Southern Fried Seafood and Hushpuppies … Yum ! When visiting the beautiful Grand Strand on your next vacation trip you will undoubtedly encounter many restaurants advertising World Famous Calabash Style Seafood . These are the facts concerning that delicious fare .
North Carolina is known for its bountiful seafood harvested from its coastal waters . And , Calabash is a small town located just across the border from South Carolina and only minutes from downtown North Myrtle Beach , in Brunswick County that inspired that name (and now style) of Calabash seafood . In fact , this small town goes so far as to tout itself as being the Seafood Capital of the World .
Calabash got its name from a vegetable that is grown in the area-a gourd . Residents once dried these gourds out to use them as drinking vessels . It was not until the 1930s that this small town of approximately 700 residents started to become known for its fabulous fried seafood . Today it boasts dozens of Calabash Seafood Restaurants .
These delicious seafoods are lightly breaded and fried and typically served buffet style and are always accompanied with the ever popular side dish-hushpuppies . Corn meal is used instead of flour to give the seafood a light coating . The seafood is then fried in hot oil until it becomes golden brown .
Nothing beats the crispy crunch and delicate flavor of batter-fried fish and seafood . While the simplest coating for fried fish is simple seasoned flour , batters form a protective coating that seals in flavor and has a pleasing texture . Calabash style buffets are also in many southeastern coastal towns . Myrtle Beach , SC is home to a great majority of these restaurants as the city is very close to Calabash , NC . Their way of frying seafood became so well known and popular across the Carolinas that “Calabash-Style Shrimp” is listed on menus at seafood restaurants throughout North and South Carolina .
In Seafood World Restaurant’s Menu you will get huge portions , oftentimes with a combination plate of several types of seafood – shrimp , various kinds of fish , crab , oysters , etc. … and hushpuppies . You also find local seafood , lightly floured and fried quickly . It has some spice , but not overpowering .
When visiting the Myrtle Beach area you have got to give Calabash Style Seafood Buffets a try . You will be glad you did !