 |
|
Kitty Hawk
Rundown Cafe $$
NC 12, MP 1, Kitty Hawk
(252) 255-0026
Open since 1993, this Caribbean-style cafe
has been a big hit with locals, offering
spicy, unusual alternatives to traditional
Outer Banks seafood. Named for a Jamaican stew, Rundown serves island entrees
flavored with African and Indian accents. Specials change daily, and you'll find
the enormous lunches the best deal on the
beach. Try a huge platter of fish taco fixings, a big salad of mixed greens and vegetables with grilled beef, fresh fish, or the
best fried conch sandwiches anywhere.
Some say that Rundown's fries are the
best on the beach, too. There's a steam
bar for shellfish of all sorts and vegetables.
Dinner items include grilled chicken breasts
with garlic-peppercorn cream sauce or
Jamaican pork-dry jerk-marinated pork
loin, grilled and served with a red pepper
glaze and apple chutney. There's a full bar, and the bartenders
can come up with some pretty potent
concoctions. Guinness Stout, Bass, Pyramid, and Harp beers are on tap. The
upstairs bar is a great place to soak in the
sunset, catch a few rays, or linger over a cool cocktail after a hot day in the sun.
Lunch and dinner are served seven days a
week. A kid's menu is available, and takeout orders are welcome. Rundown is
closed in December and January.
Southern Bean $
Dunes Shops, US 158, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-JAVA
This gourmet coffee shop caters to folk
looking for healthful light meals with a great
cup of java. Southern Bean serves breakfast
and lunch year-round. Three types of just-
brewed coffee always simmer, filling the air
with tantalizing aromas. This comfortable place serves every
type of specialty coffee drink imaginable,
from espresso and cappuccino to iced
lattes-even in decaf varieties. More than
30 flavors of freshly roasted coffee beans
are sold by the pound here. You can eat
inside at Southern Bean, sip a warm blend
at an outdoor table, or order your drinks
and your food to go. All menu items are
either vegetarian or seafood, and sandwiches range from hummus to tuna salad
to peanut butter and honey; try the Bean
bagel topped with sun-dried tomatoes,
pesto, red onion slices, cream cheese, and
sprouts. Southern Bean's coffee goes well
with its muffins, croissants, cinnamon rolls,
and other bakery items, too. No sandwich
costs more than $5.00. Southern Bean is
also one of the few places on the Outer
Banks where you can get freshly squeezed
juices and a wide variety of fruit smoothies. Southern Bean is open daily year-round from 7:00 A.M.to 8:00 P.M. in the
summer, and from 7:00 A.M.to 6:00 P.M.in
the off-season.
Ocean Boulevard $$$
NC 12, MP 2, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-2546
www.ocean-boulevard.com
This cozy, upscale eatery gives you a
great feeling from the second you walk
into the gold-walled dining room until you
leave full and relaxed after a fabulous
meal. It opened in September 1995 and
quickly became one of the most popular
places on the Outer Banks. Manteo residents drive 30 miles each way to treat
themselves to a midweek dinner here. No
wonder-it's owned by the same culinary
masters who brought us the inimitable
1587 Restaurant in Manteo (see listing
under Roanoke Island). This restaurant occupies the former
1949 Virginia Dare Hardware store, and
you won't believe what the builders and
decorators did with the place. It's
accented with warm woods, burgundy
fabrics, and forest-green chairs. Cobalt
blue glasses grace every tabletop. There's
even an open kitchen where you can
watch the chefs work. Selections are all prepared with locally
grown herbs, produce, and just-caught
seafood. Influences and ideas from around
the world give the food a flavor all its
own, and the menu changes according
to the season. For an appetizer try the
goat cheese and butternut squash skillet
with grilled apples, roasted garlic, house-
made sausage, fig preserve, and toasted
bread or the crispy duck confit made with
sweet corn flan, mushroom duxelle, onion,
frisco salad, and roasted pear demiglaze.
The "big plates" are all delicious and usually include chicken, beef, pork, seafood,
and vegan dishes. Ocean Boulevard's wine list, which has
won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, contains more than 100 selections.
