Casey Moore's Oyster House

"I'm a Sun Devil, man!"

This is the best movie quote ever (from Jerry Maguire for those of you living on another planet), and I have always prided myself in being able to shout it out and mean it. But last weekend, I realized that I was a very bad Sun Devil. Why do I say this? Because during my years at ASU, I never once stepped inside of Casey Moore's Oyster House....which apparently, is just very un-Sun Devil of me! I had always heard about it, but I just never ended up there. I don't know if it is because it is off the well-treaded path that is Mill Avenue or because it was just easier to walk next door to The Vine, but somehow it never happened.

I had some friends helping me move some furniture at the sorority house last weekend, and as their reward and thank you, I was taking them to lunch. I asked them where they wanted to go, and when Casey Moore's was mentioned, and I said that I had never been, they all just looked at me in shock! I was even with two non-Sun Devils, and they had been there before, so it was decided that I must try it out!

Casey Moore's is most known for its large patio, perfect for day drinking; but it is July, and there was going to be no sitting outside in 110 degree heat for us, especially since we had just been doing manual labor. We went inside the building, which is a converted house; and legend has it that it is haunted! The inside had lots of old charm to it, and we were able to easily grab a table in an area just off of the bar.

Whitney and Billy told me that the last time they were there they had gotten the Fried Zucchini and it was amazing. I am a huge fan of zucchini, it is one of my favorite vegetables, and well, who doesn't like fried stuff? So we decided to start with an order of that. The plate came out piled high with golden rounds of zucchini and a side of ranch dressing for dipping. I took the first bite and instantly agreed, these were awesome zucchini! I loved the crunchy coating, that had just the right amount of seasoning; it was very light and crispy. The zucchini were not greasy at all, and paired with the cool ranch, they were a wonderful start to our meal.


Billy decided to get the Fish and Chips again after his last visit; he says that they are the best he has had in town. The plate arrived with three large pieces of fish (cod) that were cooked to a deep golden brown. The batter was nice and crunchy, while the fish was tender and flaky. He doused on the malt vinegar and chowed down! Paired with french fries and some coleslaw, he was once again very satisfied with his meal. They looked good to me too, and I decided that I would have to come back just to try them myself!

Whitney also chose to get what she had ordered the last time she was there (I guess it should be taken as a good sign when people reorder the same dish again and again), which was the Hippie Sandwich. The sandwich gave you your choice of turkey, ham or roast beef (she chose the roast beef) and was piled high on wheat bread with lettuce, tomato, onion, sprouts, avocado and cheese. Whitney ordered hers minus the tomato and onion. Once again, she really liked her sandwich, and they were definitely not skimpy on the meat, the sandwich was huge! She was only able to end up eating half of it, but enjoyed every bite, along also with some of the fries that were on the side.

Jessica had a hard time deciding what to order, but ultimately, she ended up getting the Club Sandwich. This was not your usual triple decker sandwich, it was a blackened, grilled chicken breast topped with bacon, ham and melted cheese! There was also some lettuce, onion and tomato on the plate. Jessica had to cut the sandwich in half, but after her first bite, her eyes lit up and she declared, "Wow, this is good!" From where I was sitting it looked good, and it too was a big portion. The fries on the side were golden and crispy, rounding out the tasty meal.

Ryan was in the mood for a sandwich as well, and ordered the French Dip. The meat was thinly sliced and covered with melted provolone cheese, served on a soft sub roll. I was sitting across from him and began to think that maybe I had ordered wrong! On the side was a bowl of au jus for dipping and some french fries. The steak was tender, and when combined with the creamy cheese and salty au jus, it was the perfect combination. At the end of our meal, Ryan's plate was empty, so I am thinking he liked it!

I just didn't know what I wanted that day, but ultimately, I figured that it was a seafood place, so I should get some seafood. Even though it was 110 degrees outside, I really wanted to try the clam chowder because I am a clam chowder junkie! I almost always order it when it is on a restaurant menu, and that day was going to be no exception. The bowl came out piping hot with two little bags of oyster crackers on the side. I dumped the first bag in and took a bite, and mmm, it was a good chowder! The flavor of the clams really shined through, and there were lots of large pieces of clams as well. The soup was seasoned really well, and while it was creamy, it didn't feel too heavy. I was very glad that I braved the heat to try the chowder!

With my chowder I ordered a shrimp appetizer. I can't remember the name for the life of me, but there are two on the menu, one is the Scampi and the other is maybe called Cajun? I got the Cajun one, with the hopes that they would be similar to my favorite Nawlin's style BBQ shrimp. I took a bite and was not quite sure about what I thought. They weren't spicy like I had anticipated, and they didn't taste bad per se, they just weren't what I was expecting. I tried to eat a second shrimp, but I just didn't really like them, so I opted to just eat the garlic bread instead, which was very tasty. I think that these shrimp probably are okay, it is just when you have a flavor in your head and you get something else, sometimes your taste buds have a hard time adjusting!

We had a really nice meal at Casey Moore's, and the relaxed atmosphere made it for a neat place to hang out. I can definitely see myself returning once the weather gets cooler to hang out on their giant patio. In the meantime, at least I can now, once again, proudly proclaim:

"I'm a Sun Devil, man!"

Casey Moore's Oyster House

850 S. Ash Ave.

Tempe, AZ 85281

http://www.caseymoores.com/