Outer Banks, North Carolina

[The Doctor]

Hi All,

Headed down to the Outer Banks starting Saturday and into the following week. (I'll be staying in Southern Shores, south of Duck and North of Kitty Hawk.)

About a dozen of us have a house rented and will be doing most of our own cooking, but is there anything not to be missed?

With so many people and varying schedules, we won't sit down to anything fancy, but I'm sure we'll do some exploring, so I thought I'd see if anyone here was familiar with the territory.

Are there any walk in places where you can grab some fresh seafood (even maybe to cook up ourselves?), or maybe some BBQ? Where do the locals go?

Thanks for your attention!

[Soup]

The place we go for seafood (to be cooked), well, there are two places and they are close to each other. Seamark Seafood (next to home depot) is very very reasonable in price but you have to make sure on the freshness. A 1/4 west on the same road is a little shack that sell seafood and we usually get a large thing of oysters from there. Great oysters for roasting. I was talking with the owner last time and it seems most of their stuff actually comes from NC.

I love OBX.

[The Doctor]

The place we go for seafood (to be cooked), well, there are two places and they are close to each other.  Seamark Seafood (next to home depot) is very very reasonable in price but you have to make sure on the freshness.  A 1/4 west on the same road is a little shack that sell seafood and we usually get a large thing of oysters from there.  Great oysters for roasting.  I was talking with the owner last time and it seems most of their stuff actually comes from NC. 

I love OBX.

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Much obliged, Soup. Do you know the name of this little shack of yours, or have an address? Might have to stop by there.

Is this down in Nags Head?

[douginvirginia]

move down to middle of next page. lots of info and refs.

[DTBarton]

This time of year, the local fresh shrimp from Pamlico Sound are in abundance. There's a place at the mainland end of the Wright Memorial bridge that usually has them. Risky Business Seafood with locations in Hatteras and Buxton on Hatteras Island has them also, but there must be places further north that have them as well. I'm just more familiar with Hatteras Island. The local shrimp have a little darker color when they're raw, almost a grayish tint. Ask the purveyor if they're fresh and local as opposed to frozen.

If you decide to make a day trip to Hatteras Village, check out Jeffrey's seafood. They are in the back of the fish cleaning house at Hatteras Harbor Marina. Just walk back there and ask someone what they have. They usually have very fresh fish from either that morning or the day before for reasonable prices. Over the last few years I've gotten beautiful tuna, wahoo, dolphin, flounder, spanish mackerel and king mackerel there. Bring a cooler, they'll give you a shovel of ice. If business has been slow, occasionally the fish is frozen, but it's still only a couple days old.

[DTBarton]

A couple other ideas.

Austin's seafood in Nags Head has a good reputation. I haven't been there personally in a long time, but should be worth checking out.

http://www.austinfishcompany.com/history.htm

In Grandy NC on the way down on highway 158 is the Grandy Greenhouse, a large produce operation. Not the cheapest, but I like their practice of putting out samples of the produce. Last time down (last week) they had great peaches, pretty good melons, so so tomatoes (we had our own) and the corn we got was no good. They also sell bags of shelled fresh lima beans and field peas which are delicious.

I also like Lang's barbecue on highway 158 across the road from the Tobacco Barn store south of Grandy. Not the best BBQ I ever had, but good and the woman who runs it is a hoot.

[chiantiglace]

Alright. Seems im the only Egullet obxer, so maybe my opinions will have an affect.

Billys seafood-collington road KDH, just passed the first (channel) bridge on the left

Carawn Seafood- about a half mile on the right right in the middle of walmart, seamark foodlion(the whole complex) right on the main road.

Duck in Deli, great for a quick lunch, just up the road in duck from where your staying

High Cotton- The most traditionalSouthern bbq on the beach road, definately a locals place, in kittyhawk/southern shores just across from the new hilton going in and by rundown cafe.

Pigmans bbq, ok, not as good as high cotton but probably wont be dissapointed if bbq is all you want.

Seamark foods is also another fine choice

Tommy's market just up the road in northern duck on the left (soundside)

Theres also a whole other thread where ive labeled some really well to do places to eat at if you get the time to sit down and eat.

Be careful comming in on saturday. The later you come the more traffic there will be. Where you are headed gets jammed up really bad on saturdays. Even though summer is near the end, I wont doubt traffic will still be heavy midday-evening heading to southershores/corolla on a 2 lane road.

Also, forget oysters, Katrina has really affected the seafood everywhere, including north carolina. The prices are going to be sky high by the time you get here and many places might not even have shrimp or oysters.

[The Doctor]

Very informative post, chianti.

I'm probably going to have to take my chances with the traffic, though. What time does it start to taper off? I'll probably be getting to the vicinity about 7 p.m.

[chiantiglace]

maybe like 9 oclock

[The Doctor]

Well I'm back so I thought I'd give a brief report.

The house we got was so swank and so close to the beach that I didn't leave the compound the entire time I was there. But I did manage to stop at the High Cotton BBQ place on the way out of town since it was right on the way.

While not the best I've ever had, it was pretty darn good stuff, and cheap. For $4.95, I got a pulled pork sandwich combo that came with two sides and cornbread. One of the sides was a Brunswick stew, which was filled with pulled chicken and vegetables. I'm still impressed that it was considered a side when it was hearty enough to be a main course. The corn bread was unique in that it was more like a corn brownie. I think I would have preferred traditional, but it wasn't bad. The pork itself was also tasty.

p.s. There wasn't any traffic at all on Saturday night. We made it from DC in about 4.5 hours. Arrived in Southern Shores at 6 pm.