Microbrewed beer is available, and the bar
specializes in martinis. Dessert offerings include a white
chocolate creme brulee and a macadamia
nut torte with caramel ice cream. A full
line of coffee drinks and herbal teas tops
off your dining experience. This elegant eatery will please even
the most discriminating diners. It's open
year-round for dinner only. During summer, doors are open seven days a week.
Call for off-season hours. Reservations are
highly recommended.
Art's Place $
NC 12, MP 2 1/2, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-3233
Serving good, basic meals for more than
20 years, this tiny eatery across from the
ocean is a Kitty Hawk standby well-known
among locals. The food here isn't fancy,
but it's inexpensive, filling, and all-
American. Sausage gravy is the most
popular breakfast entree, although Art's
also serves eggs, pancakes, and biscuits.
The same entrees are available for lunch
and dinner, along with daily specials such
as fish, steaks, fried chicken, shrimp, clam
strips, and cheeseburgers-all served with
french fries, coleslaw, and a cucumber and
onion salad. Jalapeno poppers are a hot
bet for an appetizer, and calamari is available most of the time. Art's is open seven
days a week year-round. Reservations are
accepted but not necessary.
Jimmy's Seafood Buffet $$
US 158, MP 4, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-4973
Jimmy's Seafood Buffet specializes in
food and fun. Some say that the only
thing more exciting than the food is the
atmosphere. Start your evening off on
the open-air thatched-roof porch, where
the bar offers eight frozen drinks with a
souvenir glass. "Kiddie cocktails" are available for the younger set. Inside this tropical paradise you'll find
all of your favorite seafood and all you'll
want of it! Choose from crab, shrimp, oysters, clams, and lobster. Landlubbers can
opt for barbecued ribs, chicken, and
prime rib, among more than 100 selections. There's also a soft-serve ice-cream
bar. All shellfish is available to go in one
of Jimmy's soon-to-be-famous buffet
buckets. Pick and choose what you want,
and Jimmy's will pack it up in a bucket to
go. It's a great way to enjoy seafood at
home, on the beach, or at a backyard
party. Jimmy's is open nightly for dinner
starting at 3:30 P.M. in season; call for offseason hours and for info on the early-
bird special.
Keeper's Galley $$
US 158, MP 4, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-4000
Keeper's Galley is run by Rufus Pritchard
Jr., the same fellow who owns The Dunes
Restaurant in Nags Head (see listing
under Nags Head). The menu is slightly
different here, and Keeper's Galley serves
breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a
week in season. Breakfast, which is available until
noon, features waffles, eggs, pancakes,
country ham, grits, toast, biscuits, vegetarian breakfast sandwiches, and fish roe
stirred into eggs. A breakfast buffet is
also available in season. For lunch, order
a cold plate, shrimp or tuna sandwich,
homemade seafood gumbo, or a big bowl
of clam chowder. Dinner entrees change
daily but regularly offer prime rib, crab
cakes, seafood fettuccine, chicken, and a
surf-and-turf platter. All desserts, including cheesecakes, are made from scratch.
Keeper's Galley has a large children's
menu and a full bar. Call for reservations.
Keeper's Galley is closed November
through February or March. Call for offseason hours.
Capt'n Frank's $
US 158, MP 4, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-9923
Capt'n Frank's is an institution on the
Outer Banks, serving three sizes of all-
beef Oscar Mayer hot dogs with a variety
of accompaniments. First of all, decide
among the regular dog, a quarter-
pounder, or a foot-long. Then, choose
from at least a half-dozen specialty creations. The Chicago Dog tops the popularity list, with chili, mustard, onions, and
slaw. Runner-up is the eight-item Junkyard Dog, topped with chili, cheese, sauerkraut, onions, mustard, ketchup, slaw, and relish. We're partial to the Mad Dog,
served with chili and hot peppers. If "going to the dogs" doesn't appeal
to you, Capt'n Frank's also offers barbecue sandwiches and addictive nacho
fries-french fries with chili, cheese, hot
peppers, and sour cream. Steamed
shrimp is served nightly in season. Wash
down the tasty morsels with a cold beer.
