Casper’s A Taste Of The South

This location (and the entire business?) appear to be closed permanently. A sign on the building and the entirety of their web site reads:
«Casper’s Is Now Closed. Thank you for your past business, we will miss you.»
Can’t say that it was a surprise given their inventory and service quality issues.

Granted I’ve only been to a handful of places that offer barbecue in the NW, but slap my grandmammy silly if this place doesn’t have some great barbecue!
While running an errand to pick up some stuff at the nearby Filipino mart, I happened upon a spare $ 20 in my pocket and felt the need to treat myself to a congratulatory meal. As I scanned the area for a location to barter this new found wealth for sustenance, my eyes scanned over the the neighboring Shari’s and landed upon Casper’s to try something new, and possibly excitng.
And oh how exciting it was to find such great ribs. The décor was a throwback to stereotypical southern fare, and the menu itself had pictures clearly depicting what this place had to offer. I took the chef’s recommendation and ordered a slab of ribs with a side of sweet potato fries and hush puppies. Once the food came out, I took this slowly at first. The sweet potato fries… nothing to write home about. The hush puppies… over-​fried and too sugary. I was so close to entering the land of sad buyer’s remorse until I took a bite of the rib.
If asian eyes could get anymore crescent shaped as I smiled eating those ribs, they would’ve. The sauce was tangy, but not overpowering with vinegar or sugar as other locations had done. The meat was perfectly tender, to where you could pull the small bones at the end of rib right out. It goes without saying that I demolished the ribs in kobayashi fashion and plan to return soon for another bite as soon as I can find ways to burn off all these extra calories and splurge once again.
Edit: Been back there a few more times since my latter review, and I had to dock a star for inconsistency. Sad Panda.

When we first arrived we were greeted with, «We are out of a few things today: pork, shrimp, gator, sweet potato fries». That is over half of the menu! The only things you could really order were ribs or catfish. And when we tried ordering some sides, they kept on saying they were out. At one point my mom asked the waitress «So what can I order?!».
The service left a lot to be desired. I would award this place zero stars for service. When we walked in we were ignored by the waitress, unsure of weather to seat ourselves or wait to be seated. It took her forever to come back so we could place our order, she pretty much just hung out in the service area the whole time which doesn’t have a clear view of the dining room. My mom had to get up and get the waitress because we saw our food sitting in the window ready to be delivered for an excessive amount of time — we all know fried food is not good cold! We asked for a box, didn’t get it. Gave her an entertainment coupon, wasn’t applied to our bill our handed over to the next server during the shift change. Waited a while for the check, and ended up going up to the counter to pay with no waiter in sight following the lead of several other tables *sigh*
I was kind of hoping the food would be bad so I wouldn’t feel any desire to come back. But it was really good. Really, really good. The kitchen definitely knows what they are doing! I had the catfish po’ boy and fried pickles and they were tasty. I had some of my mom’s hush puppies and they were great too. I want to try some of the other food they have on their menu, I hope it’s in stock at another time. I’ll give this place another try but I may just try the drive thru.

I have thing for restaurants living up to its advertising. And Casper’s Taste of The South seemed worth the intrigue especially after seeing the «eat more gator» slogan beaming across the place.
We would have gladly eaten «more gator» had there actually been any left to eat.
They had run completely out of their specialty of alligator and jambalaya. Which for a southern restaurant really surprised me — but this place isn’t that authentic: One look at out chicken wings and it all looked processed with a dump of gooey sauce all over it.
Atmosphere is lax with colored bulbs strung overhead. They also have live music going on certain nights which was enjoyable. Too bad the food didn’t live up to the bar.
BTW: Any kind meat you get here is gonna be pricey! Expect to pay average $ 20 per person.

This food is delicious!
The beef brisket sandwich is good, the pulled pork is much better. I would have liked some more sauce on the sandwich. The hush puppies are the best I have ever had, hands down! The others sides were also very good, especially the fried pickles. They have a good selection of beers on tap as well. Did not try desserts this time but I will be back. They do carry-​out and they are close! Can’t beat it!

