Dining on Calabash-style seafood in the Carolinas

Wednesday, 27 February 2013. Ever since we arrived in this part of the Carolinas we've heard about "Calabash-style" seafood -- and the best place to find a decent seafood restaurant was in nearby Calabash, NC, just across the NC-SC state line from North Myrtle Beach.  So, we finally decided today was the day and drove the 20 minutes from our campground in Longs, SC, to the waterfront region of this little fishing town.

Calabash (pop. 1800) is located on the southeast coast of NC and is the southern most city in NC bordering SC.  It’s about 25 miles north of Myrtle Beach, SC and 50 miles south of Wilmington, NC. Calabash prides itself as the Seafood Capital of the World and boasts literally dozens of "Calabash-Style" seafood restaurants that offer a distinctive style of fried seafood. Calabash-style seafood is lightly breaded and then fried – and is invariably accompanied by the ever popular side dish of hushpuppies.  Corn meal is used instead of flour to give the seafood a light coating and the seafood is then fried in hot oil until it becomes golden brown.

After performing a fairly thorough internet search of local seafood restaurants in Calabash -- and reading numerous reviews -- we narrowed our selection down to two restaurants: Ella's of Calabash and the Dockside Seafood House that was located right at, yep, you guessed it, dockside of the town's fishing pier.  Opting for the Dockside, we arrived fairly early, around 4:30 (I was hungry for seafood and only had an orange for lunch), and asked for and got a window table overlooking the waterfront area and the estuary of the Little River Inlet.
  

Calabash waterfront

Waterfront area as viewed from the Dockside restaurant

Caught this pelican on a pier post just before he spread his huge wings and flew across the estuary

After ordering a bottle of St. Michelle Riesling and a cup New England clam chowder, we began to peruse the extensive menu. Lynette went with fried shrimp and deviled crab, while I opted for a combo platter of fried shrimp, fried scallops, and deviled crab. Pretty straight forward seafood preparation, except the deviled was a mixture of crab and (too much) stuffing that contained some type of seasoning we couldn't place.  The waitress had told us the breading had onion and green peppers, but there was still something else.  It was "Ok" but I've had better.  Guess we're spoiled on Maryland's famous crab cakes!  After ordering, the waitress brought the soup and a basket of absolutely delicious warm hushpuppies. Dipped in butter, they were WAY TOO GOOD since we ate far too many of them before our main meals arrived.  Needless-to-say, we both ate only a small part of our dinners and came back to the motorhome with enough shrimp and scallops for lunch tomorrow.  We topped off dinner by sharing a slice of key lime pie (can't pass that up) and coffee.

Looking at the far end of the pier dockside Calabash waterfront

All in all, a nice evening out for dinner at a previously un-visited location in this area for us.  I think I'd rate the whole experience a "6.5" (out of 10).  But once again, we've probably been spoiled by having grown up in Washington State (salmon, King Crab legs), living in Alaska (salmon, King Crab legs, and halibut), and enjoying Maryland's crab cakes for over 25 years -- and they're the best in the world!

Bonus Feature: The chef at one of the local seafood restaurants offers the following recipe for the breading that goes into Calabash-style seafood.  First, of course, always start with the freshest and best fish or seafood that you can find.

Calabash Breading

·           - - 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

·           --  Cup of bread crumbs

·          --  1/3 cup cornmeal

·           -- 1 egg

1.  Combine flour and cornmeal and place on a plate.  Place the breadcrumbs on another plate.

2.  Scramble the egg with a little water (about 2 teaspoons) to make the egg lighter.

3.  Rinse seafood and pat dry.

4.  Dip dried seafood in egg, then cornmeal mix, then egg mix, and lastly, bread crumbs.

5.  Fry for about three minutes on each side.

6.  Serve with cocktail or tartar sauce. 

The Swamp Fox, the South's Georgetown, and Hush-puppies!

View of Georgetown from the entrance to the tidal basin.

Friday, 22 February 2013.   Dreary, rainy day here along the NC-SC border – overcast, with virtually no sunshine.  Temps are in the low 50’s with the potential for severe T-Storms later in the day.  Figured it might be a good day for another blog entry, this one covering our day trip yesterday to the historic seaport town of Georgetown, SC (population 9,000), which is about an hour or so from us on SC’s coast.  