Capt'n Frank's serves lunch and dinner
daily Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Off-season, the restaurant is open every
day for lunch except Sunday.
Black Pelican Oceanfront Cafe $$
NC 12, MP 4, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-3171
www.blackpelican.com
This casual restaurant is in an old Coast
Guard station and features an enclosed
deck overlooking the Atlantic. It's roomy
and wide, with three separate levels
and a huge bar with several TVs (see
our Nightlife chapter). Hardwood floors,
tongue-and-groove appointments, light
gray accents, burgundy carpeting, and
black bentwood chairs all add to the comfortable ambience of this moderately
priced eatery. Here, gourmet pizzas are cooked in a
wood-hearth oven. Try the steamed shellfish fresh from the sea. An extensive
selection of appetizers is made from
scratch. Dinner offerings include pasta
and seafood specials, grilled or blackened
to suit your taste. A children's menu is
also available. Black Pelican serves lunch
and dinner seven days a week year-round.
Sunburn Sports Bar & Grill $$
US 158, MP 4, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-7833
Sunburn is the newest sports bar on the
Outer Banks. Try your hand at a game of
darts or pool, or root for your favorite
team on one of the many televisions situated around the restaurant. Entrees
include traditional Outer Banks fish, great
crab cakes, and shrimp jambalaya. Specials change daily. A children's menu is
available at this kid-friendly restaurant,
and little ones receive crayons and a
placemat to color while waiting for their
meals. Dinner is served seven days a
week. Open year-round; call for off-season
hours.
John's Drive-In $
NC 12, MP 4 3/4, Kitty Hawk
(252) 261-6227
Home of the planet's best milk shakes,
John's has been an Outer Banks institution for years. Folks have been known to
drive two hours from Norfolk just to
sip one of the fruit and ice-cream concoctions, which are often so thick they
won't even flow through the straw. Our
favorite is the chocolate, peanut butter,
and banana variety, but you'll have to
sample a few first and create some of
your own combinations before making
that call for yourself. You can't eat inside here, but plenty of
picnic tables are scattered around the old
concrete building across from the ocean.
Everything is served in paper bags to go.
While you're waiting for your food, check
out the faded photographs of happy
customers lining this diner's salt-sprayed
windows. You may even recognize a few
local friends. Besides the milk shakes and ice-creamsundae treats, John's serves delicious
mahimahi, trout, and tuna sandwiches or
boats with the fish crispy-fried alongside
crinkle fries. Dogs love this drive-in, too. If
your pooch waits patiently in the car, the
worker behind the window probably will
provide him or her with a free "puppy cup"
of soft-serve vanilla ice cream. We can't
think of a better doggie treat on a hot
summer afternoon. John's Drive-In is open from May
through September or October for lunch
and early dinner. It's closed Wednesday,
unfortunately (we could eat there seven
days a week). No credit cards are
accepted.
La Fogata Mexican Restaurant $
US 158, MP 4 1/2, Kitty Hawk
(252) 255-0934
A traditional Mexican restaurant, La
Fogata gets its name from the Spanish
word for "campfire." For the price, La
Fogata serves the best ethnic food on
the beach. People wait in line to eat here
on weekend nights. You'll see a lot of
locals in this colorful spot year-round. Airy, bright, and decorated with Mexican art and photographs, the interior of
this ultra-casual eatery usually hums with
Latin tunes. The waiters bring baskets of
crispy tortillas and bowls of homemade
salsa as soon as they distribute the
menus. All entree portions are generous,
so save room for the main course. Recommended appetizers include the hot
queso (cheese) dip and stuffed jalapeno
peppers. Specialties here are fajitas, beef and
chicken tacos, enchiladas, and chiles rellenos. The cooks make the dishes hot or
mild, depending on your desire. Selections
come in every possible combination, vegetarian varieties, and a la carte if you want
to try one of everything. (Actually, that's
impossible here. The menu has more than
36 dinner selections, many starting at
$6.50.) A full bar offers a wide selection
of Mexican, American, and imported beer.
Mixed-drink and margarita prices are
among the lowest on the beach. La
Fogata is open for lunch and dinner year-
round, seven days a week.
|