Ladies' Night Cleveland

Fat Fish Blue

Mardi Gras is happening 24/7, three hundred and sixty five days a year at Fat Fish Blue, located near the East 4^th District on the corner of Ontario and Prospect.  Bright purple and green decorations are affixed to the ceilings, walls, bars, and just about any available surface while plastic favors dangle from drink glasses and hide in rolled up napkins.  No matter if you’re looking to party or to mellow out to some jazzy tunes, anything goes this Louisiana-Creole restaurant.  No worries here about your duds- strict adherence to the dress code of “whatever you want” makes for a chill evening. (We’re big fans of the Come As You Are motto, for all of the days we’re fed up with poking ourselves in the eye with our eyeliner.) Dress up in your Gucci strapless or down in Levi’s and your designated bad hair day hat, and you’ll still fit in at FFB.

          Two days after Mardi Gras, we stopped by to check out Fat Fish Blue’s ladies’ night special, going on every Thursday from 4:00 until 9:00pm.  Our affable host seated us at a tall table in the bar area (a must to be eligible for the specials), where we were soon greeted by an even more jovial waiter, Rick.  To start, we selected a Delta Tea and Vodoo Julep Hurricane from a creative list of hurricanes, martinis, shooters, wines, beers and other specialty drinks, all of which were half-off for happy hour.  Both drinks were excellent, and neither skimped on the alcohol.  The Delta Tea was a southern-style long island with the pleasant addition of mint.  The Vodoo Julep was essentially a mojito incognito- Bacardi rum crushed with fresh mint leaves and sugar.  Somewhere in the middle of our first round of spirits, our po’ boys arrived.  Also half-priced for ladies’ night ($3.95 after discount), we were surprised by the healthy size of the pair of cheesesteak and cheddar over-stuffed hoagies.  Both were tasty (bonus points for extra cheese!) and more than enough for a full meal, especially with a generous side of sweet potato chips or fries.  Onward to round two: we decided on a Classic French Quarter Hurricane, composed of a mixture of Bacardi rums (including Bacardi 151) and fruit juice along with a Godiva Muddy Water martini.  A dessert in its own right, the Muddy Waters martini with Smirnoff Vanilla Twist, Bailey’s and Godiva Chocolate Liquor was a nice finish.  The drinks were a great value, averaging about four dollars each.  As an added bonus, the hurricane and pint glasses were ours to keep.  After emptying our second series of drinks, we prolonged our stay for a few minutes to catch the beginning of the set from Kristine Jackson and Walkin’ Cane.  FFB boasts a jam-packed calendar of quality live music events- easily one of the best venues in Cleveland for live blues and jazz.  We lingered awhile, then collected our newly acquired glassware set and headed home, pleasantly satisfied.