Smitty's Grille

 

Located at 838 South Main Street in Kernersville, Smitty’s Grille specializes in seafood. It is open from 4-9 Monday-Wednesday, 4-9:30 on Thursday, 4-10 Friday-Saturday, and closed Sunday. There is a full bar, specials change daily, and patio seating is available.

Smitty’s is a difficult place to properly rate. In terms of what it brings to Kernersville, it’s a breath of fresh air, a fun place to grab a drink, and a reliable source of seafood options. At the same time, if you’ve traveled a bit, you’ll recognize Smitty’s as a worse version of what you can find elsewhere.

Despite the unassuming shopping center location, Smitty’s atmosphere definitely stands out. The netting and pirate flags on the walls help reinforce a beach/nautical theme. There are also a variety of seating options from traditional tables inside and out to a seat along a wraparound bar.

The menu here offers chicken and steaks, but seafood is the star. You can get it in a sandwich, in a fried platter, in a pasta dish, in a taco, in a rice bowl….you get the idea. While there may not be many types of fish to choose from, the number of permutations still offers plenty of variety.

My wife and I opted to split a fried pickles appetizer and a fried platter with flounder, popcorn shrimp, oysters, potatoes, and broccoli. Our food came up relatively quickly, and it was hot and fresh.

The quality, however, rated as largely just OK. The pickles were nice and crisp, but the accompanying remoulade had a confusing sweet note (relish, maybe?). The “famous” potatoes were buttery though they would have benefited from some herbs. The flounder was thinly breaded. Both the shrimp and oysters were good and paired nicely with the accompanying tartar and cocktail sauces.

At $9 for the app and $26 for the pick three fried platter (including a $4 upcharge for oysters), Smitty’s pricing is higher than you’d expect for its atmosphere. Servers seemed friendly enough.

If you’re in Kernersville with a seafood craving, Smitty’s has a lot to offer even if the quality is hit or miss. However, if you’re willing to drive twenty-something minutes, Full Moon does a better version of much of what you can find here.

2520 Tavern

 

Located at 2520 Lewisville Clemmons Road in Clemmons, 2520 Tavern offers steaks, seafood, and cocktails as well as a Sunday brunch. It is open from 11-9 on Sunday and Tuesday-Friday, 4-9 on Saturday, and closed Monday. Online ordering is available.

Anticipating a visit to Old Nick’s afterward, our group of four sought a dinner option in the Clemmons/Lewisville area. 2520 moved toward the front of the line by virtue of not being a chain though the intriguing menu certainly bolstered its case as well. On food alone, 2520 offers the makings of an excellent meal, but the overall experience is mixed.

Though 2520 is spacious, the restaurant was full when we arrived on a Saturday night. No worries: the wait was hardly unbearable. 2520 slots in somewhere between sit-down casual and fine dining, and the atmosphere – low-key classy – reflects that.

As a seafood fan, I was pleased to see how many fish and seafood options 2520 had available. The appetizers alone boast calamari, muscles, Thai shrimp, and lobster nachos, and the entrees throw several fish dishes into the mix. For those less aquatically inclined, there are steaks, sandwiches, pastas, risottos, burgers, and salads. The menu is appealingly well-rounded though, oddly enough, cranberries feature in an inordinate number of dishes.

 

Our group started with a fried calamari, my wife opted for the peppery goat burger, and I tried the stuffed flounder. The calamari came not with the classic marinara but rather with roasted red pepper, cranberries (removable upon request), candied pecans, parmesan, and a citrus herb vinaigrette. This version was lighter than others yet still flavorful, and the calamari were cooked well. The flounder was preceded by a generously sized salad (I opted for Caesar) and was very good. It came with a rich scampi cream sauce, to which tomatoes added a bright and tangy note. Asparagus proved to be a welcome complement. The burger, though messy, featured a very tasty pepper jelly.

