Amen Street Fish and Raw bar

So, all the locals say this a must go joint when in town... Who am I to tell them to fuck off? Most fish shacks that I have been to recently were pretty disappointing. They pitch a great game but in the end it's usually just PR fluff to lure in the tourists that don't know any better. But that doesn't mean I won't take the bait here, swallow it and shit out the truth. Let's go fishing and see what we catch...

Love the space and layout, very open and have that old town but modern feel. Looks like a good place to grab a quick lunch...

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES pimento cheese, hot ‘n’ sour okra.
You gotta have FGT when you're in this town. And based on the other incredible heirloom tomatos I've tasted around town, I had to get me some. These were really nice... And with a large quenelle of pimento cheese which was nice if you like that sort of thing. It kinda reminded me of a cold leftover mac n cheese glob on a spoon. But the sour okra was a very nice contrast to the fried tomatos.

FISH TACOS napa slaw, cilantro vinaigrette, chili lime crêma.
I don't care for fish tacos much because most places fry their frozen pre-breaded fish sticks and pass it off as real fish tacos. I only prefer grilled fish because then you know it's semi fresh at least. These were fresh alright, Mahi Mahi grilled nicely and tasted great without the fishy smell and taste you find at most dumps. They didn't over do it with the filler either, it was easy enough to flick off what ruffage crap you didn't want on top. Tortillas toasted nicely and could even pass off as homemade ones... Wait, I think they were. It ain't the prettiest presentation but it was a tasty dish nonetheless.

SAMPLER shrimp, mussels, oysters, clams.
Samplers are a fun way to taste a bunch of different things but I hate it when the morsels are not balanced properly. We all know mussels are cheap and abundent, they aren't exactly the cream of the crop. 3 clams and 3 oysters vs. 6 mussels is just chintzy, and it was a total of 18 pieces even though the server said it contains 22-24 items. I see fuzzy math. The mussels were small and just ok, the clams were nice, the oysters were acceptable and the shrimp were plump and tasty. Next time I would stick with clams all the way.

Ask and ye shall receive... So, after hinting to the server that the sampler's best eats were the clams and that it didn't contain 22-24 pieces as he stated, he suprisingly delivered a few more clams as a way to make up for the MIA pieces. Nice job!
The food won't blow you away here (heard dinner menu is better, next time) but they are doing honest cooking with fresh ingredients and good service and sometimes that's all you need.

2.5 Stars.

205 East Bay Street
Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 853-8600
http://www.amenstreet.com/