Hogbody's adds seafood, but remains true to wings and ribs roots

First, there was Wings & Ribs, a name befitting the items at which the restaurant excelled. Next, it became Hogbody's Bar & Grill — a new name but the same meaty fare.

Recently, the Cape Coral location changed its name to Hogbody's Beach House. At the recent March of Dimes Star Chefs' Auction, I found out why. While wings and ribs still feature prominently on the menu, they've been joined by an array of seafood.

In addition to the 54 flavors of wings and the multitude of plates featuring ribs in varying portions, customers can now get ribs and shrimp or ribs and other combos as well as peel and eat shrimp, Alaskan crab legs, oysters on the half shell, gator bites and calamari.

Although you can't see it from Del Prado Boulevard, the entrance to Hogbody's now boasts a large, colorful by-the-sea mural that signals the restaurant's new direction.

On the night of my visit, there was an appetizer special of mahi wrapped in a banana leaf that I'd tried the previous weekend while judging the Star Chefs Auction, where Hogbody's had a booth decked out in Fijian splendor. Served with a fruit salsa, it had been a pleasant departure from the heavier fare I'd come to associate with Hogbody's.

A cheery mural with a beach theme greets customers at Hogbody's Beach House in Cape Coral. The décor has changed, too. The basic setup remains the same — a bar on one side, a dining room on the other, with televisions aimed in every direction — but the dining room booths now boast a rainbow of beachy colors including sunshine yellow, sky blue and scorched-skin pink. Beach umbrellas perch over a few tables and the atmosphere the night we were there had the raucous feel of a well-lubricated surfside party.

It was a Wednesday night, the bar was crowded and there was a lone musician singing loudly, if not always on key, and thrashing his guitar with more gusto than style. It may have proved entertaining to those who had knocked back a few drinks in the bar, but for those of us in the adjoining dining area, newly arrived and frazzled from a tough work day, it was an unwelcome aural assault that made conversation all but impossible. Obviously that's my opinion. I tend to dislike places in which you have to shout over the music or other patrons to be heard. Considering how many establishments nurture that sort of ambience, however, there appears to be a market for it. You might find it just the ticket for letting loose midweek. Just know that Wednesdays feature live music at high volume and Saturday is karaoke night.

KAREN FELDMAN/FLORIDA WEEKLY Black and tan onion rings have a vibrant beer batter that complements the sweet onions beneath. Our server was friendly and eager to please. Asked what kind of beer he had, he asked what kind we wanted — and then swiftly produced the Corona Light my companion had requested.

It took him a while to return with our appetizers, for which he apologized. It appeared to be a holdup in the kitchen because both the chicken wings and the black and tan battered onion rings arrived piping hot.

I'd skipped the exotic wing flavors, such as Thai peanut, jambalaya and tutti frutti, and opted for a small portion of straight up medium chicken wings. They were crisp on the outside, juicy within and dressed in just enough hot sauce to set taste buds tingling rather than aflame. They came with a couple of fresh stalks of celery and a plastic cup of blue cheese dressing studded with poppy seeds. It's been some time since I've sampled Hogbody's wings, but they were every bit as good as I remembered.

KAREN FELDMAN/FLORIDA WEEKLY A burger is smothered beneath a mound of fresh mushrooms and onions. The onion wings were similarly well executed. The large, sweet rings of onion had been coated in a batter with a pronounced beer flavor, which complemented the onion well.

There was another fairly long interval between the time we finished our appetizers and the arrival of our entrees but they, too, were hot when they arrived.

A burger with sautéed onions and mushrooms looked appetizing and bountiful, accompanied by a large pile of potato chips.

The mahi — ordered grilled with tropical salsa — consisted of what looked more like an appetizer portion of fish. It had little flavor without the accompanying fruit salsa and mashed potatoes (it normally comes with rice but the server obligingly substituted potatoes). It was a disappointing dish.

Hogbody's serves Working Cow ice cream, which comes in some alarming but obviously kid-pleasing varieties, such as a vivid blue-and-yellow Spongebob Squarepants flavor. We shared a scoop of black cherry, which had a hot pink hue and an artificial flavor despite the bits of cherry it contained.

Beyond the aforementioned volume issues, the dining room atmosphere would have been improved by more attention to detail. In the repainting of the walls, there were a number of paint drips that had landed on window ledges but were never wiped off. The window next to our table had a multitude of smears and there was a large splotch of ketchup on the booth. Given the beach house theme, I'm willing to forgive minor housekeeping transgressions, but residual food from a previous party exceeds that standard.

I applaud what the Hogbody's management is striving to do in broadening the scope of the restaurant's offerings. Change can be good, but in this case there's some work remaining to be done if the fish is going to measure up to the topnotch wings and ribs on which Hogbody's has made its name.