We Finally Tried The LandShark of Ridgeland
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. We purchased our own food, with our own money.
If you live or spend time in the Jackson Metro area, specifically near County Line Road and Highway 51, you’ve definitely passed The LandShark of Ridgeland. It’s a cute little red, food truck-style setup in the parking lot of Gulf States Golf Cars and pretty hard to miss.
Seafood night is a weekly staple in our home and we’ve wanted to test their food out for awhile, but never really committed to the idea. After comedienne Rita Brent shared a post raving about her experience, Tony and I decided that we would visit the next time we drove by and they were open – April 12th was our lucky day!
I was pleased to find out that The LandShark is a Black-owned business because I’m so inspired by seeing entrepreneurs who look like me in brick and mortar locations.
It’s my dream to open up a candle shop in our hometown, and meeting people like them helps me to stay motivated. On top of that, it feels good to support them and keep our dollars circulating in our community.
The LandShark Experience
Their menu is displayed on a chalkboard, attached to the truck, and serves as a reference for their paper menu. The paper menus are on a small clipboard and we were able to step to the side to talk over what we wanted to try. I really loved this option for ordering because it can be quite nerve-wrecking to order a seafood boil over the phone. Most of the restaurants in the area that I’ve tried tend to rush the ordering process over the phone, the online options aren’t clear or flexible enough and the staff attitudes aren’t very friendly.
We ordered crawfish and a “create-your-own” seafood boil that included shrimp, crab legs, sausage, corn and eggs. Tony was most interested in the crawfish, while I wanted to try the seafood boil. (Unpopular Opinion: Peeling crawfish is way too much work for the small piece of meat.) I also wasn’t too keen on trying the crawfish after out seeing them dumped in the dirty water as they prepared to boil them.
Don’t get me wrong – the crawfish smelled and looked amazing… but I wasn’t sure if the water was the seasoning or if it was the dirt from the crawfish. It was more on the dirty end from what I could see and although I didn’t ask to be sure, it just affected my desire to want to eat them personally.
The total of our order came out to be $87.11, which was more expensive than I was expecting… or at least than what I’d estimated it would be.
It’s important to note that the paper menus don’t have the pricing on them, so if you’re looking to stay within a certain budget be sure to ask for the exact price of what you want. Before I even tried the food, I was very happy with paying what we paid. Again, I get a burst of dopamine whenever I can support a Black-owned business so I wasn’t bothered by the cost.
So how did everything taste?
Despite being a little turned off by seeing the water, I did try the crawfish. It was very tasty and the spice was just right, not overpowering. Our oldest son even tried a few and he loved them. The corn was actually more spicy than I could tolerate, but the sausage and eggs were PERFECT! The crab legs were fine, but the shrimp was the star for me. They had a really good garlic and butter flavor that was unique from the flavor of the other items in the bag. I liked that because usually it all tastes the same.
Here are my final thoughts:
The Pros
Black-owned in a great location
Easy, non-intimidating way to order food, which is important when ordering seafood boils!
Buzzers to take with you to your car so you don’t have to stand and wait for your order to be called
Great customer service! Their team was very excited to help us and allowed us to film them and hop on the platform where they boil the crawfish to get an up close and personal view of our future meal.
The Cons
They’re closed Monday through Wednesday. I also drove by today (Thursday) during their opening hours and no one was there, so that can be disappointing. I would call to check if they’re open before heading their way.
Their food is on the more expensive end (but is totally worth it).
We will definitely be dining with The LandShark again as soon as we plan another seafood night. I would love to try their fried catfish and fries. If you get a chance to visit, tell them Jessica sent you!
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