That said, 2520’s pricing and service are both up-and-down. The appetizer ($12) and the burger ($12.50 with a side included) were definitely reasonable though at close to $30, the stuffed flounder was a bit of a reach. Our server was polite, but we ended up waiting for close to a half hour just to get our checks. From what I’ve gathered, “slow” is the default speed rather than the product of heavy volume.

Were it not for these issues, I would gladly return to 2520. The food was good, and the menu holds plenty of promise. However, if I do come back, it would have to be on a day when I have time to spare.

Shrimply Delicious

 

Located at 2204 Golden Gate Drive in the Golden Gate Shopping Center in Greensboro, Shrimply Delicious offers fried seafood sandwiches and platters. Family-sized portions, online ordering, and delivery (via DoorDash) are available. The restaurant is open from 11 to 9 Mondays through Saturdays.

 

As a fan of both bad puns and good seafood, I was bound to end up here sooner or later. When a po boy craving struck, I remembered the name and decided to give Shrimply Delicious a try. It wasn’t an entirely regrettable decision, but I don’t think I’ll be back.

 

Shrimply Delicious is a smallish space, and the tables in their dining area are packed somewhat closely together. This is a non-issue if you’re seeking takeout, of course, but if you’re looking to dine in, it may get a bit crowded. The menu boasts shrimp and fish baskets (with sides and drinks), fish sandwiches, and po boys. You won’t find any surprises, but there’s something to be said for staying on-brand.

 

I opted for a shrimp and catfish po boy to go. At $12.75, it was priced roughly between 42 Fry and Full Moon’s versions. The staff here are hard-working, but they were getting slammed with to-go orders, and so I had a longer-than-expected wait (albeit not unreasonably so).

Positives first: the sandwich was large, and the shrimp and fish were breaded and cooked well. Nothing tasted greasy. That said, the fish was fairly salty, the remoulade so-so, and the bread was a lackluster generic sub roll.

 

This isn’t the worst rendition of a po boy that I had, but it’s far from the best. Ultimately, Shrimply Delicious proved to be shrimply okay.

Full Moon Oyster Bar

 

Located at 103 West Main Street in Jamestown, the Full Moon Oyster Bar serves seafood for lunch and dinner daily. There is a full bar including beers brewed in-house. Patio seating is available and specials change daily.

 

As a seafood fan, I’ve long been intrigued by Full Moon, but as someone who hates loud and crowded spaces, the setup (stools clustered around a large bar) kept me away. Figuring that 2:20 p.m. on a Friday would be as good a time as any to avoid a crowd, my wife and I finally bit the bullet and decided to give it a try. We were glad that we did.

 

While I wouldn’t relish the prospect of eating elbow-to-elbow with strangers when Full Moon is at capacity, it was decidedly not crowded when we rolled in for lunch. It offers a casual vibe, and the fast and friendly bartenders are great.

 

Though Full Moon’s menu boasts everything from grilled fish to heaping piles of steamed crab legs, I was on a quest to get one last sandwich in before going breadless for Passover. A half and half (oysters and shrimp) Po Boy seemed like a perfect fit. Fish and chips were available as a Friday lunch special, and my wife pounced on that. Both came with complimentary sides of slaw and potatoes, an unexpected but thoroughly welcome perk.

 

The food was, without qualification, phenomenal. If anyone is skeptical about finding a legitimate Po Boy this far inland, don’t be. The French bread was authentic, the shrimp were large, and both they and the oysters were a perfect golden brown. The fish was coated in a delicious crunchy beer batter, and the fries that accompanied both dishes were nicely salted. Even the free sides were a hit. The slaw was, mercifully, shredded rather than chopped to hell, and the roasted potatoes were addictively buttery.

 

Full Moon Oyster Bar made for one of the best lunch experiences I’ve had in some time, and I will almost certainly be back. The only question is whether or not I will try to wait for another off-hour to pay them a visit.

MJ's Restaurant and Catering

 

Located at 620 Dolley Madison Road in Greensboro, MJ’s Restaurant and Catering offers upscale cuisine with French and Southern influences and an emphasis on seafood. There is a full bar, and outdoor seating, private dining, and catering are available.

