We’re down at the Outer Banks for the next two weeks. Which means seafood. LOTS of seafood. :-D I will be reporting accordingly.
Tonight after the drive down, we hit Awful Arthur’s Oyster Bar. They’ve been around for years, but for whatever reason, last year was the first time I’d ever been there.
First, let me warn you – the mixed drinks are deadly. I’ve watched the bartenders pour them and your liver had better be ready for it. Me? I stuck with Red Stripe.
AA’s is a basic steamer bar, and really good. (Of course, you can’t be crappy and last around here.) I had the crab & lobster bisque, which was awesome. I had it last year as well and just couldn’t pass it up. Knowing from experience how rich this stuff is, trying to figure out what to have with it was a little harder. After much hemming and hawing, I settled on a half dozen clams casino. I know this is a classic seafood app, but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had it before. Well, it was wonderful. The clams were sweet and not at all chewy and well, anything with bacon on it is OK in my book. Last year I had the crab bites – basically itty bitty crabcakes. Those are great, too, but really rich.
My brother got the steamed shrimp & snow crab. (OK, snow crab isn’t exactly local, but it’s yummy and it’s really not local anywhere on the east coast…) His only issue was the shrimp may have stayed in the steamer a touch too long as they were a bit of a bear to peel. But he perservered and managed to barely leave the pattern on the plate. :)
Definitely on tap this week, Meridian 42 and The Left Bank.