This is a review of Caspers on-​site catering service provided by Jon N. and his wife.
A little background info: Jon and his wife catered my wedding reception. We had a full menu of whole smoked chicken, bbq pork ribs, cornbread muffins, baked beans, hush puppies and a cucumber salad for a little over 100 people. The reception was located on private land, was held 100% outdoors.
I have a severe reaction to MSG (monosodium glutamate), a spice found in many meat rubs and spice packs. I discussed this with the chef at Casper’s before our tasting, to take place at the restaurant, and he assured me that he would prepare a special spice set just for our event to be sure it didn’t contain MSG.
The tasting went well and we decided to have them cater our event. The price was very reasonable at about $ 12.50/plate, left-​overs are yours to keep, and they even prepared a kids menu of hot dogs and mac’n cheese, brought a 30 gallon cooler of ice, AND provided paper plates and utensils for serving at no extra charge.
Now, up to this point I was giving them a solid 4 stars. Why 4? Because I was having a little trouble communicating with Jon via email at the beginning, a minor issue. But as you can see, they get 5 stars from me, here’s why.
On the weekend of our wedding there was a festival going on in a neighboring town and the ferry traffic was very heavy. This made our event run a little off schedule. Jon was not phased by this minor setback. He went well above the call of duty to accommodate our late guests and made everyone feel at home in his outdoor kitchen. They even prepared a couple surprise appetizers that weren’t on the menu just for us to munch on.
The food: Out of over 100 people, I got nothing but rave reviews from my guests. It was spectacular. The hushpuppies were a crowd favorite, crispy on the outside, a nice cornbread texture on the inside, and just the slightest pepper kick. A choice appetizer. The chicken was juicy and fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. The ribs melted in your mouth and the rub was not too overpowering, bbq sauce served on the side (as it should be). The kids loved the mac’n cheese.
After all my guests were relaxing in the sun and well fed, they quietly packaged up all the leftover food for us to keep, hooked up the trailer, and headed home. The next day, clean-​up day, the rest of the food was gone after lunch.
5 stars:
*Food, it was simply amazing, and at that price I could not have asked for more.
*Flexibility, both in menu preparation (no msg) and with time.
*Friendliness; they are the greatest people, very accommodating in every way. If you need something, just ask, they’re there to help. And all my guests felt very welcome.
*Self sufficient; all they needed from us was a 110v outlet to plug in the deep frier. (which they could have done without had they brought their generator). Working with them was worry-​free. Just tell them where to setup and they do the rest.
In the end, I was very pleased to say the least. I would recommend this service to anyone planning an outdoor wedding/​reception. Any hiccups in the plans were like water off a ducks back for them.
Just good people and great food, what else can I say? 5 stars, no question about that.

DESSERTS!!!
They do just fine!
All I want to mention was desserts, thats it! Ordered other stuff but will ONLY COME BACK FOR dessert.

I attended my company’s annual BBQ today, and I was happy to say they catered (again) from Casper’s. If you love good fall-​off-​the-​bone BBQ, then this is a great place to try. I’m giving them 5 stars because not only was their food delicious, but their catering ability and service was exceptional as well. The staff is extremely friendly and they were just shoving food onto our plates like there was no tomorrow.
They started us off with hush puppies (one of my favorite sides in the whole world). They were fried perfectly with a golden crust and a piping hot and delicious inside. The pulled pork and the BBQ ribs were crazy good. I had to go back a couple of times just to get full plates of just those two items (my coworkers weren’t surprised because they know how big of a foodie I am).
The guy who owns Caspers was actually there to help cater the event. He made a brief announcement to all of us thanking us for ordering from them and that he was sorry that they ran out of alligator (incidentally, we ordered ‘gator) because there was a problem with ordering it. He offered all of us to come over to his restaurant for free ‘gator because of the inconvenience. I was perfectly happy with the pulled pork and the ribs. Everything was simply mouth watering.
Go get some good BBQ at Caspers and «Gator Done»!

When I moved here from Charleston, South Carolina as a kid, I had my charming Southern accent mocked out of me by the cruelty of a Pacific NW public school classroom. Oh how I wish I could school those punks form Ms. Lee’s class. Instead, I can find refuge in Casper’s and school Unilocalers on how to enjoy a fine dinner at this joint.
PREREQS: This is SOUTHERN FOOD at it’s best. Unpretentious, without regard for portion control, completely deep-​fried, messy, and completely UN-​Seattle. You must have a high comfort level for food and recipes developed in some of the nation’s most obese states, and you must fully believe that sweet tea or coke can «cut» the grease in a meal.
ORIENTATION DAY: You order at the counter for take out, otherwise you grab menus and a table. The waitresses will kindly change out the butcher paper for you from the last diner’s greasy carnage, and replenish the toilet plungers with fresh paper towels. NOTE that Monday nights are all-​you-​can-​eat Catfish for $ 13, and Wednesdays are all-​you-​can-​eat ribs for about $ 20.
101: Order the combo appertizer basket to whet your appetite: fried okra, HUSH PUPPIES like I have never had outside of the BIble Belt, fried banana peppers (who knew?!) and fried pickles.
201: The family bucket (with your choice of ribs, catfish, gator or chicken with baked beans, potato salad and cornbread) claims to feed a family of four. It will if that family of four has another family of four over for dinner.
301: Get an order of the ribs! These slow-​smoked babies are so fork tender, when I went to pick one up with said fork, the bone literally fell out of it. My mom could have eaten these WITHOUT her dentures in! Be forewarned, one supper probably easily feeds 2 adults, or 4 skinny-​jeaned hipsters.
ELECTIVES: Highly recommended sides: baked beans (so sweet with big juicy ham bits!), fried green tomatoes, fried okra (crisp little nuggets of goodness, just enough green to fool you into believing you ate a veggie), and I already told you about those hush puppies, but the recommendation merits repeating.
GRADUATION: We walked away food-​drunk and happy, and with a takeout box – nay, an aluiminum caterering tray – of leftovers to enjoy the next day. or more realistically, late that night. I’ll be back more often. And I’ll be a little bit fatter.

Casper’s…The word utters from my mouth and all I can think about are the HUSH PUPPIES, ALLIGATOR, RIBS (that fall off the BONE), TEXAS LEGS, MAC and CHEESE, and all of the other DELICIOUS delectables that they serve!
WARNING: If you aren’t from the SOUTH, you may not like this place. If you run more than THREE times a day and eat BROWN rice, you may not like this place. If you don’t like fat, grease, salt, sugar, and all that GOOD stuff… you DEFINITELY won’t like this place. Casper knows there is nothing on his menu for VEGETARIANS. He knows that if you are on a diet, you won’t find anything on the menu for you. GET OVER IT PEOPLE! This is for the people who LOVE SOUTHERN FOOD!
I have eaten at Casper’s since he had his location in Lake Forest Park and still eat there at his Shoreline location.
Yes, sometimes there are waitress problems. He knows that, too! He is trying to fix them with QUALITY staff! However, sometimes people quit… it’s a way of life. Also, if you have any suggestions to make the place better… DON’T BITCH, TELL HIM!!!
Casper…keep doin’ whatcha’ doin’ bro! GATOR DONE!!!

You’ve heard of the «Fast and the Furious»… well it was almost like that in a Honda Civic when my man saw there was a place that sold southern food in Seattle.
When you have any roots what-​so-​ever in the south you develop a unique craving for sweet tea. A deep rooted craving… and sweet tea is just the gateway drug, then come hush puppies, and sweet potato fries… and apparently you can end up making the decision to eat fried alligator.
Well Casper’s offered a delicious snack which was correctly advertised by the colors of southern cooking, orange and brown.

My family and I went to Casper’s yesterday to celebrate my dad’s birthday. My dad had previously been to the location in Lake City (now empty, as Casper’s has lost their lease at that location) and he loved the pulled pork sandwich he had, so he decided he wanted to go there again for his birthday lunch. I was pleased with his choice because I was definitely looking forward to trying out some southern food!
This location is inside the old Wendy’s building and, well… the interior looks pretty much identical to that Wendy’s. They’ve made a few changes, but it’s very similar. While it still has the feeling of fast food joint, Casper’s is a sit-​down restaurant with wait service. The front area where you used to order at Wendy’s has been converted into a large kitchen.
Our waitress was very friendly and offered her recommendations of food to those of us newbies. She stopped by to check on us often and refilled our drinks constantly.
I had the catfish po boy which was super delicious. I loved the crispy onions and even though I don’t normally like cole slaw, it was pretty darn tasty on this sandwich. I also added a ton of Casper’s special sauce to the sandwich, which was very good. I had the hush puppies as my side and they were excellent when dipped in honey — perfect mix of sweet and spice!
The rest of my family really liked their entrees as well and I can tell we’ll definitely be back! It’s not the kind of food that you can eat TOO often (so much fried food!) so it may be a little while before we return, but I am very interested in coming back and trying another entrée. I’ve heard the shrimp po boy is excellent.

My parents like to go somewhere different every time they come in to town. You see, the town they live in doesn’t offer a lot of variety, so coming to visit me is the opportunity to try foods they’ve never tried before. So after a long day at the Home Show we decided to let dad decide, and I gave him the option of Greek (which he wasn’t sure what to expect from) and «Southern» which he jumped wildly at the opportunity for.
I live in Whoreline, so this location isn’t really far from home. Converted from an old Wendy’s my mom was disappointed to see what she apparently believed was going to be a sit-​down joint. This astounds me as how could one expect any place that serves alligator to be breaking out tthe world’s best china for us.
So we go inside. It looks just like you’d expect it to look as a converted fast food joint. We’re immediately greeted by a friendly gal in too tight jeans and a sunny disposition. She tells us to seat ourselves and we do. They cover the tables with brown paper, I assume this is to avoid slop from some bbq’d items, but I can’t be sure.
Daddy and I both had pulled pork sandwiches, which, aside from not having quite the amount of sauce on it that I like, the meat was fall-​apart tender, and the bun was soft but not too soft. I got red beans & rice and mac & cheese as my sides. It was some of the cheesiest, most delicious mac & cheese I’ve ever had, and you should keep in mind that I, myself, make really killer mac & cheese. Mom helped herself to a shrimp po’ boy, and a side of hush puppies. The hush puppies are a bit on the sweet side as far as hush puppies go, but really delicious. It’d been ages since I had some, and I’ve been craving them over since.
We got a greeting from Casper himself who had us laughing, and all of the servers kept a careful and watchful eye on us. Overall we had a good experience, and while I’m not sure the mood will strike often to go to Casper’s, it’s nice to know that it’s there when I need a good pulled pork sandwich and a side of mac or hush puppies.

Okay so Casper himself emailed me offering me a couple meals to give this place another shot. I asked if the offer was good for the new Shoreline location and he said «come on down».
Well when I finally got around to being in the area AND hungry I swung in. Apparently Casper doesn’t communicate these offers with his team as the lady I spoke with was nice enough to inform me she was the GENERAL MANAGER and had no knowledge of this offer. Didn’t offer to check with him or anything… She said to print what he said and bring it in… I asked «doesn’t he inform you of this? Like keep a list or something?» nope. Oh well, I heard of this new BBQ place I wanted to try up the street anyway…

I was looking for good BBQ in the northend… I was not impressed with the BBQ. I had a pulled pork sandwich. The sauce was pretty BLAH and the meat was kinda tough.
The mac and cheese was so-​so, the fried okra was under seasoned. The fries were OK.
However… I loved the shrimp Po’ Boy! The shrimp were seasoned well and batter just enough to crisp them, but not over bready. Also the hush puppies were amazing! Spicy, sweet, and crisp. They were even good cold then next day… like savory donut holes… mmmmmm, donuts.
The servers were nice to me and, for a to go order, I was outta there quickly.
I will be back to try the other Po’ Boys, more deep fired goodness and the deserts looked good. I may try the ribs…

I discovered Casper’s in Bothell, and am still in love with the food. They are closer to Seattle with this location, still a bit north though, Shoreline and all. This is more of a dine-​in friendly location with a waitstaff even. I just think food like this should be self-​served, and super-​casual. Which is pretty much the case; rungs of paper towels for each table, and to-​go plasticware. Their sauces are easy to pack if you’ve got leftovers.
Also, you must try the hush puppies, beignets, and po boys. The shrimp po’ boy is delicious! One star less because the wait was ridiculous…15−20 minutes for a po boy when there was NO ONE ahead of me.

I don’t much care for hyperbole in food reviews. It’s not florid foodie speak bothers me, I can get downright rhapsodic if the toro is buttery. I grow bored with extravagant exaggeration of how «real» a place’s southern cooking is when after I try it, I know damn good and well that it was changed to appease a different palate… a non-​southern palate. Phrases like «best food ever» and «authentic cooking» have come back to bite me in the ass on more than one occasion when referring to proper southern food. That said, this place in Shoreline got it right. Housed in a former Wendy’s, the décor is an amalgam of mismatched chairs with kraft paper covered tables with crayons in cups. A roll of paper towels stuck on a mini-​plunger with a pledge of cleanliness and a disclaimer that it has never been used for its original purpose. I went to wash my hands before my meal and in keeping with the alligator theme, the men’s door bore a painted alligator with the caption «sitting». The women’s matched except with the caption «sitting.»
Waiting on my dining buddies, I ordered a side of hushpuppies to start. They quickly arrived with honey and were perfectly fried without being greasy. They were moist on the inside with a little spice behind the sweetness — absolutely perfect. I ate two and saved the other four. The employees wore black t-​shirts emblazoned on the back with «Gator Done» and necklaces with preserved animal claws as pendants. As I waited for my party, it happen. I heard it above the din of the bustling restaurant… that comforting twang of a southern accent, both welcoming and disarming. It was the restaurant’s namesake, Casper Townsend, a Washingtonian by way of Naples, Florida.
Wearing one of their t-​shirts with a pair of flaming red suspenders like Justin Wilson, Casper walked around checking on customers. A few moments later, he ducked into the kitchen returning with a pan full of fresh beignets dusted with powdered sugar. He offered each patron a free sample which everyone happily accepted including myself. I didn’t care if I was going to spoil my appetite — it was a fresh beignet and I hadn’t had one since leaving Texas. Biting into the warm crispness, it nearly melted unto itself. This was a true beignet and I yearned for some strong chicory coffee to wash it down.
I thanked him and he asked me where I was from. «Texas,» was my immediate reply and when I asked him the same, without missing a beat his reply was, «My mama.» I laughed and he continued to the next table. My companions finally arrived and took their seats. By now the restaurant was nearly full, a good sign considering it was their second day of operations. Our waitress Julie came by to take our drink orders and answer any questions they might have. The menu is simple. Choose your entrée and then decide if you prefer the lunch or dinner size. The lunch is a smaller portion with one side dish while the dinner size was slightly larger with two sides.
My companions finally arrived and were ready to order. We ordered the pulled pork sandwich with a side of cornbread, slow smoked ribs with a side of fresh collard greens and a shrimp po boy with fried okra and more hushpuppies. Yes, they were THAT good. We entertained ourselves with the crayons until the food came. My boyfriend fashioned a bib out of paper towels for his sandwich and after a few bites, proclaimed it good. My best friend liked the ribs but preferred them with less sauce. Nothing wrong with their flavour, just a personal preference. She really enjoyed the greens and finished them completely. My po boy was simple — fried butterflied shrimp with cole slaw on a buttered toasted soft roll. The fried okra was good and you’ve already heard my two cents about those hush puppies.
Leaning back in our chairs, Julie came back around to inquire about dessert. They ran low on their supplies but we decided on their bread pudding with rum sauce and an order of banana pudding. She came back with the bread pudding, warm and decadent though sadly there was no banana pudding. We promised that meant we had to come back again for a second visit though.
Before I left, I thanked Casper before leaving. I told him I wanted to be their first five star review on Unilocal for his new place and he was genuinely excited. He shook my hand and thanked me heartily for stopping by. One of the other employees overheard us talking about Unilocaling the place and joked about my «preferred customer status.»
Our bill came to around forty and was worth every cent. I no longer found myself pining for country food, my craving had been sated and after our successful visit, WILL be sated again. As I drove away, I realised that I had my childhood contained in the same space. A place with down home southern cookin’ and across the way, a Filipino place where I could get my pancit and lumpia when I missed my nanay’s cooking.
Ya’ll check this place out, you won’t be disappointed!