Yesterday’s weather was much better than today with clear blue skies and plenty of sunshine.  Light jacket/sweater weather, but certainly nice enough for getting out in the fresh air for some sightseeing in this quaint little town with its 300-year history.  And we were most certainly not disappointed with the quiet afternoon we spent in this charming little town that sits on the confluence of the Great Pee Dee, Waccamaw, and Sampit Rivers; Winyah Bay; and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.  Founded in 1729, few other areas in America can boast more history or charm than Georgetown.  From its earliest beginnings as a probable site of the first European settlement in North America in 1526 – and as SC’s third oldest community – Georgetown has long been known for its warm hospitality and Southern charm.  And boy, does this place exude charm: From its picturesque historic Front Street with one little boutique shop after another to a variety of restaurant selections to its Live Oak lined streets (one Live Oak is over 600-years old – and still thriving) to the many well-maintained and/or restored historic homes (some from the early 1730’s) to the town’s tower clock that commands one’s entire attention on Front Street’s northern edge.  Georgetown's "Town Clock" sits atop a Greek revival market and town hall that was built in 1842 after a fire destroyed many of the wood frame buildings along Front Street. An open-air market occupied the first floor and the town hall the second floor. 

View of the town clock, looking northeast on Front Street

Close-up view of the town clock.      

To complement the whole quaint and charming atmosphere of Front Street, Georgetown’s historic downtown area even features a grassy waterfront park and a newly renovated Harborwalk.

Lynette under the Harborwalk sign along Georgetown's tidal base waterfront.

Another feature of Georgetown that I found utterly fascinating as a history buff was its rich colonial and Revolutionary War history and significance.  For example, the town played an active role during the American Revolution by sending Thomas Lynch and and his son, Thomas Lynch, Jr, to the Continental Congress where Junior was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  When British troops occupied Georgetown from July 1780 to May 1781, a true American hero, Francis Marion – the infamous Swamp Fox – fought British troops in-and-around Georgetown County in what can only be described as one of the first uses of guerilla warfare in colonial America.  The status of this true American hero has been codified by various US military and Revolutionary War historians as one of the “fathers of modern guerilla warfare.”

As far as our afternoon in Georgetown, we opted to kick off our visit by taking a guided tour of the town with Swamp Fox Tours, a local outfit that provides a 90-minute leisurely journey of the many historic homes, churches and museums.  The $15 per-person cost was well worth it as our guide provided an assortment of background facts and historical tidbits on Georgetown, its early history, its significance for SC and early America, as well as local color such as where’s the best place to eat along the town’s waterfront. Following the tour -- and after taking a quick peek at the town's Harborwalk and tidal basin -- we decided to have a bite to eat before exploring more of Front Street's many shops and continuing our sightseeing adventures. 

On the Harborwalk, looking east toward the mouth of the tidal basin. Restaurants -- and many businesses -- along the Harborwalk have entrances on both Front Street and from this boardwalk, many with outside seating.  Nice waterfront view on a nice day, but, unfortunately, not ours.

View from the Harborwalk of the various boats anchored in the mouth of the tidal basin.

After our quick look at the waterfront and the boardwalk, Lynette let me know she was hungry and in the mood for some seafood so we opted for the River Room, located right on the town's Harborwalk.  

The lunch menu had a limited selection but we both ended up with some excellent seafood fare: Lynette had the Big Fish Sandwich (it WAS huge) and a glass of German Riesling wine while I treated myself to some delicious New England-style clam chowder and a tuna sandwich.  I was also delighted -- and surprised -- to find a Allagash Belgium White beer (traditional Belgium wheat style beer spiced with coriander and Curacao orange peel), on their beer menu.  Bottle only, not on draught, but still brought back memories of when I first had this beer - with my son, Jamie, and his wife, Lisa - in Kill Devil Hills, on NC's Outer Banks during one of our many summer vacations.  I don't often find it available in restaurants, so my choice was really quite easy.  Delicious as ever!

I took almost 70 photos during our brief visit here (thank goodness for digital cameras) – and a subsequent sidetrip to Pawley’s Island on the way back to our campground – and have tried to include only those shots that I feel best represent our overall impression of the whole Georgetown experience, especially among the many photographs I took of the old colonial homes.  For those who would like to view more photos of our Georgetown daytrip, I’ll be posting an “album” on my Facebook page over the weekend.  You can check out additional photos there.  Cheers!

View of one of the many Live Oak-lined residential streets in Georgetown.

A 600-year old Live Oak -- still alive and magnificient!

Following are several of the "better" shots I took on our guided jeep tour of Georgetown's historic homes. Hopefully I've captured the architectural aspects of the early 1730's through early 1800's when many of these homes were constructed.  Our guide mentioned that one family line has been living continuously in the same colonial home for 240 years.  The home has been remodeled and updated, of course, but still.....

The infamous Swamp Fox, Francis Marion, once lived in this very house.

One aspect of virtually all these historic colonial homes that impressed me were the wide, spacious porches -- often on more than one level and also wrap-around.  Also notice on almost every home the shutters -- must have come in quite handy during hurricane season!

