Grinders Hot Sands

On our yearly Spring Break visit to Seattle, we stopped by Family Fun Center in Edmonds.  With all the games meant to eat your money for the hopes of winning a few measly tickets, the kids were having a blast.  Luckily there was bumper cars, go-karts and mini-golf to pass the time (which was good for the adults).  However, I succumbed to the lure of tickets-for-crappy-prizes syndrome and started to play those games myself.  I squealed like a little boy when I got the jackpot and won over 200 tickets with one shot.  Yes, I do believe that men do not mature... ever... 

So after "winning" some candy, a squishy ball and other useless knick knacks, we headed up to nearby Grinder Hot Sands for some lunch. I started with the Clam Chowder which was unlike most cream-style versions.  It was thin while still creamy in taste with a considerable lingering spiciness.  It was filled leeks, potatoes, onions and tender clams.  As heavy as it was, due to the thin broth, it was not hard to eat all of it.  We also got the Chili and it was more of a BBQ style with a considerable chili powder aftertaste.  It was meaty and chunky with lots of green peppers.  Hence, that was the predominant flavour.  

For our sammies, we had the Sauball first consisting of half sausage and half meatball slathered with caramelized onions, marinara sauce and melted cheese on all a crusty bun.  The sausage had a nice girth (um... why did I take the picture like that?) and was meaty while being moist.  It was mild with a nice fennel flavour.  The meatball was equally moist while not being fatty or filled with too much filler.  Our second sandwich was the Shrimp and Catfish Po'Boy that was big enough to feed 2 people easy.  The corn-meal crusted catfish was soft and moist while crunchy on the outside.  The spices in the corn-meal added both savoriness and spice.  On the other hand, the shrimp were overdone being a bit rubbery.  All of this was covered with a considerable amount of coleslaw with bits of onion and banana peppers.  Hence, in addition to the tang from the dressing, there was sweetness and a kick.  Lastly, it was topped with roasted red peppers. The kiddies had the Kid's Sand which was simply topped with cheese, salami and pepperoni. They seemed to like it. For the price (around $12 per sandwich), we got enough food to feed 4 people.  Worth a try if you're in the area.

The Good:
- Huge sammies
- Most items made in-house
- Friendly people

The Bad:
- Very messy and a little wet (but we didn't mind)