King's Crab Shack creates a beach-party atmosphere with nets, photos, surfboards and mermaids clad in strategically placed stars. A long bar lines one side, tables and chairs the other. The noise level is loud.
Cornbread muffins, delivered soon after seating, bear a touch of cheese over a pleasant crust undergirded by jalapeno.
Appetizers would be a good way to dine here. You can see and taste lumps of crab in the Crab Dip ($8.99) within a creamy cheese concoction, and the kitchen toasts the pita wedges. Calamari ($8.99) arrives in a large portion, fried dark brown and crisp in a cornmeal crust, sharpened with Cajun tomato sauce.
More than a dozen Lemon Garlic Shrimp ($9.99) are large and deveined, sauteed in a well-balanced treatment augmented by green onions, plus grilled bread to soak up lemon-garlic butter. Tender, fresh Prince Edward Island Mussels ($12.99) are bathed in white wine and cream, enhanced with scallions.
Sandwiches have shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato, and onion. Crab Cake ($9.99) gains flavor and texture from the dark brown, crusty exterior of the cake, conveying good balance of crab and breading, with crab flavor evident.
In an Oyster Po' Boy ($9.99), the oysters are crisp, plump and fresh, supplemented by tartar sauce; the breading does not interfere with the oyster taste. A cheeseburger ($7.99) reached the table sans cheese, but a waitress noticed and whisked it back to the kitchen, returning with a properly melted slice. Black Angus beef, seared, emits solid depth of flavor, although the texture tends toward dense and a little firm. Fries are a better product than most — their treated exterior creates a crust, and they actually taste like potato. Both of these are served on a crusty kaiser roll, grilled on the interior.
Steamed shellfish combinations are risky in some restaurants, because one or more items frequently arrive overcooked. But everything in a Dreamy Steamy Bucket ($22.99) was tender and just right — large deveined but not shelled shrimp, plus scallops, clams, mussels, oysters and crab legs. The "full bucket" is large enough to share, although a "for two" serving ($32.99) is also offered. Sauces include spicy cocktail, tartar, horseradish and drawn butter.
There are a couple of entrees on the menu (chicken and beef) plus daily seafood specials. Grilled Grouper ($17.50) was about 1½ inches thick, hot and steamy, accented with lemon and butter — a simple treatment, showcasing freshness. Servers may or may not provide prices of specials, but they are in line with the menu.
The Small House Salad ($3.99) combines iceberg, leaf and romaine lettuces, red onion, grape tomatoes and croutons. Everything comes with coleslaw — sliced cabbage, rather than ground — plus another side. Grilled asparagus is pleasantly smoky. I rarely compliment any kitchen regarding salt, but King's applied just enough to bring out the flavor of the asparagus. Sauteed leaf spinach is accented with lemon. Sliced red bliss potatoes are tender and steamy-hot.
We enjoyed desserts. Key Lime Pie ($4) is tart, with no artificial topping, almost a lime cheese cake. Moist Carrot Cake ($4) bears lots of raisins and a cream-cheese icing. Both of these are made in-house, according to our server.
Orders were taken efficiently, deliveries were prompt and servers checked back at well-timed intervals to make sure everything was OK. But one waitress, in an otherwise commendable effort to make space, tried to consolidate a glass of sparkling wine with another glass of non-sparkling wine.
King's chef-owner is Will Kingery, also chef-owner of Willow's Bistro, along with partner Norb Cooper. James Douglas is manager.
I enjoyed the very casual ambience, especially the seafoods, as well as overall value.
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