Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company

Inspired by the movie "Forrest Gump", Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company is the
dreams of Forrest and Bubba's realized. Even by some remote chance you
haven't seen the movie there is still so much here to appreciate with plenty
of whimsical Southern flare and Forrest's uplifting advice on life splashed
here and there. I recommend watching the movie again before coming here,
it'll help get you into the spirit of things, as well as prepare you for the Forrest
Gump trivia questions your waiter will be asking you. Throw some questions
of your own back at them, they get a kick out of that. The first time we were
here they had a trivia play-off between two tables, though I can't remember
what the winning table got. Though Forrest's mama always said, "Life is like
a box of chocolates... you never know what you're going to get.", there's no
doubt you'll get plenty of shrimp here. His friend, Bubba Blue said, "Shrimp is
the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it.
There's, um, shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep
fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp,
pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and
potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich.... That's, that's about it.". Much
of his list you'll find here, everything from crab Stuffed Shrimp in garlic butter
to a Shrimp Po' Boy. With so many choices you may want to order up the Run
Across America Sampler and ponder over the menu. This appetizer offers
Peel & Eat Shrimp, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Greenbow Chicken Tenders with
Bleu Cheese Dressing and Mama's Fried Shrimp. I'm particularly partial to
the Popcorn Shrimp cleverly served in a popcorn box. The breading is light
and tender while a dip in the Cajun Remoulade makes it especially delicious.
The Hush Pups was another curiously tasty starter, more than just a ball of
fried dough. Here they make it with corn, but also shrimp and Mahi Mahi, and
serve it with Cajun Remoulade. Entree offerings include steaks and plenty
more shrimp. I hate to say it, but the Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp didn't bring
good fortune. The breading was so thick, making the shrimp look much, much
larger than they really were. The Mama's Southern Fried Chicken came with a
boneless breast of spicy breaded chicken, which was rather dry, corn-on-the-
cob and mashed potatoes with an odd sour tasting bourbon gravy, another
disappointment. The Shrimp Dippin' Broth put us back on track with a half-
pound of shelled shrimp in a spicy, buttery broth, along with a small french
loaf to soak it all up with. This came with rice and cole slaw and was
wonderful. This place has excellent marketing skills, so consider yourself
warned when ordering drinks, you're pretty much paying for the glass. We
ordered the Southern Charm a concoction of Southern Comfort, vodka,
Amaretto and orange juice for $9.95. The first one tasted like orange juice
and sweet & sour with hardly a hint of anything else. After sending it back for
a better one, it was no better, tasting like a glass of orange juice. The super
sour Frozen Lemon-Up, though alcohol free is a better value in a colorful,
bubbly take-home plastic souveneir glass for $5.95, or buy it in their market
for $4.95. Finales include Key Lime Pie and Apple Berry Cobbler, but we
opted for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae which was practical for sharing
since we hardly had much room left. A large warm chocolate chip cookie is
baked in a deep dish, topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel, chocolate,
peanuts and whipped cream. It's quite a unique experience partaking in a
person's dream of shrimp. As far as the food goes, I haven't yet acquired an
appreciation for Cajun food yet, but Bubba's taught me a thing or two. He
say's, "Shrimp are wonderful animals. They come in a variety of different
sizes; small, medium, large, jumbo and tiger. The small shrimp do not have a
lot of good taste, but are good for salads and stuff. Medium to jumbo are
tastier, and good for dipping. The tiger are almost as big as some lobster
tails, and have a similar taste to lobster....mmmm good!"

Prices: Run Across America Sampler $12.99, Popcorn Shrimp $6.99, Mama's
Fried Chicken $10.99, Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp $16.99, Shrimp Dippin
Broth $14.99, Cookie Sundae $5.99

Located at 87 Aquarium Way in Long Beach.

Telephone (562) 437-2434

Website: www.bubbagump.com