 

My last meal of 2021 was arguably the year’s best. Somehow, during the decade-plus I spent living in Greensboro, I had never been to MJ’s, but that changed when they were one of the few area restaurants still taking New Year’s Eve reservations come mid-December. Regardless of the circumstances, it made for an excellent dining experience.

 

A converted house (with limited parking), MJ’s is sectioned off into a patio, a bar, and upstairs and downstairs dining areas. We ended up in the upstairs section, and it felt cozy and intimate.

 

While MJ’s runs a small menu normally, it was further pared down for New Year’s Eve. That said, the few selections offered (including striped bass, Scottish salmon, prime rib) included several strong contenders. My wife and I went with an off-menu vegetable risotto (the chef can accommodate vegetarian requests, so don’t be afraid to ask) and a seafood and grits, respectively, followed by chocolate cake and caramel brulee cheesecake slices for dessert. The food was all-around very good. The risotto was cooked well and offered a medley of vegetables. The seafood and grits (a scallop-added take on their usual shrimp and grits) featured a delicious sherry tomato cream sauce, savory chunks of Tasso ham, and no shortage of shrimp. The grits were creamy and smooth, almost enough to make “grit” an ironic misnomer.

 

MJ’s also offered attentive and amiable service and a decent cocktail selection, but the experience doesn’t come cheaply. Entrees normally run in the mid-20s to mid-30s range, making this strictly a special occasion destination.

 

All told, MJ’s offers everything (food, service, ambiance) that makes for a great meal. Should you have an event worth celebrating, keep it in mind, especially if you enjoy the bounty of the sea

Harbor One

 

Located at 788 N. Main Street in High Point, Harbor One offers fried seafood and more. It is open from 11-9 on Thursdays and Fridays (with speedy lunch specials available from 11-2), 3-9 on Saturdays, and 12-6 on Sundays (when a special soul food menu is featured). Outdoor dining is available.

 

Enticed by Facebook photos of their shrimp and grits, I had Harbor One on my to-try list for quite a while before finally paying them a visit. Unfortunately, the shrimp and grits were a Friday/Saturday only item, and my wife and I stopped by on a Thursday. Fortunately, it was far from a disappointing experience.

Harbor One is a small, unpretentious (think Styrofoam containers and plasticware) place with an equally small menu, but this belies how good the food truly is. While the Sunday selections add soul food staples such as smoked ribs, mac and cheese, and yams, the weekday offerings are mostly fried fish/seafood platters or sandwiches as well as wings and a few apps/sides. Wanting to try a little bit of everything, my wife and I split an Ultimate Feast and added zucchini fries.

 

The platter certainly lived up to its name as it included croaker, whiting, popcorn shrimp, jumbo shrimp, oysters, baked beans, fries, slaw, and a few hushpuppies. We were able to get four fairly filling meals out of it, and it offered quality as well as quantity. The hushpuppies are addictive and will leave you craving more. The tender oysters are the antithesis of every tough and chewy fried oyster or clam strip you’ve ever regretted and may even make converts of shellfish skeptics. The chip-style zucchini fries are housemade and generously breaded. Even the crinkle-cut fries (in most cases, a frozen product) were surprisingly tasty and well-seasoned. While croaker is something I might steer clear of in the future (lots and lots of bones), it too had a nice black pepper flavor.

 

The price paid for the feast ($24) was a steal given the quantity and quality, and the proprietor was friendly and welcoming.

 

Call it the paradox of success, but Harbor One does what it does so well that it can’t help but leave you wanting more (more days open, more sure-to-be delicious menu offerings, etc.). In the meantime, take what you can get: you’ll be happy with it.

Wrightsville Beach Brewery

 

Located at 6201 Oleander Drive in Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach Brewery serves local seafood and brewpub fare. Outdoor seating is available, including a beer garden area. There is occasional live music, and food specials rotate regularly.

