Talk about bad timing. The sky blue paint was barely dry on the walls of Shuck 'Em Shack (1177 Timber Drive East; 772-7035), a new seafood restaurant and oyster bar in Garner, when the BP oil spill began wreaking havoc in the oyster market.
With the supply of Gulf oysters all but cut off, owners Phil and Erica Banks have turned elsewhere.
"We've been getting oysters from Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, even Maine," says Phil Banks, "but the prices are going through the roof. Chesapeake Bay oysters have gone up 75 percent in just four days."
Needless to say, oyster availability will be spotty at best all over the South for the foreseeable future. On the bright side, oysters are not the only thing on the menu at Shuck 'Em Shack, whose attractions also include peel 'n' eat shrimp, crab legs, conch fritters and fried seafood platters, as well as landlubber options including wings, burgers and "our almost world famous chicken salad."
In Clayton, Main Street Seafood (312 E. Main St., Clayton; 550-0093) also offers a broad selection of fried seafood. In addition to the usual Calabash suspects, there's coconut shrimp, a specialty that owner James Fawcett brought with him from Miami.
And bone-in catfish, which isn't as easy to eat as the more commonly available fillets, but - as any catfish-ionado will tell you - worth the effort. According to Fawcett, though, what really sets his restaurant apart from the competition is the broiled seafood offering, which includes flounder, trout, shrimp, bay scallops and oysters - pending availability, naturally.
Seafood for takeout
If anyone knows how to weather the storms of the volatile seafood market, it's the Earp family, who have been selling fresh seafood since 1967 at Earp's Seafood on South Saunders Street. Mike Earp, who has long worked on the wholesale side of the family business, has teamed up with his uncle, David Earp, to open Saltwater Seafood & Fry Shack (4 Fenton St.; 834-1813). Part market and part "fry shack," the shop sells fresh fish and shellfish similar to the original Earp's on one side, and fried-to-order seafood on the other.
Fried seafood dinners are priced mostly in the $8 to $10 range (there's an extra charge for broiled, steamed or grilled). Be advised that the restaurant is takeout only. You'll want to bring a stack of napkins along, even if you plan on eating at home. If you've ever succumbed to the aroma of takeout fried seafood on the way home in a car, you'll know what I mean.
In Durham, Ocean Avenue (1301 N. Alston Ave.; 682-5452) is another new takeout-only option. It's the first venture for Shaneika Newell, a recent N.C. Central University graduate whose friendly smile is winning the tiny shop as many fans as her fried seafood. The prices don't hurt, either. The daily special, offered from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., serves up two pieces of fish, choice of two sides (mac 'n' cheese, green beans and fried okra are popular) hushpuppies and drink for $4.99.