The next photo is a shot of the last remaining colonial "kitchen" in Georgetown.  Originally every colonial home had a kitchen, usually built off the back of the home and connected by a walkway.  The cooks, usually slaves, would prepare meals and then carry them into the house.  The smell of cooking bacon, sausage, and other foods would often bring stray dogs to the kitchen, and they would often bark until the cooks threw some tidbits their way to stop the barking noises.  A favorite tidbit was a bit of dough rolled into a ball and then deep-fried in bacon grease.  The cooks would toss the fried tidbits to the dogs and yell, "Hush, puppies."  The rolled dough soon became known by the same name we know today, hush-puppies. Oh, BTW: I really didn't want the SUV in the photo, but this old colonial kitchen currently serves as a garage for its present-day occupants.

After leaving Georgetown we headed north along the coast on SC State Route 17, which took us by Pawley's Island, a famous resort town.  Curious about any similarities with NC's Outer Banks region -- where we used to spend a week's vacation every year with our two sons, their wives, and our grandkids -- we took the turn that led us out to the island's residential area.  Separated from the mainland by a wide salt marsh, Pawley's Island isn't quite as extensive as the Outer Banks, but nevertheless, had some fine looking homes -- many obviously of the rental variety.  We drove to the southern tip of the island, which turned out to be the only public access to the shoreline on this end of the island.  We got out to stretch our legs for a few minutes, did some quick beachcombing and watched the Atlantic Ocean waves pound the shore.  And to answer any questions out there, "No," I did not pay the fine!

Photo of the Day

Monday, 18 February 2013.  Guess this should more accurately read "Photos of the Day" since I've include three -- and it is also probably better to title this blog entry "Sign of the Day" since the photos depict our finished "LynDen Haus" sign we had made for our travels.  The 18" x 11" sign was handcrafted by a local woodworker specializing in these types of signs.  It's made of popular wood and came unfinished; it was much "whiter" than seen in these photos.  We bought a small can of light wood stain at the local Ace hardware store, applied one coat, which turned out to be just about the right shade of color we were looking for with the sign.  Three coats of clear sealant -- since it'll stay outside when we're parked somewhere -- finished the job for the sign.  Then we began a what turned out to be a fairly lengthy search for some type of stand for the sign.  We didn't want anything fancy but needed something sturdy enough to last.  After one false start with a stand that was too flimsy, we found this plant stand of all things at Home Depot.  In nice weather we'll place a nice outdoor potted plant on the stand (which folds up quite nicely, thank you, for storage in the bins under the motorhome) or some flowers such as begonias or the like.  For right now we found this small garden gnome chopping wood, bought a fake bucket pot for flowers, filled it with some small pieces of firewood, plopped the little guy down on top of the whole thing and let him "chop" away to his heart's content.  All in all, we're quite satisfied with our "LynDen Haus" sign.  The photos below show Lynette with the finished sign along with our "It's Five-O'Clock Somewhere" flag; the sign and its protective Orc-like gnome with his axe; and, of course, the sign by itself.  Cheers to all!

              

"...as comfortable as an old hound dog under the back porch."

Friday, 15 February 2013.  The title of this blog entry was taken off a brochure from the Grapefull Sisters Vineyard, which is located just outside Tabor City, NC. That's where we spent a most pleasant Friday afternoon today, tasting wines and enjoying a picnic lunch...along with a chilled bottle of wine, of course!  We've been dying to visit this winery -- just a few minutes from our Willow Tree campground -- but haven't found the perfect day for a picnic.  Today was just such a day.  Beautiful blue skies -- the bluest blue I think I've ever seen, with nary a cloud in sight-- and temps in the mid-60's provided just the invitation we needed to head north into North Carolina to visit the Grapefull Sisters winery.  Situated in a mostly remote, rural, farming area of NC, GSV is certainly not the easiest place to find.  It took us a couple wrong turns before we ended up at the head of their driveway into not only the winery, but the CarrollWoods RV Park & Campground, part of the same property.  GSV also has a quaint inn/B&B, the "Inn d'vine" that resembles an old tobacco barn.  It actually looked quite charming, in a "rural" sort of way.  We were visiting in what can only be described as the off-season, since we had the tasting room all to ourselves.  Amy was our wine expert, and in this case, it was all about the Muscadine grape, a Native American grape naturally low in sugar and extremely high in antioxidants (resveratrol) -- about 40x higher in antioxidants than other vinifera grapes, according to their literature.  According to Amy -- who seemed to know anything and everything about the Muscadine grape -- Johns Hopkins University did a study following the revelation that a glass of red wine every day was good for you.  Per JHU, the red wine should be Muscadine wine and you should actually drink TWO glasses of this type of red wine.  The health benefits outweigh any concerns about alcohol for most people.  I haven't followed up on her explanation, but all the wines we tried at GSV were mighty tasty.  I would say mostly semi-sweet to sweet, but a couple of them "fooled" your taste buds, since after the first sip it tasted just a tad more peppery.  Very nice for accompanying cheese and crackers.  We ended up buying a chilled bottle of GSV's Southern Charm wine, described as a wonderfully balanced light bodied wine...with well-expressed crisp red fruits with plenty of soft flavors.  And it went quite well with the picnic lunch Lynette had prepared for us: cheddar cheese, crackers, and chicken salad. We ate our lunch and drank our Southern Charm wine on the grounds at GSV, next to a small man-made pond under a breathtakingly blue-as-blue-can-be sky.  We even had a "floor show" of sorts: one huge goose, three goslings, and two mallard ducks.  If the ducks got too close to the goslings, the big goose would chase the ducks around the pond or out of it.  Made for quite an interesting show as we sipped our wine, ate our lunch, and enjoyed a most beautiful day in the Carolinas.

