North Detroit Restaurant Blog: Ocean Fish and Chicken @ 3732 E 8 Mile Rd, Detroit. No tables.

Last week I tried a restaurant in a new zip code that was a bit far from work. Also on the east side, this week's restaurant is on 8 Mile so it faces stiff competition from fine dining across the street in Warren such as Long John Silvers, Taco Bell, and KFC.

However, my original destination was not Ocean Fish and Chicken, but instead it was Omega's Ham & Corn Beef Restaurant, R.I.P. Not to worry, Omega's is being replaced by a used car lot, which is really lacking in the area since I passed only 10 used car lots on 8 Mile. The building must have been broken into recently as there was a sign that stated, "If you wanna get into the building, try to but I will get you & you are recorded from Detroit Police Department stupid rapper." Stupid rapper indeed.

Not to be deterred, I pressed on to Olympic Coney Island, and, my luck, it was out of business, too! In its place stands Ocean Fish and Chicken, as well as Shark Tech Repair Center. Ocean is a similar establishment to Bosco, one of the first restaurants I reviewed. You can buy fish or chicken, and they will fry it. Or you can bring fresh-caught fish, and they'll fry them.

Upon entering, I noticed that the employees were behind glass, a typical sign of a Detroit restaurant that's open late. Most of the menu prices were overwhelming, so I ordered the lunch special, which was a very reasonable price. I was told the food would take about 20 minutes to prepare, and it did. However, 20 minutes seemed a little excessive for something that's called the lunch special -- how would you know to call ahead when the restaurant's too new to be on Google Maps or in the Yellow Pages? As I waited, I stared at Shark Tech, perplexed as to why it offered cell phones as well as soaps for sale. And what is black soap? In addition, there was a small ice cream area, but I neglected to look at the flavors. Since no additional employees were available, I assume the Ocean Fish proprietors are also experts in computers, mobile phones, and ice cream.

At one point a customer argued with the kid behind the counter (kind of jokingly) that she should get a discount because she had placed an order for four people that day. "Don't I even get a free pop? Where's your manager?" To which he replied, "He's on vacation," ignoring his Dad who was visible in the back room.

Eventually my food was ready, so I departed due to the lack of tables to eat at. When I got back to my office, I noticed the food was packaged in Styrofoam, which my city refuses to recycle. Also, there were many, many packets of hot sauce, tartar sauce, and ketchup. The lunch special included two whiting fillets, five wing dings, five shirmp (sic), and fries. Instead of the shrimp, I got an extra five wing dings. It was way too much food for me, but the fish was very tasty, the wing dings were tender, and the fries were delicious. Even though the food was good, because of the long wait time, the lack of seating, and the environmentally unfriendly packaging, I give Ocean a 4 out of 10. I'm excited to try another Detroit restaurant next week, hopefully!