Mr. Dee's

If you judged Mr. Dee’s by its outward appearance, I’m sure you’d never set foot in the place (and I never did). But if you watch Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” you know that sometimes the homeliest looking places turn out to have great food. So in this spirit, we checked out Mr. Dee’s for lunch on a recent Saturday. The inside of the place does nothing to change your initial impression, but the food turned out to exceed our expectations. It’s a real mom-and-pop shop, with pop at the counter and mom frying the fish, the place’s specialty. Unlike fast food fish places, here we watched the fresh fish fillets being hand breaded before frying (be patient). We tried the flounder and tilapia, both ample platters, and enjoyed both. The place is tiny and the ambience non-existent (unless you count the classical music that was playing in the background), and despite qualifying unquestionably as a dive, the place isn’t going to show up on a Food Network program anytime soon. Nonetheless, we gave it two thumbs up, and plan to return.

Fish "sandwiches" range from $4.25 to $6.50, and include several pieces of fish, plus thick slices of toast. Fries and slaw are extra. Here's the menu (click for a larger view):

Here are the platters. Flounder (a fishier tasting, smaller fillet) is on the left, tilapia (milder, thicker) on the right: