Bubba cooks ups some fine crustacean, but prices far from shrimpy

Ordinarily, I approach heavily themed franchise restaurants with a wary eye. I don’t have a major problem with the Hard Rock Cafes and the Planet Hollywoods of the world, but I do tend to get a little cynical when large corporations try to replicate creative concepts with an assembly-line mentality.

So when I first heard of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., a worldwide restaurant chain based entirely on one specific movie (“Forrest Gump”), I couldn’t help but sigh — while also marveling at the evil genius of this concept’s marketing potential.

Indeed, the first thing The Grub Spouse, The Grub Sprout and I encountered when we stepped inside the new Gatlinburg location was the gift shop, which carries everything from the obligatory T-shirts to various flavors of Bubba Gump sauces to Forrest’s favorite brand of pingpong paddles.

The two-story restaurant is strongly reminiscent of a coastal shrimp shack, thanks to its emphasis on rustic architectural features and wood-look finishes. However, tons of “Forrest Gump” memorabilia (photos, production schedules, prop replicas, etc.) are plastered, nailed and glued to the walls, and I have to admit that being a big fan of the movie, I couldn’t help but smile while looking at those images of a buzz-cut Tom Hanks.

As for detailing the menu, I’ll let Forrest’s sidekick, Bubba Blue, handle that one:

“You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There’s shrimp kebabs, shrimp Creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan-fried, deep-fried .” You get the idea.

Actually, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. doesn’t quite offer all the varieties that Bubba runs down in the movie, but it comes pretty close. Appetizers include popcorn shrimp, Cajun shrimp, and a spicy shrimp-and-salsa cocktail. There’s also Jenny’s she-crab soup and a handful of non-shrimp items.

The entrees feature fried shrimp, chipotle shrimp, coconut shrimp, shrimp New Orleans, shrimp scampi and shrimp sauteed in lemon butter. You can also get broiled mahi mahi, fish and chips, fried chicken, and even New York strip steak and baby-back ribs.

The Spouse couldn’t resist the shrimp and grits with ham, onion, andouille sausage and Cajun spices. The Sprout ordered the crab-stuffed shrimp topped with garlic butter and Monterey Jack cheese. I cast a wide net by getting the shrimper’s heaven platter, a collection of peel-and-eat shrimp, fried shrimp, tempura shrimp and coconut shrimp.

The service protocol at Bubba Gump is interesting. Each table displays a green license plate that reads, “Run, Forrest, run!” When you need your server, you simply flip the plate over to its red side, which says, “Stop, Forrest, stop!”

This method worked remarkably well. I ran out of water while our server was heavily entrenched in a conversation with the party behind us. Once he saw me flip the sign, he arrived promptly at our booth.

Overall, he was a very genial fellow — and very knowledgeable of Gump trivia — but I could have done without his sitting down with us to take our order. I also didn’t appreciate his (and the other servers’) heavy sales pitches for the restaurant’s novelty drinks and souvenir glasses (remember the whole evil genius marketing thing?). Consider yourself forewarned.

However, we had no complaints about the food. All our shrimp selections were wonderful, especially The Spouse’s shrimp and grits meal. The stuffed shrimp were excellent as well, while my pick gave me a good feel for both the fried and fresh fare.

One last warning: It’s Gatlinburg, so the prices are scary-high for this type of restaurant. We spent nearly $80 — food only — for the three of us. But I guess if you’re on vacation in Gatlinburg, you could certainly do a lot worse.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

• Food: ****
• Service: ****
• Atmosphere: ***1/2
• Overall: ****
• Address: 900 Parkway, Gatlinburg
• Phone: 865-430-3034
• Restaurant hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays. 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays. (Bar is open an hour later each night.)
• First come, first served
• Nonsmoking only
• Full bar service

To contact the restaurant critic, e-mail entertainment@knews.com.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.