[Susansea2003]

Reviving this thread & hoping to get an update. Heading out to Southern Shores in about a week. Will cook quite often, but especially interested in good, inexpensive, local food. Still the same recommendations? Any other holes in the wall? Thanks!

Susan

[phlawless]

Reviving this thread & hoping to get an update.  Heading out to Southern Shores in about a week.  Will cook quite often, but especially interested in good, inexpensive, local food.  Still the same recommendations?  Any other holes in the wall?  Thanks!

Susan

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me too...I'm leaving on Sunday and will be in Kill Devil Hills...

[jrobin]

Wow, I can't believe this thread is so short, is there another one maybe?

Anyway, grab a resaturant guide when you get there. I visited quite a bit at my late MIL's house in Manteo(Pirates Cove) when she was alive. Haven't been down for about 3 years, but one of our favorite things was to try the local stuff and try not to do anything twice.

We stayed away from buffets. We didn't do anything real fancy looking since we had kids. Some of our favorites were Mama Kwan's Grill, Sam and Omie's (breakfast), Fisherman's Wharf (Wanchese), Austin Creek Grill (fancy and right at the ferry to Hatteras), Don Gato's, RV's, the 'beach road' has lots of little dives to eat in.... seriously there are sooo many good ones you almost can't go wrong.

We also ate early dinners or late lunches since we had kids with us to avoid crowds. Several restaurants are closed between 3 and 5.

Please don't ignore the lighthouses! They are beautiful and fun to see. Outerbanks has such a rich history, there are many good books on the local history. It also has architecture unique to the area (found in those books). They have a nice aquarium too (Manteo). Buy a kite and fly it on the sand dunes at Kitty Hawk on a cloudy day (or else you'll bake on the hot sand). Ocracoke island is a full day trip (where Blackbeard died) and has good places to eat, but bring snacks and/or coolers. Also keep a big jug of water in your car in case you want to stop off along the road to look at the beach then you can rinse your hands and feet.

There are 2 marinas- Pirates Cove (more friendly and has a good restaurant-Hurricane Mo's) and Oregan Inlet and around 4 in the afternoon the boats start heading back and display the day's catch on the docks. If you wander around where they cut the fish and look really pitiful someone may give you a huge chunk of fish if they have too much to take home for themselves.

We decided to ride bikes into Manteo one day and discovered figs growing along the bike path (towards the Elizabethan Gardens). We tried to pick what we could and put them into our only shopping bag. We headed back and were taking a break when a local stopped and asked if we were the ones picking figs. We said we were and hoped no one minded. He laughed and said it was fine, but did we know we had picked figs on Andy Griffith's property? That was more than cool! I made jam later and we showed off my 'Andy Griffith Jam' for months.

Good grief- that was long, and my family is now hungry for fresh Outerbanks seafood!!

Jennifer

[lancastermike]

I know lots of folks rave about Sam & Omies, I know all about tradition, but Sam and Omie are long gone. Here's the thing, the food stinks. Or at least is just average diner stuff.

I have been vacationing on the OB for twenty years or so. There ain't much in the way of good cheap eats there. Good food can be had, but more at the upper price points.

Lou's Deli in nags Head is real nice stuff. Mama Kwans good as well. many of the places that were good and cheap have been priced out of business by the real estate values going goofy.

[jrobin]

I agree with Mike about Sam and Omies-bad food- that's why I said it's good for breakfast (eggs, grits, bisuits...).

Jennifer

[tampabayrealtor]

Oh, man. This is really making me miss OBX. Despite now living on a beautiful Florida beach, I still love the Outer Banks and am hoping to get back for a visit soon. I've been gone for a couple of years now, but I used to go there every other weekend for about 6 years. These were my favorites:

(MP stands for mile post and indicates where on the island it is located. Numbers run north to south with lowest numbers being north)

Red Sky Cafe, Duck - Great lunch spot (and maybe dinner) with outstanding sandwiches and a really nice atmosphere. Good variety of wine and beers.

Rundown Cafe, MP2 - Great basic carribbean-style foods. Excellent jerk chick and black beans and rice.

Awful Arthurs, MP5 - Classic OBX place with dark wood downstairs and windows to the ocean upstairs. Relatively inexpensive, but really good fresh seafood. If you like raw oysters you absolutely must go.

Goombays, MP7 - An old favorite of mine. Good variety of food and prices and all are good. Love the Jazzy Coconut chicken. Also a good place if you just feel like hanging out at the bar--try the Goombay Smash.

Ocean Boulevard, MP4(?) - A nice upscale restaurant if you're in the mood for it. Good wine selection, food, and atsmosphere.

Jolly Roger, MP6 - Dirt cheap breakfasts that are quite good. Homemade sunflower seed bread is excellent. Can even buy a loaf to take home with you if you ask! Also a good place if you're looking for bloody mary's/mimosas in the morning.

Sam & Omie's, MP16 - I agree that their food is not all great. But it is a perfect BREAKFAST spot. Ask for cheese on your potatoes. Yumm.

Red Drum Taphouse, MP11 - Excellent selection of beers on tap and fantastic food. Mid-range prices.

Tortuga's, MP12(?) - PLEASE send me a fish taco if you go here. This a definitely a favorite. Inexpensive.

Mulligans, MP11 - Food is good. Typically went here for drinks and to see live bands.

Outer Banks Brewing Station, MP8 - This was relatively new when I moved away, but I had started to like it a lot. Excellent food and music, and just a good atmosphere. A little bit (but not much) more upscale than the typical "beach bars".

Have a blast.

[chiantiglace]

jrobin, there is this thread further down the front page

more obx info