Calabash/NC Seafood Thread

FWIW.My parents (RIP) use to go eat Calabsh once a year-from Long Beach vacations. Pops talks to one of the managers one evening All the shrimp in town has been Gulf Shrimp for years
 
Thank you all for your comments! Still a couple months out from getting back to the Old North State, but I'll let ya'll know what I get into here at that time.

In the meanwhile, I hope we can keep this thread going just like the BBQ thread. Some of my fondest memories are of the old fish houses back home. One of my favorites is Jay's Seafood on Stony Gap Rd in Stanly County, outside Albemarle. It was like eating in the bowels of a mid-nineteenth Century wooden ship. Had a great buffet, with seafood and country style. Food was shit, of course, from the perspective of good cuisine but that's not the point. Sometimes greasy, fried crap is what you need. And it delivered. Unfortunately, Jay's on Stony Gap burned down last December. Hopefully they recover and open up again, but I doubt it will be the same. There's still a Jay's in downtown Albemarle.

Joel's on Lake Tillery in the 90s was a great spot. (I grew up in Stanly County, obviously.) They moved down to Anson in their last days. Was still good but not the same without the lake right there out the window as you were eating. Had great shrimp! And I'm a total shrimp boy!

Any seafood spots and fish houses around the state (or in SC on the NC line, for that matter), please share. Good stuff! And it's been fun sharing my hush puppies with my California coworkers. Ha!
 
MendotoManteo said:
Some of my fondest memories are of the old fish houses back home. One of my favorites is Jay's Seafood on Stony Gap Rd in Stanly County, outside Albemarle. It was like eating in the bowels of a mid-nineteenth Century wooden ship. Had a great buffet, with seafood and country style. Food was shit, of course, from the perspective of good cuisine but that's not the point. Sometimes greasy, fried crap is what you need. And it delivered. Unfortunately, Jay's on Stony Gap burned down last December. Hopefully they recover and open up again, but I doubt it will be the same. There's still a Jay's in downtown Albemarle.

Joel's on Lake Tillery in the 90s was a great spot. (I grew up in Stanly County, obviously.) They moved down to Anson in their last days. Was still good but not the same without the lake right there out the window as you were eating. Had great shrimp! And I'm a total shrimp boy!

Any seafood spots and fish houses around the state (or in SC on the NC line, for that matter), please share. Good stuff! And it's been fun sharing my hush puppies with my California coworkers. Ha!
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All your talk about fish camps reminded me of this place which was out Sugar Creek Rd in Derita. Griffin’s was an old school fish camp out in the woods. Like many fish camps, it burned down due to the grease build up in the ventilation fans.

IMG_0490.webp
 
farce© said:
All your talk about fish camps reminded me of this place which was out Sugar Creek Rd in Derita. Griffin’s was an old school fish camp out in the woods. Like many fish camps, it burned down due to the grease build up in the ventilation fans.

IMG_0490.webp
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That looks like it would be a hell of a menu! Thank you for sharing! Hate it too went down in flames.

You call them "fish camps." Most everyone in Stanly County always called them "fish houses," although I have heard the fish camp term. Makes me wonder what explains the difference in terminology. They're obviously interchangeable, but is "fish camp" more commonly used the further west we go in the state? I don't know, because I have little perspective on Eastern NC terminology. Although close to Charlotte, Stanly County kind of a transitional space since it's right there before you hit the Sandhills. Not Eastern NC, certainly, but in between sort-of.

Any Eastern NC folks care to give perspective here?
 
Croatoan said:
Growing up, one night of every Myrtle Beach vacation week was dedicated to Calabash seafood. No putt-putt, no Wings, no fireworks, no boardwalk…just the best fried seafood, hushpuppies, and sweet tea on Earth followed by the night of oily squirts that it cost. Good times.
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Same here. I have to say I enjoyed going to Myrle a lot more when I was a kid and a teenager than I do now. I'd rather go to the OBX now.
 
I’m from Cabarrus County and we had fish camps. Stanly County was where we used to ride around and smoke weed back when we were young and your car was the only place to party! Driving Hwy 73 from Concord out through Mt Pleasant and Albemarle on to Morrow Mountain was one of our regular routes.
 
MendotoManteo said:
. . .. Any Eastern NC folks care to give perspective here?
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I'm from Eastern NC. I was a junior in high school when I first hear the term "fish camp" from my neighbor, who was from outside Winston Salem. He explained it to me in words that translate into today's language as: the cultural segment of the dining industry in Eastern NC that is occupied by BBQ joints is occupied by fish camps in Western Piedmont NC.
 
Asheville back in the 70s had numerous "Pisgah Fish Camps" scattered around town. In Southern Pines/Pinehurst area we had Russel's Fish House. They had red Cole slaw which was unusual but popular. Maybe like the dialectic and philanthropic societies where Carolina got the blue white colors folks in the West have Fish Camps and in the East we have Fish Houses? I don't remember where the dividing line was/is or which was blue or white.
 
farce© said:
I’m from Cabarrus County and we had fish camps. Stanly County was where we used to ride around and smoke weed back when we were young and your car was the only place to party! Driving Hwy 73 from Concord out through Mt Pleasant and Albemarle on to Morrow Mountain was one of our regular routes.
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You and I could probably have some great conversations!
 
farce© said:
All your talk about fish camps reminded me of this place which was out Sugar Creek Rd in Derita. Griffin’s was an old school fish camp out in the woods. Like many fish camps, it burned down due to the grease build up in the ventilation fans.

IMG_0490.webp
Click to expand...
2 of my parent's favorite fish camps in the county I grew up in both burned down within a few months of one another over two decades ago. I remember that one was definitely burned by a grease fire, and I think the other was too. Now there's only one fish camp left in the whole county, and there were about four when I was growing up. Good food at a cheap price.
 
This is interesting, hearing you all talk about "fish camps" as opposed to "fish houses." It sounds like it may be a matter of geographical divide. We may have stumbled on to something here.
 
If there truly is a terminology difference between Western and Eastern NC, then it puts us potentially in the BBQ dilemma: which is better? Lol. Obviously not quite the same but interesting nonetheless.
 
I grew up in Rowan, and everyone I knew referred to the fish restaurants as fish camps. It seemed that Stanly County was where most RoCo people went. Stony Gap was a regular. I still like to buy Stony Gap red slaw at the grocery store to eat with homemade BBQ.

Regarding Calabash, my wife and I tend to stop by Becks on the way to the beach. Their homemade cocktail sauce has quite the horseradish bite, which is to my liking. Becks has more of an old time fish camp vibe.
 
I grew up in Hickory. When my mom’s parents came to visit for the weekend we would always go to one of the fish camps on Lake Hickory. My mom and grandmother would always get fried catfish. My grandfather and I would always get fried oysters.
 
Jones Tranquil Harbor Restaurant was my family's go-to for decades. I don't think it exists anymore though.

Long Beach/Yaupon Beach --> Now known as Oak Island I believe.
 
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