Bang-Up Seafood: Son of a Gun

Do you love Animal? Do you love seafood? Do you love walking out of a restaurant with a huge smile on your face and then dreaming of your dinner when you go to sleep?

Then run to Son of a Gun. Like get in your car. Right now.







Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, the two dudes behind Animal, have done it again. This time, they've cooked up their magic under the sea.

Creatures that swim or, at least, live underwater are the specialty here, but there are a few non-aquatic offerings available. My favorite food crew and I ordered seven different dishes to share.

And all seven were superb. Seriously, do you have your car keys in hand yet?

Ginger beer ($6), Fish House Punch ($15), Air Mail ($15).

Cocktails are brilliantly listed on the menu according to their spirits.

Lobster roll, celery, lemon aioli ($7).

We each ordered one of these. It's small, but it's worth the $7. The lobster is the real deal, and there's no skimping on it. Simultaneously meaty and refreshing with a great crisp from tiny potato chips on top.

Shrimp toast sandwich, herbs, Sriracha mayo ($11).

We shared two of these. In hindsight, we wished we'd ordered two each. Lightly fried and buttery on the inside and out, steeped with shrimpy savoriness, and kicked up just the right notch.

This shrimp toast sandwich will appear in your dreams (it did for me). This shrimp toast sandwich will make you contemplate returning to the restaurant an hour after you finish your meal (it did for insomniac). You will still be talking about this shrimp toast sandwich two days later (Amber and Ann Marie were).

Fried chicken sandwich, spicy B&B pickle slaw, rooster aioli ($11).

Cock-a-doodle-doo this! Yeah, yeah, chicken doesn't come from the sea (unless you're in the mind of Jessica Simpson), but this sandwich is totally worth ordering to give your table a little land love. This is not a KFC Double Down. This is a beautiful, crunchy piece of chicken cradled in toasted hefty brioche and tangy crunchy veggies.

Pink grouper, pho fumet, herbs, lime, bok choy ($16).

Is there anything that these two dudes can't do? Even their nod to Asian comfort food is impressive. A slurptastic warm hug.

Idaho trout, carrot, potato, caper dill butter ($17).

Thumbs up to our server for recommending this beauty. You might be thinking, "Trout? What's the big deal about trout?" You haven't had this trout. This trout has the best, crispiest skin ever. It will blow your mind.

Flourless chocolate cake, banana, peanut, coconut ice cream ($7).

Wait. This doesn't look like cake. What's going on here? What's going on is an awesome mix of sweet and salty, strong and mild, gooey and crumbly.

Frozen lime yogurt, graham crumble, toasted meringue ($5).

We got two of these, and, boy, were we glad we did. insomniac hates dessert. Ok, maybe "hates" is a strong word, but she is typically not a big fan of sweets. We all loved this tart treat, including and especially insomniac. Paired with the crumbles and meringue, it was sweet and sour heaven.

I hope you are currently programming Son of a Gun's address into your GPS. I'm making it one of my favorites.