Dog the Bounty Hunter rolled through Baldwin County earlier this week. Thankfully, he wasn’t looking for me.

Duane “Dog” Chapman, Beth Chapman and the whole entourage of assistants and television crew cruised in style in a huge black tour bus emblazoned with “Dog and Beth on the Hunt” in huge letters on both sides. I guess larger-than-life photos of the larger-than-life characters might have presented a driving hazard to other motorists.

They did get their man, who they brought back to the jail in Bay Minette. They stopped off at Teresa’s for some barbecue before departing North Baldwin. So why would Colorado bounty hunters worry about a minor drug suspect – in Lower Alabama? (When asked if this was the most wanted criminal in Baldwin County, an investigator said he wasn’t even the most wanted guy in Robertsdale.) My guess is the television show was looking for an angle. Why not Spring Break on the Gulf Coast? Pick up a guy from Robertsdale, ride him to the hoosegow in Bay Minette, and then cruise down to the beach for a little rest and relaxation.

After last week’s column, I wondered what kind of reaction I would have. I intentionally ran it a few weeks before I actually head north, just to give folks a chance to comment. I had intended only to have it in The Baldwin Times, quietly hidden on the papers’ website and then link to it on my Facebook page. But our webmaster had other ideas, and stuck it front and center on the main website featured section. Here it is a week later and it’s still the No. 6 most popular. I guess it was a slow news week.

Whenever you leave, there is always tons of stuff that need to be done with time running out. One of those things was to share a repast with Baldwin County Schools communications director Terry Wilhite. For a year and a half, we have said we would have lunch in Bay Minette one day, but one day never came. So when the school board decided to put their show on the road and head to Orange Beach Elementary, I saw a chance to kill two birds with one stone — share a meal with a truly nice guy (who really likes my dog) and eat at a local landmark for the first time.

The Islander editor John Mullen has long told me I needed to eat at Doc’s Seafood on Canal Road at Highway 161. When Googling the location of the elementary school, I noticed it was literally right around the corner from Doc’s. The meeting started at 5. So even if it lasted a couple of hours, the timing would be right for supper. While there was some excitement at the meeting, supper was more straightforward.

The sign above the restaurant door proudly proclaims “The best fried shrimp in the civilized world.” I had a hankering and decided to put them to the challenge and ordered the ‘Big Un.’ That’s a dozen fried shrimp, along with slaw, fries and hush puppies. I did forget to request to be served by whoever was working ‘Susan’s shift,’ but I did notice a copy of The Islander story about the injured waitress in the front window.

Lots of food. Lots of sweet tea. And lots of good conversation. Terry and I found out we both graduated from high school the same year and our career paths had taken different but at the same time similar paths. It was a great meal and I guess overeating made a little slow on the draw when the waitress came by with the check. Thank you very much, Mr. Wilhite.

As for the shrimp. Were they the best in the civilized world? I consider myself civilized and the shrimp were really good. I mean, REALLY good. But the world is a big place. I think I might have to do a little more investigating. But I will be coming back to Doc’s the next chance I get. Mullen says everything they make is good, and he knows what good food looks and tastes like.

The claim reminds me of a story I heard Paul Harvey tell years ago. Somewhere on the west coast, there was a town with three doughnut shops, all on the same street in the same downtown section. The two larger chain stores started putting signs in their windows. One said they had the best doughnuts in town. The other followed with the best doughnuts in the state sign. The mom and pop store just sat back and watched. The signs wars escalated, each proclaiming the best doughnuts in the region, the west coast, the country, the world, the universe.

It was only then that the small store entered the fracas and put out their sign — ‘Best doughnuts on this block.’ Sometimes the simplest claims are the best.

William Moore is the Senior Editor at Gulf Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at wmoore@gulfcoastnewspapers.com