3rd Coast Foodie                             

MIKEL MAY'S - Bob Hall Pier

Corpus Christi, TX

www.FACEBOOK.COM/MIKELMAYSBEACHSIDE 

Words by Tamma Hicks, STEAM Magazine

 

I know we haven’t had an extremely cold winter, nothing like the people in the Midwest and Northeast have had to deal with, but since we have acclimated to the warmer temperatures of South Texas anything below 60 is chilly and when it’s less than 50 out you’d think I’m part Eskimo, I’m so wrapped up in layers. So on one of the last cold grey days of February we met our friends, John and Karen, for lunch on the beach where we could dream about warmer temperatures. The only problem is when you’re on the beach of the Gulf, where can you eat without leaving the ocean breeze behind you? Well, it turns out there is only one restaurant and bar on North Padre Island that can solve this… It’s Mikel May’s Beachside Bar & Grill located atop Bob Hall Pier. Yep, you actually sit above the Gulf waters and can watch the waves come in! Once the sun comes out and the temperatures go up so do the walls so that wonderful breeze comes right in.

 

Now if that doesn’t make you melt in relaxation the food and drink will! We decided to try a little bit of everything because, well… cold weather makes us hungry and Shannon (Tipton, our server and the co-manager) kept telling us about all the great food they serve. First thing you should know about Mikel May’s  appetizers is that one order is large enough to be an entrée for one person, so we ordered the 10 piece  Chicken Wings with Sweet & Spicy and Raspberry Chipotle sauces. If you don’t like the heat of Buffalo wings, you’ll love these! Sweet & Spicy definitely has a kick to it and the sweet helps mellow it out, but our favorite was the raspberry chipotle, what a great twang it left in your mouth! We also had the Sliders which were mini replicas of their hamburgers, even the sweet rolls! They came with grilled onions, pickles, and we added cheese; very tasty. For our last appetizer we had Beachside Crab Balls and I can see exactly why they go through so many plates of these! The corn meal stuffing with big chunks of crab meat were perfectly seasoned and fried.

 

So now that we were stuffed and thinking twice about having ordered so much our meals began arriving and instantly we were hungry again! All of the entrees came with one side and these were definitely large portions. In fact when the side salad arrived we all looked at each other and asking who’d ordered a large salad. No one, that’s just how big they are! Mikel May’s has a great Build Your Own Burger selection, but we went with a basic burger and potato salad. We were pleasantly surprised with size of the Angus burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on a sweet bun. Love those buns! The Padre Island Fish Tacos were splendid! Lightly grilled fish served on a bed of lettuce with a mango-pineapple salsa on top wrapped in a flour tortilla. The three tacos were accompanied by a side of coleslaw. What a pleasant sweetness! As May’s Club was sat down in front of us all I could think was, “my mouth doesn’t open that wide!” A buttery croissant stacked high with ham, turkey, bacon, avocado and all the fixings.  Wowzers!! Now the Ribeye Steak Sandwich was brought out and I think we all died and went to heaven! I honestly was taken aback by this. I know it said “steak” so I expected chopped steak like in a Philly cheesesteak. Nope! It was a Ribeye steak so tender that we cut it with a table knife! And the onion rings were perfect and you’re talking to an onion ring enthusiast!

 

Mikel May’s Beachside Bar & Grill has a few specials that I think are noteworthy. On Wednesdays they serve a Seafood Boil with all the trimmings and on Thursday evenings you can take free Salsa Dance lessons while you munch on chips and salsa, how fun is that?! Fridays and Saturdays Mikel May’s features some of the best live music in the area. Both days feature an acoustic performance in the afternoon (Fridays with Fabian Rivera and Saturdays with Ruben Limas) and Saturdays at 9pm they bring out a band! Genres range from country to rock to blues to reggae. Their March lineup includes Beach Stone Rising, Johnny Tequila, and Walter Midi Band. For Spring Break they’ll have Jaz & the Jettymen on Friday the 20th; just check the Facebook page for a full listing.  For those of you looking for party or meeting rooms that will get your group out of a normal setting, Mikel May’s has a room that will accommodate up to 49 people. Oh and did I mention the serve breakfast on the weekends? So if you are planning a full day at the beach, staying at the park or beachcombing in the morning they’ve got you covered!