff street was that they were “okay,” the veggies were reported to be soggy but at least those that ate them could feel a little better than the rest of use. Reportedly the Freshside items are less than 350 calories. Though I think that if you put them within a foot of the other items that number will certainly rise. Oh, and let’s not foget the bites. The veggies bites were jalapenos and cheese fried. They were good. The Lobster bites. Well, they were fried so that’s good but they were so small that really anyting could have been inside them. But if you really want some lobster, just crack one open and pick it out of it’s fried shell and you’ll get a nice little bite of what is most likely imitation lobster. Okay, I think that’s it. Oh wait, my one drink for my 7 meals ordered, that was good.

The many shades of Long John Silver's

Conclusion

So did the SmithGiff crew enjoy it’s Long John Silver’s experience? I will give it a cautious, yes. I for one, enjoy a fried anything. But I don’t speak for the masses or even the SmithGifford few. I think we all enjoyed the concept of Fast Food Friday more than the actual food experience. Will it be another decade until we go back? Probably not because I’m sure it will make it’s way in the FFF rotation soon enough. But it may be another decade until we go to it in the name of pleasure, not science. Oh, the bell was there and you bet I rang it.

Topics: Fast Food Friday, Lunch, Roy Rogers