I Bit Into My First Fried Oyster,…

and as my teeth cut through the thin cornmeal crust, a flood of briny oyster juice poured into my mouth. “How did we miss this place last year?” I asked my Favorite Traveling Companion.

For some reason, I thought that Shrimp ‘n Stuff was just another tourist joint located on Seawall Boulevard. But this year our trusty Island Guide set us straight, and we learned that this is "the place where locals love to eat."

So loved by locals that in a two-hour span one afternoon, two local residents asked if we had eaten at Shrimp ‘n Stuff. Fortunately, we had our first visit just that noon and we were able to answer in the affirmative.

“…Shrimp n Stuff has been serving up fresh and budget-friendly seafood since 1976, when Jim Bennett started this neighborhood favorite" (Anamaris Cousins Price at houstonpress.com). “Forget the plain-Jane decor and the counter service: this local hangout serves some of the best shrimp on the Island—boiled, stuffed, rolled in coconut and fried, or wrapped in a po’boy. Our personal fave is the shrimp salad.... Crab balls, crawfish tails, and fried oysters aren’t bad either…” (texasmonthly.com).

We purposely timed our arrival for after 1:00 p.m. in the hopes of avoiding the lunch rush. There, to our dismay, was a bus parked in front (shown in the background in the photo below), and so we anticipated a lengthy wait.

But, by the time we parked the Big White Truck and walked back to the restaurant, the bus was gone. We dodged a bullet that time.

We had our choice of sitting out on the covered patio or indoors.

Since the weather was a bit chilly we opted for indoors where we had our choice of tables.

Shrimp ‘n Stuff is an “order at the counter” restaurant and as we stood plotting our menu choices we repeatedly told others to get ahead of us.

Finally, we reached a decision.

One of the things that intrigued me was the list of a la carte options that included fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, popcorn shrimp, stuffed shrimp (the name is Shrimp ‘n Stuff, after all), fried oysters, fried catfish, fried tilapia, crab balls, and stuffed jalapeños. And so our ultimate choices, a veritable smörgåsbord of fish and seafood, were a sampling from this list.

My two choices were the divine oysters—among the best I have had—that I described in the opening paragraph of this blog and

the large order of six crab balls; these were also crisp on the outside and almost creamy on the inside.

The taste of sweet crab was augmented by unknown—unknown to me—seasonings of which I am sure one was red pepper.

Chuck chose the fried shrimp, one filet of fried catfish, and a side of fries.

The catfish was—like the oysters—among the best we have had. Lightly encased in a cornmeal-based coating, the fish was out-of-the-pond fresh and beautifully flakey. His shrimp, while very good, were the least exciting of the four selections.

We so enjoyed our lunch that not too many days passed before we returned. On this occasion, the weather was perfect for eating

outdoors on the patio where no table didn’t face a sign cautioning against feeding the birds.

And birds a-plenty there were, and we were entertained by both bathing birds

and drinking birds.

Usually it is Chuck who finds something on a menu that he likes and orders the same on every visit. But this time it was me who duplicated the earlier order. Perhaps I was following the philosophy of “(c)urrent owner Jeff Antonelli…as he says, ‘I inherited good stuff, no need to change any of it’" (Anamaris Cousins Price at houstonpress.com).

And both my fried oysters and crab balls were as good as the meal before.

And this may be the right time—if there is ever a right time—to talk about grease. Or, in this case, the lack thereof. The real test of a restaurant that specializes in fried foods, as does Shrimp ‘n Stuff, is whether, once you have finished eating your meal, the plate contains a heavy residue of cooking oil. And on both of our visits such residue was non-existent. Now this may be a result of adequate draining and shaking of the fry basket, but I suspect the reason is that Shrimp ‘n Stuff uses fresh oil and cooks at the right temperature.

At our previous lunch, I shared one—and only one—of my crab balls with Chuck, and he was prepared to order his own a la carte order. And then he saw the crab ball po’ boy on the menu. What could be better? Crab balls on bread.

And, again, we shared a beautiful filet of fried catfish.

“Coastal Living Magazine has named Shrimp n Stuff one of ‘Our 22 Favorite Seafood Dives’ in America. The magazine writes ‘This Galveston institution…still looks like the old-fashioned corner grocery that it used to be. Shrimp, not surprisingly, dominates the menu. The po' boys, with homemade tartar sauce, are especially good…’ Not bad for a dive. Shrimp ‘n Stuff is known locally for its affordable seafood dinners, particularly po' boys, gumbos and salads. Now some tourists might be able to find it, too” (houston.culturemap.com).

Shrimp ‘n Stuff may be a dive, but there’s nothing wrong with that. A popular TV program is centered on finding locally-owned dives. Maybe it’s time for Guy Fieri to travel to Galveston where he will find an outstanding 5.0 seafood dive.

To review the role of Adler, Kitty Humbug, and the Addie rating system, read the November 14, 2011 blog.

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