When we bought our Condo in Camdenton, we don’t venture up North too far very often. The Thursday night before Memorial Weekend, we decided to drive up to Backwater Jack’s for a change and to see if things there have changed. I am happy to report that they have not and that is a good thing.
The parking lot is as crappy as ever but thats expected at most Lake of the Ozarks lakefront resturants. I’m sure there are some nasty door dings due to the severe slope.
We were greeted by a friendly hosted and requested a lake view table and were happy to see that one was available. My kids faces lit up when the hosted recommended feeding the fish by launching food over the side railing. The lake view is not the best since Backwater Jacks sits back in a cove that has a narrow opening. On the other hand, the people watching and boat dock viewing are hard to beat.
View from our table
The multi-tiered patio was filled almost to capacity with happy lake goers and the atmosphere was electric. Since it was the Thursday before Memorial Day, I think the crowd was jacked up with anticipation of a great weekend ahead. The South 5 Band was playing some good tunes and the volume was perfect. Loud enough to enjoy, but not blasting to where I couldn’t talk to each other.
It was time to order and the menu has some very unique options you don’t normally see like Buffalo Shrimp, Grouper Fingers, and Seafood Nachos. Backwater Jacks is famous for their Raw Deal Thursday which offers discounts on peel and eat shrimp, raw oysters on the 1/2 shell, wings, and $1 off can beer.
For our appetizer we ordered some wings in both the normal hot sauce and with the jerk sauce for the kids.The regular hot wings were average, but had a good spice to them. The jerk wings had an interesting taste, my wife & I, nor the kids cared for them. We ordered a couple made from scratch jalapeño poppers. The poppers were huge & had quit a kick, but were fantastic. The outside was nice a crispy with a large spicy jalapeño stuffed with a gooey cheese.
Handmade Jalapeño Poppers
For our entries we both ordered the grouper sandwich which you can choose fried or blackened. We chose blackened & grilled. We both also ordered a side salad which was good but not the tropical house dressing did not have much flavor. The grouper sandwich was large and on a nicely toasted sub type bread. The blackened seasoning was not overpowering and added that little kick to make mild grouper interesting. The side of fries were just that – fries.
Blackened Grouper Sandwich with Fries
The kids really enjoyed throwing most of their dinner over the railing to huge man eating fish that patrolled the waters below (how ridiculous was that River Monsters episode?). The wife and I really enjoyed the people watching, the entertaining band, and watching the boats come and go. It’s this genuine laid back atmosphere that has made Backwater Jacks a Lake of the Ozarks staple for years
BACKWATER JACKS WATERFRONT BAR & GRILL
LAKE OF THE OZARKS : GET A MAP
4341 Beach Drive, Osage Beach MO 65065
17.5 MM by Boat
573-348-6639
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