Foodie Friday social distancing edition: From downtown seafood to tasty burgers

With the COVID-19 outbreak, restaurants in Middle Georgia have either closed or moved to takeout, curbside or delivery only.

Every two weeks we review a new restaurant in the Middle Georgia area, but this time we thought it would be good to check out some different local places while social distancing.

The deliveries took about an hour or less from the various services in the area including Postmates, Grubhub and Door Dash. The services have been offering free delivery in certain areas or you get a subscription or free trial to their premium service that allows for free delivery.

They have also added a feature for doorstep dropoffs to most of these services in order to cut down interactions with the delivery drivers. Though each driver that dropped off for me had on masks and gloves to add an additional level of safety.

The process was easy and we were able to do our part to help flatten the curve while still supporting some of our local eateries who are struggling to find their footing in the midst of the global pandemic.

Here is a look at this week’s Foodie Friday from a safe distance, starting with Justin’s experience:

Parish on Cherry

A New Orleans-inspired restaurant with everything from gumbo to po’boys, Parish offers baskets of seafood including shrimp, oyster, white fish and chicken. What I think is great about this menu is that it is a stellar lunch spot or you can splurge on one of their dinner dishes like their low country boil or shrimp and crawfish cajun pasta.

I opted for the shrimp basket with coleslaw and crescent fries and an appetizer serving of alligator bites.

The shrimp and alligator were both fried, well-seasoned and were a tasty combination together. I am a big fan of shrimp and this is some of the best around. It is a dish that I tend to grab at every seafood restaurant.

Alligator is a dish that my stepdad Alex got me started on and when I see it on a menu it is a must. Parish includes a remoulade sauce on the side as well as cocktail sauce. Neither sauce overpowered the dish itself but served as a compliment.

The star of every meal at Parish is their fries. This might be the perfect fry. It is soft in the middle but crispy on the edges. It provides everything that you could possibly want in a fry. It is by far my favorite side here. The coleslaw was a pleasant surprise as coleslaw can be a hit or miss dish at a lot of restaurants; not here. It is a hit.

Hours: Monday-Sunday: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9 p.m.

Prices: Gator Bites - $9.50; shrimp basket - $8.95

Location: 580 Cherry St. Macon

Phone number: 478-257-7255

Grey Goose Player’s Club

This is a restaurant that has been talked about for years but I have never gotten around to trying it out. They offer a lot of variety on their menu with sandwiches like Cubans and french dips as well as seafood, steaks and home-cooked meals. But the signature dish is their Gooseburger. That was a must-try with their home-cut fries.

The burger is half-pound patty topped with the standard topping like lettuce, tomatoes and I added cheese. This burger was juicy, grilled to my specification of medium-well and the toppings don’t overpower the taste of the meat.

Overall, one of the best burgers in Middle Georgia. But understand that this is a big burger and is very filling. It was a challenge to finish it all. The fries offer the perfect side to this burger as they were soft and didn’t need any seasoning or salt. I’ve found another go-to burger spot in Macon.

Hours: 11:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Prices: Gooseburger $8.75

Location: 4524 Forsyth Rd. Macon

Phone number: 478-471-0987

Bearfoot Tavern

Reporter Jenna Eason picked up a burger and some fries from Bearfoot Tavern as one of the places she visited for #FoodieFriday. Here are her thoughts:

I ordered The Godsey burger, which comes with peppery horseradish cream, Swiss cheese, mushrooms and caramelized onions.

Whenever I try a new burger joint, I typically order the mushrooms and Swiss cheese burger or a pimento cheese burger because those are always my favorite.

This burger was extraordinary because the mushrooms and onions were sauteed perfectly, and the combination of flavors blended well together. The burger itself was delicious and cooked to perfection.

I do have to say the fries surprised me. They are not ordinary fries. They are shaped like potato chips, but they are thick. They were definitely a treat, and I can’t say I’ve had fries like that anywhere else.

Overall, this was a good meal. Honestly, I was running around 15 minutes late to pick it up, and the burger and fries were still steamy hot when I opened them. It was a great experience.

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Price: $12

Location: 468 Second St., Macon

Phone number: (478) 305-7703

Cashman’s Pub

Jenna also ordered a meal from Cashman’s Pub. Here are her thoughts.

When I saw buffalo chicken egg rolls on Cashman’s Pub’s menu, I knew I had to order them. They definitely exceeded any expectations I had for them. The crunchy egg roll with the savory buffalo chicken was a great combination. The appetizer came with two egg rolls cut in half, and it came with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing on the side. The egg roll itself wasn’t very spicy, but you could choose to dip it in the spicy sauce or the cool sauce. This would be the perfect appetizer for a group of people, and it is so filling.

For my meal, I ordered their pub nachos which comes with queso, sour cream, pico de gallo, pickled jalapenos, cilantro, black beans, corn and ancho sauce. I chose to have mine with chicken instead of beef. These nachos had a very unique combination of flavors that worked very well. The queso had a spice to it while the ancho sauce had a sweetness to it, so I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of the spicy and sweet flavors.

My food got to my house within 30 minutes of ordering it, and it was like they just finished cooking it when I opened it. Cashman’s Pub definitely has a unique menu with a lot of different combinations of food to try, but it maintains the feel of pub-style foods.

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 12-10 p.m. Sunday

Price: Egg rolls - $8.99; nachos - $10.99

Location: 370 Cherry St., Macon

Phone number: (478) 219-9703