Capacious, comfortable, and convenient, Wrightsville Beach Brewery made for an ideal back-from-the-beach lunch destination. There was plenty of seating inside and out (we opted for the latter), and service was friendly and attentive. The biggest draw here, however, is the menu as both food and drink selections are strong. The former packs everything from burgers to seafood to some rather creative pizzas (a short rib, a crab cake, and a po boy were among the offerings) while the latter offers up a nice assortment of house taps and a few cocktails.

My wife and I opted for an order of fish tacos (tuna was the catch du jour) and a shrimp po boy with a cup of seafood stew. What the fish tacos lacked in structural integrity, they made up for in fresh flavor with the rasta sauce delivering a bit of peppery kick. The seafood stew brought a welcome bit of heat as well. Tasty as it was though, it was less a seafood stew and more a kicked-up tomato vegetable soup with a bit of added seafood. The po boy, on the other hand, was immensely satisfying from first bite to last. Here, they didn’t skimp on the shrimp, which were breaded nicely, and the crisp baguette (improbably) held everything in place. Among the drinks, my wife gave high praise to a newly-arrived Smoked Honey Scotch Ale while the Orange Krush Kolsch tastes like the offspring of an orange creamsicle and a dry seltzer. The house ginger soda packs a (welcome) punch.

With a reasonable price point for local fish (each lunch entrée was $13), amicable service, and boldly flavored food, Wrightsville Beach Brewery impressed across the board. If I’m ever back here, I will be curious to see how the pizzas (or the shrimp and grits, for that matter) measure up.

Seafood Destiny

 

Located at 4705 West Gate City Boulevard in Greensboro, Seafood Destiny serves Low Country seafood cuisine for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday. There are lunch specials available Fridays and Saturdays and a brunch menu on Sundays. Food can be ordered online for pickup, and delivery is offered through GrubHub.

 

Once a rarity in Greensboro, the seafood boil concept has taken off during the past two years, and Seafood Destiny is a good exemplar thereof. An outgrowth of owner Anthony Knotts’s backyard boils, the restaurant offers various combinations of crab, shrimp, corn, turkey sausage, lobster, and potatoes. Many of these items are also available a la carte, as are shrimp mac and cheese and green beans, and there are a few fish and pasta offerings as well. There’s even a George Floyd Boil, whose proceeds partially go toward a college scholarship for African-American men.

 

As tempting as a full-blown boil was, I opted for something better-suited for one person: the George’s Seafood Hoagie. A lunch-only offering, its price tag seemed ridiculous ($18.95 for a sandwich?!), but the pictures shared via the restaurant's social media made it too tempting to pass up.

 

While Seafood Destiny does offer online ordering, it doesn’t operate in the way that you’d expect. Instead of selecting a pick-up time, you select a check-in time, and your food is made-to-order upon your arrival. While this ensures freshness, it is also likely to try the patience of the hungry, and I can only imagine what the wait times are without the order-ahead option.

 

Fortunately, I didn’t have a particularly long wait (maybe fifteen minutes after arrival), and the sandwich that I was handed by the friendly, hard-working counter staff was worth every penny. The best way to describe George’s Seafood Hoagie is a po boy on steroids. It's a roll generously stuffed with shrimp and crab and lobster and pickles and slathered with spicy-sweet house-made red “Errythang” sauce. It comes with an equally ample portion of thinly sliced herbed potatoes. Hyperbolic as it sounds, every bite was bursting with flavor. This is not an easy sandwich to eat – you’ll need two hands and several napkins – but it is well worth the endeavor.

 

When you’ll actually get your food is a guessing game best not played when hungry, and cheap eats these are not, but for the seafood connoisseur, Seafood Destiny is a must-try.

Sanibel's

Located at 2929 North Main Street in High Point, Sanibel’s serves seafood for dinner Tuesday through Sunday (and lunch on Sundays as well). There are semi-daily (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays) food specials.

Every North Carolina town of a certain size needs at least one classic fried seafood joint. In High Point, Sanibel’s fits the bill. This is the kind of place that looks untouched by time. But you don’t go here for ambiance or innovation. You go to a Sanibel’s because you want cheap, plentiful fried fish that won’t make you sick, and by that measure, Sanibel’s delivers.

