Originally Posted by
Non-NonRev
Joe's Stone Crab in Miami Beach.
Actually, for those who like them, Joe's does have good quality stone crabs (they have deals with good suppliers). But the prices are wildly over-inflated, and the give-the-maitre'd-an exorbitant-tip scam at the front podium speaks for itself. And also, other area restaurants have similar quality stone crabs and don't treat you like dirt if you are not a sports celebrity or a politician.
One day around this time of year 10 years ago, my father, Mrs. Pickles, and I were walking around South Miami Beach, pretty much everything closed, looking for a place to eat. We come upon Joe's, had no idea what it was at the time. We walk in, probably close to 3:00 PM. We mosey up to the Maitre D' table, and get seated right away. We had a wonderful, memorable, albeit expensive meal. But just the surprise factor of running into this run-down shack opening into a very classy and unusual old-school restaurant with great seafood was enough to make an impression.
Afterwards, we told people we knew that we had eaten at this place "Joe's" and their first questions were "did you get in?" or "how long did you have to wait?" They couldn't believe we just walked in at the low point of the day with impeccable timing.