I work with a bunch of great guys, and some of our work takes us to the South. Murrles Inlet is a suburb to Myrtle Beach – as if Myrtle Beach can have a suburb – you head south on the main road Kings Hwy or 17 – despite direct directions from my GPS – I made a wrong turn or two and thank heavens for the magical words ‘Recalculating’ are not as menacing as the Allstate commercials make it out to be.
I pull in and the parking lot is deserted save the two couples sitting down by the boats pointing to the pelican’s flying by. I have to admit – those are some huge birds. I mean, I am just saying. Furthermore, there are about 3,000 seagulls to every human in SC – The Great Carolina Wren is their state bird – why did we in Utah get stuck with the Seagull. I know, I know it was the darn crickets/grasshoppers.
Drunken Jacks was recommended by the guys at work, so I moseyed over there on Sunday for Lunch after working on the laptop in the hotel for work. I really didn’t know if they were going to be open for lunch, so I was shooting in the dark for hope as I was starving.
What I ordered:
- Jumbo Shrimp
- Gruper Po-Boy Sandwich
- Sweet Tea
- Key Lime Pie
The Jumbo Shrimp came out and were nestled on top of rice pilaf. Now folks, these shrimp looked fantastic. They were grilled and you could see the seasoning on the shrimp – and while they were not the largest shrimp out there – they were nice sized and were ample for an appetizer set.
One bite into these shrimp, you could tell there was someone who knew how to execute a recipe or cook at the grill. There was what I could detected was Old Bay seasoning – you bite in and the shrimp is moist, and just firm enough to tell you its cooked – and not over cooked. The remulaude sauce on the side, had the same Old Bay seasoning, and had a dash of hot sauce.
Now, lets get to the pilaf. This is pilaf, you can see there were ingredients other than the rice and orzo bits – there were onions, green and sweet – that gave the pilaf texture. And when you took a fork full, you knew yes again they cooked this with stock – as there was flavor in every bite – in the actual rice and pasta. Folks – this is how you cook.
I finished my 3rd sweet tea at this point – the stuff is almost like a natural liquid down here in the South. It’s every bit flavorful, its not watery – its just right. Not to sweet – not to Tea-ey (it may not be a word but tough) and you can pound a gallon of that stuff in nothing flat. The ice and lemon are a nice touch. Ice is required – the lemon a garnish.
Well, the grouper po-boy arrives and the thing is huge. I place the remnants of the remulaude sauce and tarter sauce on the po-boy and start the feast. The batter on the fish was just enough to retain salt and the crunchy exterior held the sauces. As I progressed through the sandwich – the sauces oozed out and I used my fries as a retrieval vessel.
One of the best things about this dish was the coleslaw. Now it was creamy like the coleslaw’s of the west – however, this had a tich of sweetness – again not overpowering. It was nice, very nice – I asked how did you make this? “We have sugar, apple cider vinegar and sweet relish.” Hmmmm – nice and crunchy. I placed some of this on the sandwich – and lordy, lordy – slap your momma I am home!
I almost didn’t have room for dessert. However, when my waitress Michelle Beard suggested Key Lime Pie – a crevase in my gullet opened up. Just enough for this pie. The key lime pie was very creamy – more creamy than what I would have imagined. However, the wonder part of the pie was the crust.
As I was paying Michelle brought me a little tasting of She-Crab Soup. It was very delightful, and yes creamy. Michelle also loaded me up with a batch of hush puppies in a white paper back with some honey butter.
As a note, I came back to the hotel and switched into my PJ’s and zonked straight away asleep. Almost a 2 hour nap – that felt amazing – after an amazing meal!
While writing this, I nuked them in my hotel microwave and dipped them in the honey butter. They were salty, sweet and very tasty.
Location:
4031 Highway 17, Business
Murrles Inlet, SC 29576
1.843.651.2044