Sanibel’s occupies a largish space up North Main with plenty of seating and parking alike. There is a separate entrance for take-out orders, which is what I opted for. I called in ahead, and everything was ready at the time of pick-up.

Though the menu offers steaks, salads, and pasta dishes, seafood is the main draw here. You can get it broiled or fried, in single items or in combinations. My wife and I each went with a small fried combination platter, which came equipped with slaw, hushpuppies, and a choice of potato. We came away with flounder-perch-baked potato and shrimp-clams-fries respectively.

By and large, the food was tasty and satisfying in a predictable, comfort-food way. Everything fried was well-breaded and crispy without excess grease, and there were zero freshness concerns. The popcorn shrimp were tiny yet addictive and won the approval of our begging cat as well. While neither the fries nor the slaw was anything special, the onion-ring lookalike hushpuppies were a standout.

Sanibel’s represents an exceptional value for the money spent. For under $12 per, each “small” combination platter yielded two generously portioned meals’ worth of food. One shudders to think just how much a “large” would include.

I cannot attest to Sanibel’s dine-in experience, and I’m in no rush to find out if they do broiled seafood as well as they do fried, but takeout from this place seems like a smart bet for anyone with a fried fish craving or simply a few mouths to feed.

Cool Springs Fish Bar & Restaurant

Located at 2463 South State Street in Dover, Delaware, Cool Springs Fish Bar & Restaurant specializes in seafood. It is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. There is a full bar with a cocktail menu, and food and drink specials rotate regularly.

Seafood restaurants (of the non-fried variety) have a thin margin for error, so the fact that Cool Springs has lasted nearly twenty years says something in and of itself. While no one will accuse this place of being trendy – or cheap – the food is plentiful and generally well-executed.

A bland white building in a plaza, Cool Springs doesn’t exactly command attention from the road. The inside is quite a bit nicer though: clean, well-lit, and with just enough personality to stave off boredom.

The menu here is a bit of a throwback with crab imperial, flounder Meuniere, crab cakes, steaks, and chops among the offerings. There is something to be said for comfort in familiarity though, and the specials change often enough to ward off ennui. Our group of four split a fried calamari starter, two of us opted for the shellfish pan roast (shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, and a lobster tail with lemon thyme cream sauce) over linguine, and the other two went with a stuffed salmon and a fried flounder (both on special), respectively.

The food did not disappoint. The calamari were crisp and golden brown and lacked both greasiness and chewiness. They were a bit bland, but a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of the accompanying sauce took care of that. The entrees came with a nice assortment of mixed vegetables, and they did not lack in flavor. Neither, for that matter, did the pan roast’s sauce, which the linguine soaked up well. The ratio of seafood-to-carb was favorable, and while the lobster and shrimp were enjoyable, the scallops were a clear standout. One of the clams was not cleaned properly (not cool, Cool Springs), but that was the only hitch in an otherwise quality meal. Should you save room for dessert, the bread pudding and its decadent sauce are winners as well.

Though Cool Springs provides a good amount of food for the money, it is no bargain, even by seafood standards. The pan roast was $25, and most of the entrees are in the $20s. Cathy, our server for the evening, was experienced and personable, and wait times for food seemed about normal.

Cool Springs occupies the unenviable position of being too costly for a regular haunt yet not quite refined enough for an occasion destination. Despite this, it offers tasty seafood and even better desserts for those who are willing to spend.

8/10

Saratoga Grill

Located at 108 South Churton Street in downtown Hillsborough, Saratoga Grill specializes in seafood but also offers sandwiches and salads. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Saturday and for dinner Wednesday through Saturday. There are discounted wines on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and a $10.25 early dinner menu is offered from 5-6:30 p.m. Beer and wine are available.

