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Seafood is one of the Crystal Coast's grandest resources and pleasures. Clam chowder, Down East light rolls, stewed hard crabs, collards and dumplings are the tastes and smells that speak of home in this area.

In the traditional waterfront restaurants, fried hush puppies are always served first and are a local cuisine tradition as well as a standard of quality. They are made with cornmeal, flour, eggs and sugar. Once blended, the mixture is dropped by the spoonful into hot fat and fried to a golden brown. Old-timers say the name derived from cooks who, while preparing meals, tossed bits of fried batter to quiet the dogs waiting for kitchen scraps.

Most natives were raised on conch and clam chowders, and even the newest eateries include these among their soups and appetizers. Local conch chowder is made with whelk, while traditional chowder is made with chopped seafood, water, butter, salt, pepper and diced potatoes. For a different flavor, some chefs might also add squash, onions and spices.

Peelers, pickers, jimmies, white bellies, hens, steamers, paper shells or soft-shells — no matter what you call them, they're still crabs. Learning the difference between the names and the stages of a crab's life is the hard part. Knowing when crabs are ready to shed and are marketable as soft-shells is important to the livelihood of many Crystal Coast crabbers. A peeler is a crab that will, if all goes well, become a soft crab within 72 hours. They are carefully handled and put in vats where they can go through this molting process. Jimmies are the large male crabs that measure 6 inches from upper shell tip to tip, and steamers or pickers are just regular crabs. The sure way to tell if a crab is a peeler is by the pinkish-red ring on the outer tip of the flipper or back fin. Those that complete the molting process are sold live or dressed. Many are packed with damp sea grass, refrigerated and shipped live to restaurants or seafood markets as far away as New York. Most are sold dressed, because live soft-shells are delicate to handle and have a life of only about three days. Insiders consider soft-shell crabs a delicacy, and favorite ways to prepare them include lightly frying them in batter or sauteeing them in butter and wine.

Shrimp burgers, another popular local seafood treat, are little more than fried shrimp on a hamburger bun with slaw and special sauce. Each restaurant has its own sauce, which is the secret to a great shrimp burger. Some places have come up with variations (oyster burgers, clam burgers), but it's all basically put together the same way.

Collards are a traditional mainstay in the diet of most locals. A "mess" of collards cooking in the kitchen creates an unforgettable aroma that you either love or hate. These leafy green vegetables grow almost year round in this area.

This area is fortunate to have a wide variety of restaurants — from basic seafood to upscale gourmet. Additionally, great numbers of fast-food and chain restaurants are springing up across the area. This guide does not review chain restaurants, under the assumption that you are already familiar with their fare. However, we do have a section at the end of this chapter on fast food — where we list some of the local eateries offering good, quick food.

 

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