Lynette pouring a glass of Southern Charm at GSV.

The resident "top-dog" goose surveying its territory.

The "top-dog" goose with goslings under the fir tree.

And here's another shot of our campsite at Willow Tree.  If you enlarge the photo, you'll see we are camped on Pace Arrow Drive; campsite is #24.  All the campground's streets are named after well-know motorhome manufacturers.

SC Bird Photography --- It's so hard!

Thursday, 7 February 2013.  It's raining pretty good outside right now -- better than snow, I guess, which is what the Northeast is getting hit with from this storm sweeping up the Atlantic Coast.  Weatherman says were due rain over the next couple days.  Temps will be in the mid-50's, so we won't receive any of the real nasty stuff.  Guess I was fortunate that I decided to take a bike ride earlier today, around noon, before the rain hit. Temps were in the mid-50's with a slight overcast sky, but at least no rain.  I decided on a leisurely  bike ride around the campground, since my muscles were still rather stiff from performing some minor maintenance on the motorhome yesterday.  The work was pretty straight forward: reconfigure a couple storage area that the DirectTV guy tore apart. What I didn't count on were the compact spaces that I would be working in that required me to contort my body in all sorts of evil ways, to include lying on my back, hunched over in squatting position with my butt touching my heels, standing on my head, and various other assorted positions that even a yoga master at a Big Sur resort/spa would have problems with.  Well, maybe it wasn't quite that drastic, but I'm still plenty sore!

Anyway, while on the bike ride around the campground I noticed some bird activity among the small trees/bushes that line the perimeter of the Willow Tree campsites and lake.  A couple bright red cardinals caught my eye and I quickly rode back to the motorhome and grabbed my Canon EOS Rebel. I swapped lenses so that I'd have my 75-300mm telephoto lens with me.  I immediately found two red cardinals among some shrub trees that challenged my abilities as an amateur photographer.  The cardinals just wouldn't come any closer to the road and kept darting from one small shrub to another, making it difficult to try and snap a good shot.  I adjusted the lens for shooting "sporting" events (allows me to shoot about 5-6 frames per second), in hopes of getting at least one or two decent pics.  Thank goodness for digital cameras, since I must have taken close to 100 pics over the next 30 minutes.  Not only did I get several good shots of the bright red-plumed cardinals, but on the way back to the motorhome I spotted our first robins of the season feeding along the side of the roadway.  They were very skittish and I couldn't get very close; however, with the 75-300mm lens I think I came away with several good pics.  You be the judge.

I'm still on the lookout for the pair of eagles that I'm told linger around the far side of the lake.  And I know there's an owl somewhere behind us in the wooded campsites since we hear it at night.  Guess I'll just have lay in wait one day and see if my photographer's patience is up to the challenge.  Patience, grasshopper, patience.

This little guy really seemed to enjoy playing games with me this afternoon.  I was maybe 25 yards away, looking through some small shrubs/trees, so getting a clear shot was very difficult.  To make matters even worse, he would flit from one tree or shrub/bush to another just as I was ready to snap his pic.  Or worse, he'd go and turn his back on me!  I'm sure out of spite (see pic below).

However, my patience and diligence was finally rewarded (after many, many other shots) with the following close-up of this magnificent cardinal.  If you blow the pic up, you might be able to see him looking out of his eye at me.  I like to think he's saying, "Okay, here's your damn photo. Now go away and leave me alone!"

The two robins I saw on the way back to the motorhome proved elusive, since I couldn't get any closer than about 15 yards away before the flew off into the underbrush.  Once I left, they came back to feed on whatever it was they were after in the grass.  The brown grass wasn't a very good background, either, so the scenery accompanying the follow "robin" shots is rather drab.  But the first robins of spring!

If you look closely -- or blow this up a bit -- you'll notice a dandelion stalk right in front of the robin on the left.  Almost looks like some sort of "microphone" for the bird to use in singing his song!