Dining at the Saratoga Grill is both literally and metaphorically an up-and-down experience. It is located above a shop and accessible via a narrow stairway. Upon reaching the top, you’ll find yourself in a tastefully decorated loft area-turned-dining room. The wall art and lights make for a homey, welcoming feeling. However, in lieu of a hostess stand, you are asked to wait by a small table against the far wall, which puts you awkwardly in the path of servers moving to and fro. Tables are also positioned somewhat close together though not uncomfortably so.

Once seated, you’ll encounter a menu full of classics: clam chowder, French onion soup, a Reuben, a burger, etc. The selection of fish and seafood (including a honey almond salmon and a few scallop dishes) is commendable though, and vegetarians can find solace in a portobello sandwich and a few salad offerings.

For my first visit, I went with a crab salad half sandwich with a cup of French onion soup and a mixed greens salad. The food was competently prepared but unremarkable. The sandwich, as expected, was faux crab, and neither it nor the soup or salad were elevated in any way. However, my wife reported that the hot pastrami sandwich that I brought her was quite tasty.

The pedestrian food here is partially offset by very affordable prices. Whole sandwiches with salads run $8 and under, and for that price, you can substitute a half sandwich and soup while keeping the salad. Downtown Hillsborough is not known for frugality, so this was a welcome surprise.

Saratoga Grill seems to do a fairly brisk lunch business, and, as such, the kitchen moves at a pace that reflects the volume. Servers are friendly and attentive though, and you won’t go without water whilst waiting for that food.

Overall, Saratoga Grill is hard to pin down. The pricing and availability of seafood dishes are certainly draws, but the so-so food and quirky layout/location are causes for hesitation.

7.25/10

Fishbones

Located at 2119 Walker Ave. in Greensboro, Fishbones specializes in fish and seafood dishes. Burgers, salads, and tacos are also available. Fishbones offers a full-service bar, a late-night menu, chalkboard specials, and outdoor seating.

If the intersection of Walker and Elam is a wheel of dining and drinks, then Fishbones is an oft-neglected spoke. It may not boast of quite the same recognition as Sticks n Stones or the Lindley Filling Station, but on food quality alone, it can hang comfortably with, if not outshine, its neighbors.

For a restaurant with “fish” in the name, Fishbones offers a surprising amount of diversity. Thai beef salad, adobo pork tenderloin, Tex-Mex turkey, and a fried bologna sandwich are among the non-piscine menu options. And while a number of these looked tempting, you can’t go wrong by sticking with the ocean’s bounty. The crab soup, a house specialty, was rich and disarmingly spicy (I had expected a smoother, bisque-like soup, but this version is enjoyable in its own right). A snapper on blackboard special tasted fresh, and it was well-paired with fried green tomatoes and a bed of sweet potatoes and greens. My companion’s fried Cajun catfish was light and flaky, and her sides well exceeded expectations. The blackened green beans were smoky and irresistible, the rice and beans were hearty, and the garlic spinach provided a potent kick.

Pricing is quite reasonable for the quality of the food. My companion’s $12.50 catfish was generously portioned and plated; my slightly more expensive snapper somewhat less so. Still, nothing here breaks the bank. Even salmon and tuna entrees top out at $13, and there are plenty of sub-$10 options.

Were this the extent of the Fishbones experience, one could eat here and leave as happy as a clam. However, there is also the ambience to contend with. In terms of décor, Fishbones is essentially an aging bar superficially dressed up with metal fish sculptures. While some find quaint comfort in the well-worn wood floors, there is little of the same to be found in the high stools and closely spaced two-seat tables. Should you opt for outdoor eating, you will have more space but also plenty of traffic (foot and vehicle) to offset it. The servers are generally efficient, but as Fishbones fills up easily, expect slowdowns when busy.

Just like with the other spokes on the dining wheel, the popularity of the Walker-Elam location is both a blessing and a curse. You can expect a lively atmosphere well-suited for a good time among friends, but you can also expect crowding and waits. In Fishbones’ case, you can also expect uncomfortable seating and food that will be good enough to ultimately make it worth your while.

7.75/10