Georgia, Savannah - To Clean or Not to Clean

[SweetTeboho]

This past weekend my DH took me to Savannah, GA for our anniversary. We were of course excited about new restaurants to try but was unimpressed by what we were served. The finale was that our shrimp was not cleaned at a restaurant that we had looked forward too all weekend! The flavor was incredible but when we inquired about the shrimp we were told "oh, we don't clean our shrimp".

Do certain areas find it acceptable to serve shrimp in this fashion?​

 

[GB]

By clean, do you mean remove the vein?

 

[Andy M.]

I wouldn't appreciate uncleaned shrimp either.

"oh, we don't clean our shrimp". is certainly NOT an acceptable response.

 

[SweetTeboho]

By clean, do you mean remove the vein?

Yes, I do mean remove the vein. I didn't think about the different ways that could be translated!

 

[GB]

Many people do not mind the vein so there are places that do not bother to remove it. Personally, I find it pretty gross.

 

[LPBeier]

I did a brief stage (working for free for experience) in an organic pasta restaurant doing prep. It was a great five days, but there was one job that became a little tedious.

I shelled and deveined 33 dozen (no exageration) jumbo prawns in one session. I have to say I got a technique down, but it took awhile before I wanted to do that again!

Anyway, my boss was amazing, I learned so much from him and was offered a position but he couldn't take on my apprenticeship and I got a call from a catering company that did.

My boss would come over every so often to check my job and kept reiterating how important it is to have the full vein out of the shrimp and prawns. He said it could be a meal breaker to a customer. He owned several successful fine dining restaurants and so I knew to believe this!

 

[SweetTeboho]

I did a brief stage (working for free for experience) in an organic pasta restaurant doing prep. It was a great five days, but there was one job that became a little tedious.

I shelled and deveined 33 dozen (no exageration) jumbo prawns in one session. I have to say I got a technique down, but it took awhile before I wanted to do that again!

Anyway, my boss was amazing, I learned so much from him and was offered a position but he couldn't take on my apprenticeship and I got a call from a catering company that did.

My boss would come over every so often to check my job and kept reiterating how important it is to have the full vein out of the shrimp and prawns. He said it could be a meal breaker to a customer. He owned several successful fine dining restaurants and so I knew to believe this!

I'd like to eat his shrimp... and yours! But I will never go back there again.

 

[Selkie]

I'd like to eat his shrimp... and yours! But I will never go back there again.

I would think that you might send them a note telling them why you're not going back.

Explaining to them why they're losing customers might change their practice, and then check back in a year, without ordering the shrimp, but asking whether they devein them... just for curiosity's sake, and to see what kind of responsive owner/management they have.

 

[SweetTeboho]

I would think that you might send them a note telling them why you're not going back.

Explaining to them why they're losing customers might change their practice, and then check back in a year, without ordering the shrimp, but asking whether they devein them... just for curiosity's sake, and to see what kind of responsive owner/management they have.

I did consider writing but thought of it as fruitless; because of the impression I received from staff. But I would be interested to know if they did change their practices.​

 

[Andy M.]

I did consider writing but thought of it as fruitless; because of the impression I received from staff. But I would be interested to know if they did change their practices.​

If you ate your meal and paid your check, they are under the impression all is well. If you don't complain, and state your decision to stay away, they don't know customers aren't satisfied.

 

[Barbara L]

I did consider writing but thought of it as fruitless; because of the impression I received from staff. But I would be interested to know if they did change their practices.​

The owners may not be aware of the staff's demeanor. They may be on their best behavior whenever the owner is around, so if no one tells them, they may think everything is fine (or at least not know what the problem is).

Barbara

 

[ChefJune]

Many people do not mind the vein so there are places that do not bother to remove it. Personally, I find it pretty gross.

Then, do you not eat "peel-and-eat" shrimp? Those never have the vein removed. BTW, the vein is NOT excrement. It's a vein.

 

[GB]

I do eat peel and eat, but I much prefer eating deveined shrimp. It is kind of like eating street food. I love eating it is and I know in some cases the sanitary conditions are not what I would want, but I just try not to think about it and enjoy my food anyway.

 

[Selkie]

Then, do you not eat "peel-and-eat" shrimp? Those never have the vein removed. BTW, the vein is NOT excrement. It's a vein.

BTW, the "vein" IS the "alimentary canal" (digestive tract) and it is NOT a true vein.

 

[luvs]

i devein.
shelled or unshelled, they're easily cleaned.

 

[SweetTeboho]

The Whole Story

If you ate your meal and paid your check, they are under the impression all is well. If you don't complain, and state your decision to stay away, they don't know customers aren't satisfied.

The whole story...

My DH had to work remotely and it was supposed to take about 40 minutes. It took four hours. At 10pm we finally get to go to dinner for our anniversary. We run out to the ferry and as we stepped up they pushed away. We were left standing there and the next ferry wasn't for another 30 minutes. We grabbed the car and drove.

We had no problem with the service until we received our plates. When the waitress came to check on us my husband inquired about the shrimp, her response was matter-of-factly with a hint of annoyance. We were appalled. That's what gave us the impression that maybe it is acceptable. We ate the few clean ones and paid being that we were exhausted and had given up on the idea of a romantic evening.

That is why we accepted the food and paid, without all the other events of the evening we probably would have sent the food back. We do not like to complain, but we like to express ourselves and be kind about it. We just couldn't that evening - we had dealt with too much already!! LOL


And no, I never eat peel & eat shrimp. And I am meticulous about cleaning my own shrimp.

 

[powerplantop]

I went to a shrimp boil in way south LA the shrimp were caught that morning and we started eatting about one hour after the boat pulled in. The shrimp were cooked whole. Plenty of knifes on the table for cleaning and most people were. The shrimp had lot of grit in them so I was cleaning mine. These were wild caught shrimp and some of the best shrimp I have ever had.

Farm raised shrimp often are not feed the last day or two so they clean themselves out. But some times they will still have some grit and other "stuff". Most places that serve peel and eat shrimp are serving farm raised. Are they clean enough for me? Depends on my beer intake.

However I could not imagine going to a high end place and beeing served shrimp that have not been cleaned.

 

[Kayelle]

Then, do you not eat "peel-and-eat" shrimp? Those never have the vein removed. BTW, the vein is NOT excrement. It's a vein.

June, you must be kidding.....the "vein" certainly contains excrement. If not, explain exactly what it is? It doesn't bother me either with small "peel and eat" shrimp, but I most certainly would have been bothered if a high end restaurant had been so "flip" about it, and I would send a letter telling them so. As many others have said, they need to know what and how their staff is relating to customers, as it's hard enough for restaurants to stay in business in these times. The least they can do is clean their shrimp. Nobody would complain about shrimp with the "vein" removed.
IF they are smart, you will be rewarded with a gift certificate for your trouble.

 

[SweetTeboho]

My husband pointed out to me that I didn't explain the best part - it was a pasta dish in which the shrimp was mixed in with the entire dish.

I will write a letter.

 

[joesfolk]

Then, do you not eat "peel-and-eat" shrimp? Those never have the vein removed. BTW, the vein is NOT excrement. It's a vein.

Really? I always thought it was a digestive tract.