THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408190217
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
PICKETT'S SEAFOOD HUT is hard for motorists to miss. The restaurant advertises on four billboards along U.S. 158, including a double-sided one directly in front of the dark brown wooden building with big orange letters.
I wanted to know if the food was equally as grabbing and worth the trip that my family and I made one weekend from Elizabeth City, 30 miles away.
People have been coming to Tina and Ervin Pickett's place since it began as a tiny takeout stand several years ago. Tina Pickett, a Jarvisburg native, said jokingly that ``the lack of sense'' drove the couple into the restaurant business.
``Every year we had a cookout at our house,'' she said. ``And the last time we had a cookout at the house, 400 people came.''
Eight months after opening the takeout stand, the Picketts relocated across the highway, and they moved into their present quarters seven summers ago.
On our recent trip, we walked past an open porch adorned with a couple of ceramic figures, whole watermelons and about a dozen pink plastic lawn chairs. We immediately felt better about our extremely casual attire.
This is definitely a come-as-you-are kind of place.
Smoking is permitted in all areas of the dining lounge, and about the only no-no is plate sharing on the popular all-you-can-eat meals.
The 21-table dining area is open and made more intimate by the low ceiling, which held numerous fans, and peach ruffled curtains adorning large windows on three sides of the restaurant.
Nautical prints, paintings and wall ornaments add to the ambience. The buzz of patrons' conversations and hum from several wall air conditioning units drowned out Country Music Television videos playing on a corner TV.
We were immediately seated and served complimentary hush puppies. I think there were eight in the paper bowl, but my two daughters devoured them before I could count.
Though smaller than hush puppies served in some other restaurants, the batter-fried cornmeal dough was light enough to quell hunger pangs without ruining dinner.
The Picketts remain mum on the secret recipe.
My husband decided on iced tea (99 cents) and the unlimited fried shrimp and scallops for $11.50.
Our waitress, Kim, came out several times to refill his plate with lightly battered, bite-sized shrimp and scallops. The waitstaff was always friendly, prompt and attentive.
I opted for the stuffed flounder, one of the evening's specials, for $9.99. Shrimp, scallops and imitation snowcrab meat burst from the center incision of a fresh fish, with tender and flaky meat, broiled in liquid butter for 20 minutes.
Mine was the only dish served in something other than Styrofoam or paper products.
Both our entrees came with two vegetables. I had a huge baked potato, heated to perfection and smothered with about five of the butter patties on our table. The steamed vegetable medley of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower came piping hot, too.
My husband had his meal served with rice and a heaping order of crisp shoestring french fries. They disappeared quickly.
``None of our stuff is prebreaded, except for the clam strips,'' Tina Pickett said. Most of the seafood, she added, is caught locally.
The Picketts also operate neighboring Grandy Seafood Market, where fresh shrimp currently sells for $4.99 to $7.99 a pound. A mixed bushel of crab goes for $18 a bushel; bushels of all-male crabs run $30.
A small retail center chock full of souvenirs completes the mini-complex.
Pickett's Seafood Hut also has a kids menu for the 12-and-under crowd. For $1.99, children can select from five different meals served with french fries and hush puppies or a roll, plus a 12-ounce drink.
My 5-year-old had the fried shrimp plate, while her 7-year-old sister had your standard cheeseburger boat. Both gave their generously portioned meals a big thumbs up.
We'd pretty much decided to bypass dessert until I made a trip to the restroom and passed the cake and pie display. These confections, it turns out, were made the day before by a baker who visits weekly.
We split a $1.25 piece of German chocolate cake with wonderfully gooey pecan and coconut frosting and sprang for a piece of Pickett's Surprise pie for $1.35.
Served hot or cold, the ``suprise'' was a chocolate concoction with coconut and pecans which we elected to have heated. It was rich, ultrasweet and the perfect denouement to our eating adventure.
A sugar-free dessert also is available nightly.
Reservations are not required, but the place quickly filled on the Saturday we were there. We arrived at 5:15 p.m., and there wasn't an empty table by 6, with a few families already on a waiting list.
Pickett's serves mostly locals during the off tourist season. During our stay most parking lot cars had Virginia license tags.
``The majority of them are just passing through,'' our waitress said. ``But they always come back.''
Guess they discovered, as I did that evening, that Pickett's Seafood Hut deserves top billing - four times over. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by Drew C. Wilson
Pickett's Seafood Hut in Grandy dishes up a homey atmosphere and
lots of fresh, local seafood.
PICKETT'S SEAFOOD HUT
Where: Grandy, on U.S. 158 in Currituck County
Phone: 453-3456
Hours: Tuesdays-Thursdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays
and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Mondays.
Prices: Dinner entrees range from a four-ounce steak for $4.99 to
Pickett's Grave Digger Special for $15.99. Homemade sandwiches and
salads also available for $1.99 to $4.50.
Children's menu: Five selections, each $1.99, including a drink.
Smoking: Throughout restaurant.
Drinks: Pickett's does not serve alcoholic beverages. Soft
drinks, iced tea and milk are 99 cents. Coffee, hot tea and hot
chocolate are 75 cents.
Credit cards: VISA and MasterCard
Takeout: Yes
Reservations: For parties of more than eight. The restaurant also
is available for some private parties, such as family reunions, on
weekdays, including Mondays.
Accessibility: Handicapped ramp available.
by CNB