Asian in a Strange Land

Mary Mahoney's

I was down on the Coast with Brian, and he insisted on taking me out to eat at Mary Mahoney’s in Biloxi.  Twist my arm a bit harder–I don’t think I’m quite convinced yet.  Coincidence (or not) that I had made a mental note about Mary Mahoney’s while doing a pre-trip search for eateries on the Coast.  Brian claimed Mary Mahoney’s to be the best restaurant in the area, so of course I was psyched.

Oh, and for the sake of some readers who get excited about restaurant posts only to find out much later that these restaurants are in a different city (*cough* Rebecca *cough*), I’ll try to state the city in the title if it’s not in the Jackson Metro area.

Mary Mahoney’s was one of not very many buildings to survive Katrina more or less intact.  Brian says it’s those huge, well-crafted, hand-made bricks from the 1700s that they built the structure with that were to thank for that.

Outer entrance

We entered under the awning into a small courtyard with a couple stores and offices and proceeded into a passageway to the actual restaurant.  Quick note of interest: there’s a small white sign just above and to the left of the “Mary Mahoney’s” awning indicating how high the sea water reached when Katrina made landfall here.  Having not been on the Coast when it happened, it’s so difficult to fathom the magnitude of that disaster.  The visual aid definitely helped.

Mary Mahoney's proper

This is the front door to the actual restaurant.  I half expected there to be hobbits serving ale and wizards smoking pipes inside.  Alas there were none.

Salad plus shrimp

We started off with salad and tomato-based vinaigrette that sounded so good when our waitress described it that Brian switched his dressing to the vinaigrette as well.  It was very good; had a nice spicy kick to it.  The shrimp was on the house.  I don’t know if that’s some kind of temporary deal they were running that night or if our waitress just liked us, but I’m not one to turn down free shrimp.  Shrimp makes everything better.

Broiled crab claws

As an appetizer we got broiled crab claws.  The claws were small, but on the plus side they were delicious and pre-cracked, saving us a bunch of work.  They serve these fried or broiled, and Brian suggested broiled.  Good call, man.

Stuffed snapper and crawfish etouffee-topped pasta

Brian’s main dish was stuffed snapper and pasta topped with crawfish etouffee.  I believe the snapper stuffing was shrimp and crab.  I liked my dish, but looking at this picture I’m suddenly stricken with buyer’s remorse.  Or eater’s remorse anyway, since I didn’t pay for my food.  Next time I’m at Mary Mahoney’s I’m getting the stuffed snapper.

Shrimp and lump crabmeat (St. Patrick)

My dish was called “Shrimp and lump crabmeat (St. Patrick)”.  Not sure what the “St. Patrick” is about except that there’s an old live oak just outside the restaurant with a plaque identifying it by that name.  The dish is a mix of spinach and shell pasta, topped with shrimp and crab meat.  The shell pasta was disappointingly tiny–each piece smaller than my pinkie fingernail–and the overall portion size is pretty small since the dish it’s served in is mostly solid metal with some rounded pockets carved out of it.  Observe the following picture.

Partially devoured dish

I think there ended up being 6 of those holes in the metal dish.  So yeah, not a whole lot of food.  Having said that, I had no complaints about the flavor.  If there were just more pasta this dish would be a slam dunk for me.  Browsing their menu it looks like I should’ve gotten the “Melba” version of this dish instead of the “St. Patrick”, because the Melba is on a bed of pasta.  Then again the other ingredients sound better in the St. Patrick.  Ah well, can’t have it all in this case it seems.  Maybe I’ll try the Melba next, next time, after I have the stuffed snapper.

Quick photography-related rabbit trail: this was the first serious outing for my newly-acquired Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 lens paired with my trusty Olympus E-P1.  Shooting in dim light was a challenge with my previous max aperture of f/2.8 on the Olympus 17mm.  Now with the 20mm f/1.7 I can shoot at 1.5 stops lower ISO setting, resulting in cleaner pictures in low light situations or higher shutter speeds at the same ISO.  Seems like many restaurants like the dark cave lighting scheme, and having this large aperture is indispensable for such scenarios.  It also doesn’t hurt that the lens is sharp even wide open.  If you own a Micro 4/3 camera like the E-P1 and ever shoot in low light, you must, must, own this lens.

I was very happy with our overall dining experience–great food and courteous, friendly, and prompt service–and will certainly go again as soon as I can.  Thanks again for that dinner, Brian.  It certainly started the weekend on a high note!

Mary Mahoney’s
110 Rue Magnolia
Biloxi, MS 39530-4216
(228) 374-0163

Mon-Sat 11am-10pm