Sweet Willie
Jun 11, 03, 8:03 pm
Whether you want to fill up your gas tank, pick up a supply of cat food or dine on award-winning blackened red snapper, a unique, family-owned West County venue is there to serve you.
Gator Flats is located on Long Road at the edge of Chesterfield's Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Inside the deli and convenience store you'll find shelves filled with a wide selection of market items, from cleaning supplies to canned soups, along with beer, wine and soft drinks.
Plush and inflatable alligators hang from the ceiling and perch on the shelves, beckoning you to try a Gigantic Gator Gulp.
You'll also find a busy kitchen that cooks up a surprisingly tasty array of bargain-priced breakfast and lunch items.
There's hardly any room to dine in at Gator Flats (one booth and a couple of standing-room-only, bar-height tables are nestled among grocery shelves), but carryout business is brisk, catering requests are increasing and the deli delivers within a five-mile radius.
Paul Allen Marsh owns and operates the business, which opened in 2000. But Marsh says that Ada Love, who cooks the deli's popular home-style food, is "the heart of Gator Flats."
The day begins early at Gator Flats. Breakfast is available from 5-10:30 a.m., with great prices on a variety of country-style breakfast specials.
Gator Goulash ($4.29) features two biscuits, egg, hash browns and bacon or sausage smothered in gravy. The Gator Flats "Hammer" ($2.19) is a breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese on a biscuit or bread, with your choice of bacon, sausage or ham. Biscuits and gravy are available for $1.39, and a few more specials and sides round out the breakfast offerings.
Lunch starts early, too. By 10:30 a.m., the regular lineup of four or five weekday lunch specials is available, including pot roast ($4.59) on Mondays, Reubens ($3.79) on Tuesdays, tequila lime wings ($3.69) on Wednesdays and meatloaf plates ($4.79) on Thursdays.
We sampled one of Friday's specials, the blackened red snapper ($6.79), and it was terrific. The moist snapper was perfectly cooked and retained its distinctive delicacy. It was also glazed with a zesty and delicious "swamp sauce" from Marsh's own secret recipe. The snapper was served on a bed of rice made colorful by bits of red onion, red bell pepper and celery. It wasn't hard to understand why the dish won second place in the 2003 Cajun Cook-off, besting the fare of many chefs with culinary degrees.
Our snapper came with surprisingly tasty cole slaw, a great improvement over the mediocre versions that are so commonplace. Gator Flats' slaw was fresh, full of crunch, very nicely seasoned and lively with confetti-cut carrot and brightly colored vegetable bits. Au gratin potatoes or macaroni and cheese served as an additional side dish. We chose the potatoes and liked the warm, cheesy comfort food.
Gator Flats also offers barbecue hamburgers ($1.99), barbecue beef and ham sandwiches ($3.29, Monday-Thursday), soups and chili ($2.99) and fried-chicken baskets ($3.99). The fried-chicken basket included a breast, a thigh and a drumstick, with a crunchy, rather thick golden-brown coating encasing the moist and meaty pieces of chicken. The chicken was served with a country-style biscuit and two large wedges of fried potato, which were pleasantly soft inside. It was truly a home-style treat.
We were impressed with the food and the prices at this friendly and efficient deli. Here's the only rub: Love's popular hot-lunch specials are available only while supplies last, so it's wise to phone ahead to guarantee your order. Just to give you an idea, we paid a visit at about 11:20 a.m. and there were only two chicken baskets left. Nonetheless, if you're willing to stop by early or guarantee your order with a phone call, you're likely to have a delightfully tasty and affordable meal.
Gator Flats
Address: 119 Long Road in Chesterfield
Phone: 636-537-8545
Hours: 5-10:30 a.m. (breakfast) and 10:30-1 p.m. (hot lunch) Monday-Friday; 6-10:30 a.m. (breakfast) Saturday; cold cuts available in the afternoons; closed Sunday
Credit cards: All major cards
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No smoking
Very limited seating: Only one booth; primarily carryout and catering.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/Restaurant/ABB64150CBB1E1FC86256D410083A10C?OpenDocument&Headline=Gator+Flats+is+a+good+place+to+'go+fishin g'+for+red+sna pper
Gator Flats is located on Long Road at the edge of Chesterfield's Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Inside the deli and convenience store you'll find shelves filled with a wide selection of market items, from cleaning supplies to canned soups, along with beer, wine and soft drinks.
