Back to the Delta
Beautiful Saturday, cute blonde girl, fancy convertible. What else to do but go out to lunch on the Delta?
This time we headed to Heidi’s Outrigger, easy to get to by turning off Hwy 160 just before the first bridge and travelling a mile or so along the levee.
You used to tell the good roadside places by where the truck drivers ate. You can tell a good marina if that’s where the Coast Guard eats. Sure enough, there was a Coast Guard boat anchored and two seamen enjoying their lunch. This must be the place.
There’s nothing fancy about Heidi’s. It’s a waterside dump, but that’s pretty much what you expect in this area. The interior is covered in $1 bills that people decorate and attach to the walls and ceiling. I have never understood this, but it seems to make people happy.
All the action happens on the deck–where else would you want to be? I noticed that Heidi’s is the most dog-friendly place I’ve ever seen. When we go there the waitress was putting down a water bowl for a dog and offering the doggie treats, if it was OK with the owners. There are even two large cages so more obstreperous dogs can still be on the deck with their owners.
Food on the delta isn’t very chi-chi. It’s strong and manly. Each table had a Corona six-pack holder full of condiments. I pulled out the hot sauces so you could see them–I’ve never seen this many at one time on the table before:
A full gamut of choices to make your food hot and spicy.
I ordered a chicken sandwich and onion rings. You will notice that I am being robbed even before I can finish taking a photo:
Onion ring-napping in progress.
The rings were the best part of the meal. The sandwich was on a gummy roll, had plenty of cheese and might explain all those hot sauces–it needed spice.
Gail had the fish and chips:
Notice the half onion ring on top. We have found the culprit.
The cole slaw was particularly interesting. Shredded very fine, it had only a small amount of dressing, which contained no mayo at all. I liked it.
The menu is pretty standard, except for the glaring exception of fish tacos, which should be required by law at every dockside food emporium. I cannot explain the lack thereof.
One last thing. The restrooms at these places tend to have cutesy names on the door, frequently “buoys” and “gulls”. Heidi’s was more inventive than most:
We enjoyed our ride, we enjoyed our lunch. These little marinas in the delta are just fun, whether the food is good or mediocre. The crowd is friendly, the view is relaxing and I even enjoyed the pooches lolling on the deck. Check it out.
Totally Unauthorized 