Whale's Rib - Deerfield Beach, FL

Florida from a culinary point of view is about seafood, recreational summertime beverages and key-lime pie.  That pretty sums up the Whale's Rib.

They had an actual jawbone from a 712-pound tiger shark hanging behind the bar.  I didn't notice any actual whale ribs or bones of any kind anywhere. The bartender said that it was very old, probably from the 1930's but she had no further intel on it. 

The bar/restaurant is a few yards from the Atlantic Ocean.  Beach-goers can step out of the blinding Florida sun and into the dark bar to let their sunburns heal and feed their hunger and thirst.

I was unfortunately not in Deerfield Beach to play so, I had to behave myself during lunch.  The only liquid that I had was water with a slice of lemon.  The first time that I visited Whale's Rib I got the dolphin sandwich on bar tender's suggestion.  The restaurant seating area was too full and we had to sit at the bar.  This was a good sign.

The dolphin sandwich was very surprisingly good.  The dolphin fish (mahi mahi, not flipper) was really fresh as you would expect a few feet from the ocean and flavorful.  They also did not hold back on the fish quantity.  It kept sliding out of the sandwich because it was in a slippery creamy sauce that had a slight kick to it. 

I had actually started out with a cup of lobster bisque.  My experience has been that outside of the Boston area, to set your expectation level down a few notches.  I really like lobster bisque soup and am willing to accept the fact that I can't get the best quality soup everywhere.  This was a huge exception.  It was every bit as good as you would find in Bean-Town.

My lunch partner and I liked the Whale's Rib so much that we went back again for dinner the next day.  I liked the lobster bisque and was so tickled that I could get a really good one that I had it again this night.  I almost wanted it to fail so that I could prove my original theory correct.  I was gladly let down.  It was as good as ever.

I had the lobster salad for dinner to go with the bisque.  This was not the wisest of moves.  I did not have my bar tender friend to lead me in the right direction.  The whole neighborhood including the restaruant had lost electrical power for a couple of hours and it came on just before we got there.  So, all the workers were rushing around trying to get back on track.  No dinnertime help.

The lobster salad was a little bland at first.  Luckily, they had a whole assortment of pepper sauces on the table.  I man-ed up and set out to literally spice up this meal.  I tried a few types and finally settled on the house spice in the unmarked generic plastic ketchup squeeze bottle.  This made all the difference.  I don't know why they didn't just serve it that way.

Then again, would have to guess that the average age of local residence was well over 65.  I suppose the bland lobster salad would be good for a lot of the local Deerfield residents.  I suppose that you kind of had to take some level of ownership of your dining experience with the lobster salad.  Whereas the dolphin sandwich was given to you ready to go, the lobster required that you use a little imagination.  It all turned out well in the end.

In fact, the best part of the whole experience was the dessert.  When in Florida, I have to have the key-lime pie.  It was absolute killer!    

I would give the Whale's Rib a 9.1 on the triple-D scale.  My second visit was for dinner and I also got to sample their beer selection which was pretty wide.  I think that this put me in a pleasant mood from the get go and might have added a few happiness points to their score.  Oh well, all's fair in love and dining.

Whale's Rib
2033 NE 2nd St
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441
(954) 421-8880