Plush and inflatable alligators hang from the ceiling and perch on the shelves, beckoning you to try a Gigantic Gator Gulp.
You'll also find a busy kitchen that cooks up a surprisingly tasty array of bargain-priced breakfast and lunch items.
There's hardly any room to dine in at Gator Flats (one booth and a couple of standing-room-only, bar-height tables are nestled among grocery shelves), but carryout business is brisk, catering requests are increasing and the deli delivers within a five-mile radius.
Paul Allen Marsh owns and operates the business, which opened in 2000. But Marsh says that Ada Love, who cooks the deli's popular home-style food, is "the heart of Gator Flats."
The day begins early at Gator Flats. Breakfast is available from 5-10:30 a.m., with great prices on a variety of country-style breakfast specials.
Gator Goulash ($4.29) features two biscuits, egg, hash browns and bacon or sausage smothered in gravy. The Gator Flats "Hammer" ($2.19) is a breakfast sandwich with egg and cheese on a biscuit or bread, with your choice of bacon, sausage or ham. Biscuits and gravy are available for $1.39, and a few more specials and sides round out the breakfast offerings.
Lunch starts early, too. By 10:30 a.m., the regular lineup of four or five weekday lunch specials is available, including pot roast ($4.59) on Mondays, Reubens ($3.79) on Tuesdays, tequila lime wings ($3.69) on Wednesdays and meatloaf plates ($4.79) on Thursdays.
We sampled one of Friday's specials, the blackened red snapper ($6.79), and it was terrific. The moist snapper was perfectly cooked and retained its distinctive delicacy. It was also glazed with a zesty and delicious "swamp sauce" from Marsh's own secret recipe. The snapper was served on a bed of rice made colorful by bits of red onion, red bell pepper and celery. It wasn't hard to understand why the dish won second place in the 2003 Cajun Cook-off, besting the fare of many chefs with culinary degrees.
Our snapper came with surprisingly tasty cole slaw, a great improvement over the mediocre versions that are so commonplace. Gator Flats' slaw was fresh, full of crunch, very nicely seasoned and lively with confetti-cut carrot and brightly colored vegetable bits. Au gratin potatoes or macaroni and cheese served as an additional side dish. We chose the potatoes and liked the warm, cheesy comfort food.
Gator Flats also offers barbecue hamburgers ($1.99), barbecue beef and ham sandwiches ($3.29, Monday-Thursday), soups and chili ($2.99) and fried-chicken baskets ($3.99). The fried-chicken basket included a breast, a thigh and a drumstick, with a crunchy, rather thick golden-brown coating encasing the moist and meaty pieces of chicken. The chicken was served with a country-style biscuit and two large wedges of fried potato, which were pleasantly soft inside. It was truly a home-style treat.
We were impressed with the food and the prices at this friendly and efficient deli. Here's the only rub: Love's popular hot-lunch specials are available only while supplies last, so it's wise to phone ahead to guarantee your order. Just to give you an idea, we paid a visit at about 11:20 a.m. and there were only two chicken baskets left. Nonetheless, if you're willing to stop by early or guarantee your order with a phone call, you're likely to have a delightfully tasty and affordable meal.
Gator Flats
Address: 119 Long Road in Chesterfield
Phone: 636-537-8545
Hours: 5-10:30 a.m. (breakfast) and 10:30-1 p.m. (hot lunch) Monday-Friday; 6-10:30 a.m. (breakfast) Saturday; cold cuts available in the afternoons; closed Sunday
Credit cards: All major cards
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No smoking
Very limited seating: Only one booth; primarily carryout and catering.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/Restaurant/ABB64150CBB1E1FC86256D410083A10C?OpenDocument&Headline=Gator+Flats+is+a+good+place+to+'go+fishin g'+for+red+sna pper