Sent the Grandparents over to pick up some stuff, they came back with brisket and ribs, along with red beans and rice.
Thankfully, they had the «sauce» served on the side, that was the best part of the meal… that it was served on the side! :-(
The meat lacked any real smoke flavor, heck the brisket had a boiled texture to it! And the pork ribs might have passed for being cooked in a oven. Sadly there wasn’t a hint of «smoke» flavor to either of the meats.
Red beans and rice were, meh, at best a tad bit too sweet for me. And the the «sauce»… YUCK! Too much ketchup/​tomato flavor and again lacked any heat, smoke, or flavor, well other than tomato paste.
I’m willing to go back to check out the fried pickles and okra, but I’ll pass on the Que.

On a cool summer evening, BBQ is the menu! Tonight it was Casper’s.
We brought a few friends here with us tonight and were all in Southern-​style heaven. Melt-​in-​your-​mouth ribs, meaty chicken drumsticks, fried pickle chips, frog legs and alligator, homestyle potato salad, baked beans, homemade fries, hush puppies, sweet tea and dense buttery cornbread.
Hard to believe we were too full for beignets!
Hubby and I have dined at Casper’s a few times and my only complaints are the price (a little steep) and the take-​out quality. We ordered to-​go once and the food was cold by the time we got home, the BBQ sauce was not included with the ribs (what?!), and the fried items were soggy.
Just goes to show that food like this really is best straight from the grill.
Gator Done!

Unfortunately, I found this spot a week before moving to Santa Monica.
«Put a little taste of the South in your Mouth» is Casper’s mantra.
Wow – Real Cajun food in Seattle. After years of suffering through the Ballard place, the Pioneer Square bar with horrible food, and a string of failed Cajun places, there’s finally a place in Seattle that makes the grade for authenticity!
I’ll admit, I didn’t find this place on purpose. My car was in the auto glass place across the street and I was hungry. I asked the guys if there was any place close, I could go grab a bite. They pointed me across the road at this little spot and gave it high praise. Any man who can fix my windshield must also be a culinary expert, so, off I went!
Walking in, I took a look at the menu and was bewildered with the options: Gator, Catfish, Hushpuppies, Ribs, Red Beans& Rice and on and on. See
.This is the old-​style Cajun-​type spot where you order at the counter and have a seat as they prepare your food.
The owner, Casper, was sitting a couple of tables over and I overheard him on the phone ordering 3500 pounds of crawfish. When he finished his call, I introduced myself and he was delighted to have a Southerner in his place. Casper shared with me how he had moved from Miami to Seattle and had started this place, and was already looking at expansion. Because I came from Louisiana, he insisted I try a number of different dishes, plus Hush Puppies and he left me with a bag of beignets to take home.
The food was excellent and the ambiance is cute, but crowded. He will need more space! Because this is in an odd location for a restaurant, I imagine they aren’t getting bombarded, yet.
Good news travels fast and I offered to give him name to the LSU Alumni Chapter in Seattle. Based upon some of the other reviews, scale may be an issue and there will be growing pains. Be patient, go in at off-​peak times, and enjoy some of the best Cajun food available in Seattle.