While we were at the Pensacola Seafood Festival, we saw chef Jim Shirley of The Fish House do a cooking demonstration. When I went on line to http://goodgrits.com to see the menu for The Fish House, I wasn't very happy with the prices and decided to do what Rachael Ray does when travelling around the world, ask the locals where to eat. So I went to work that morning and got talking to my co-worker Roy, who has lived in the Pensacola-Milton area for a long time, and he said The Fish House was yes, expensive, and also over-rated. Roy then mentioned a couple of other restaurants in Downtown Pensacola that were pretty good, and one of them was Sam's Seafood and Steaks. Located near the water and across the street from our favorite fish store, Joe Patti's near Downtown Pensacola, Sam's appealed to me for it's good prices and seafood.

I got home from work about 4:30 and told Mom about Roy's recommendation for Sam's, and it was unanimous, we would have our pre-Red Light Tour dinner there. A short drive from home, and we pulled into Sam's parking lot which was pretty empty being only 5 p.m., and we were part of the early diners. Upon entering the restaurant, Mom and I were greeted by our waitress Rachel and seated in a booth near a father and grand-father and a little boy. There were a couple of elderly couples in the restaurant enjoying an early meal before going home to watch Lawrence Welk reruns on PBS (ha-ha!)!

Mom and I ordered a couple of beers (Budweiser for me and Heineken for Mom) from Rachel, and she left to let us peruse the menu for the time being. Before going to get our beers, Rachel mentioned that the night's special was a Fried Whole Flounder with Two Sides ($15.99) along with four raw oysters for $4, but Mom and I passed on that but heard that they were very popular to many diners. Flounder isn't one of my favorite fishes, so I settled for the small entree of Fried Mullet with French Fries and Cole Slaw ($7.99) while Mom ordered the Flounder Special. The food was quickly prepared in the back while we waited at our booth chatting and checking out the many TV's that were playing NASCAR, college football, and horse racing. Too early for the World Series, unfortunately.

After about 15 minutes, our food arrived, and Mom's Flounder special was pretty big with the flat whole flounder with fins and tail and all taking up almost the whole plate. Mom got a baked potato and coleslaw for her sides. My mullet entree consisted of three flat and small lightly fried fillets with a good portion of french fries and my coleslaw. There was a Southern touch with both of our dishes with a couple of hushpuppies, and everything was washed down with our beers and lots of tartar sauce and cocktail sauce. Mom and I declared everything to be delicious and our waitress was nice and not intrusive checking on us once to see how everything was. I never had mullet before since it's only available in the Gulf, and I was not disappointed with flat slightly dry fillets of goodness. Both Mom and I cleared our plates, but I still had room for dessert (I am cursed by my Nana's sweet tooth at times, I joke), and the minute I heard Key Lime Pie ($3.99) come out of Rachel's mouth, I was sold. The pie was a small piece of light creamy filling that satisfied my sweet tooth just right.

Our meal with tax and tip cost us just under $40, and it was well worth the money. Mom said Sam's and the Ale House have had the best seafood she has eaten so far, and she and I declared we would have to return here in the future to try other seafood dishes.

Sam's is open Mondays and Tuesdays only for lunch from 11-3 and Closed on Sundays. It is open until 10 the rest of the week and has an extensive seafood menu along with steaks and other dishes for the landlubbers in your group. The service and atmosphere is casual and the portions are good. Very highly recommended.