After a long interruption… we now return to our regular blog posts. One last post about our OBX (Outer Banks, North Carolina) visit this past May. Why one more? Because it’s about FOOD!
One of the our favorite things about visiting the US coasts is fresh, local seafood. I’ve eaten my first blue fish, Spanish mackerel, black-finned shark, and soft-shelled crab while on the Outer Banks, so we were ready to chow down when we got there this past May.
To give you an idea of what we found, here are some hints…
See any similarities? Yep. Deep fried. We combed the island for grilled seafood… not to be found! Until…
…the Captain’s Table Restaurant. This restaurant has been around for many years and although everything on the menu was deep fried, the server suggested we order from the senior selection, which included a grilled blue fish, our favorite!
In our search for good seafood, we tried various spots, including Ocean’s Bistro, which had these crispy cheese things that looked better than they tasted…
…also true for their mac and cheese:
We tried the seafood chowder and stews around the island, too, and were likewise disappointed. Sadly, most were too thick or, like this one (from Sonny’s), tasted like dishwater with some chewy pieces of something tossed in:
So… we took advantage of the local markets, stopping nearly every day at Sticky Bottom Produce for fruits and veggies…
…and checking the catch of the day at the Sunrise Seafood Market in Avon for fresh fish (Spanish Mackerel, on this particular day) , with a side of crab cake (the absolute BEST crab cake — every bite is a chunk of crab meat!)…
…and — most of all! — eating almost our fill of soft shelled crab, which was in season (a short season, but we hit it hard):
So the best place to eat in the Outer Banks these days? Home! Bread and tomatoes from the produce market… soft shelled crabs from the seafood market… nothing better!
Bob and Ellen's Great RV Adventure 
I always enjoy reading about food and restaurants so of course I loved this post! We too have found that sometimes the best way to enjoy local food is to buy fresh from a market and cook it ourselves. We have even been known to buy smoked fish dip and stone crab claws from a guy with a cooler on the side of the road in Florida!
Is it just us, or have you found the quality of restaurant food more and more disappointing? (I refuse to believe it’s a sign of aging… and becoming more and more particular about what and where I eat….!)
We cook most of our meals whether at home or on the road so when we go out it is usually a treat. Maybe we are picky about where we go but most of the time we aren’t disappointed.
Yum! We’ll be doing our usual excursion to the Texas Gulf Coast in January and I’m already looking forward to indulging in fresh seafood 🙂
MMMM!!! When you’re out there, what do you indulge in, food-wise? We have yet to get there, despite it being on our list since starting out about eight years ago!
Shrimp mostly followed by fish. Oysters are huge biz around Rockport but not one of our favs.
Just when I think I’m ready to settle down, I come up with a list of places I want to see. This lifestyle can be addictive 🙂
Beth — Yes, we’re pickier than we used to be about eating out, too. In our 8+ years of full-timing, we’ve had food poisoning four times! Ew! So we’ve got a ritual every time we order food in a restaurant: “Please bring it to us HOT, even if the two orders have to come out at different times.”
Ingrid — Ooooh! Shrimp… fish… oysters. I swear I could live on seafood alone!
Safe travels to you both!