Blind Mule

The Blind Mule is a restaurant and live music venue located on Claiborne St. in Downtown Mobile.  Some of my friends swear this is one of the best places to eat, others were not so impressed.  I thought I would try it out for myself.  

I remember coming years ago to see one of my friend's band play. I thought since it was late the dive bar feel was more prevalent.  Well it's no different in the light of day.  The downstairs is really small with a bar on one side and about 8 tables on the other.  The tables and chairs looks like it's seen better days.  The upstairs was not open for lunch.  I am guessing that it's reserved for when bands play.  I remember it being more spacious upstairs.  

As my brother and I sat down, our server comes over and then proceeds to tell us they had a really busy weekend so far and are out of a lot of items on their menu.  We were there for a late lunch on a Saturday so that just seem like poor planning on their part.  That announcement threw a little wrench on what we were planning on having so we took some time to regroup.

Basil Lemon Pasta with Fresh Gulf Shrimp

I ended up ordering the basil lemon alfredo with fresh gulf shrimp at $13.99.  It's served with two slices of garlic bread.  I was disappointed on the execution of this dish.  Although it was good, it was not what the name made it out to be.  There was no basil (as you can see, there is no green on this plate) and I could not taste any lemon.  I thought those two ingredients would brighten up what would be a heavy cream base dish.  Instead, I basically got shrimp alfredo.  The shrimp were cooked wonderfully though.  I can taste the freshness although I would prefer the shrimp to be deviened.  The price was also a little high for the serving size as well.  If you can make a decent shrimp alfredo at home, I would recommend bypassing this item on the menu.

Seared Tuna Wrap $9.99

My brother decided on the Seared Tuna wrap with a side of cheese grits.  I thought the description sounded great.  It's sushi grade tuna lightly seared than wrapped with a wasabi mayo, ginger soy sauce, lettuce and tomato.  Again, this wrap did quite live up to it's name.  The fish was cooked well but I found the wrap as a whole a little lacking.  The biggest fail for me was how messy this thing turned out to be.  The wrap was open ended so when I went to take a bite all this sauce ran out the other end.  Thanks to my ninja reflexes and a napkin strategically placed on my lap, I was able to avoid walking around downtown smelling like a sushi bar.  Also. the filling was not distributed evenly throughout the wrap.  My brother split half with me and he says his half was nearly empty but for one slice of tuna.  The rest was lettuce and tomato. My half had substantially more tuna.  The cheese grits were also a fail.  The biggest issue with me was there were not cheese in the "cheese grits." At first, I thought maybe there's white cheddar, gouda, swiss or something, but nope nothing.  Another thing I don't like about the grits.  They are super grainy.  I've was taught that grits should be creamy and these just aren't.

The Blind Mule is not the worst place I've been to. It's just not the greatest; dive or not.  As my brother puts it; the food "would have been great if I was drunk" and that about sums up my feelings as well.  The Blind Mule's website doesn't look like it's been updated in a while but the menu items are fairly the same.  The prices have not been updated. Some are the same, others are a buck or two more.  To check out the Blind Mule's website click here.