
DATE: Sunday, April 27, 1997                TAG: 9704240161

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 16   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: EATING OUT 

TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW 

SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: KITTY HAWK                        LENGTH:  102 lines

PIER RESTAURANT PROVIDES FRESH FISH, CHEAP EATS - AND A GREAT VIEW

Shimmering sheets of rain cascade down the restaurant windows. Gray flannel clouds eclipse the setting sun. An early evening downpour blankets the beach in a dense fog.

But inside the old eatery on the west end of Kitty Hawk Pier, the coffee is hot, the fish is fresh and the sunshine-yellow formica tables seem to exude warmth around the fishermen's wet waders.

Many patrons in this pier restaurant obviously have been chased indoors by the rain. Sipping steaming coffee atop chrome stools at the counter, sampling thick slices of lemon pie, they wait for the storm to moderate so they can get back to the dripping rods they've leaned against the pier railings.

Others, however, have come solely for supper. Most don't even have to eye the specials board to know that tonight is crabcake night. The regulars are well aware of the rotating specials - and many have memorized the one-page menu.

I'd been to Kitty Hawk Pier for breakfast plenty of times. For the past 43 years, its waitresses have served some of the cheapest, tastiest eye-openers on the Outer Banks. But last week was the first time I had ever eaten dinner there.

The meal was filling. The food was tasty. And the price was about as good as it gets: $32 fed four people - including appetizers, drinks and dessert.

``This place is as cozy as Grandma's house,'' my friend Laura said, glancing around at the short cotton curtains adorned with yellow ducks and the pastel vinyl tablecloths checkered with pink and blue sheep. Signs saying ``Gone Fishin' '' and ``Welcome Friends'' are tacked to the dark panelled walls. Bright cardboard boxes of single serving breakfast cereals are stacked next to the ice tea machine.

And the view from two walls of windows is over the ocean. Waves break right under the eatery's back booths. And surfers - who braved the storm - provided an enticing, entertaining backdrop for diners.

Kitty Hawk Pier's restaurant is far from fancy. Its floors are bare. Its lighting is bright. Its silverware comes in small white paper bags. Its patrons - and workers - wear sweatshirts and jeans. The food is simple and straightforward, mostly fried seafood.

And the most expensive item on the menu is a 12-oz. Delmonico steak: $10.95.

Laura and I ordered the crabcake dinner special, which came with hushpuppies and two vegetables ($4). I took a third crabcake plate home for my husband. And our friend, Judy, sampled the seafood platter ($9.95) and a bowl of clam chowder ($2.50). Each meal included iced tea or coffee. And our waitress kept the oversized cups constantly filled.

About two fingers tall and the size of a coaster, the crabcakes were well breaded and flavorful - but could have contained more crabmeat. They were lightly fried and not too greasy. A hint of green onion subdued the seafood and added a little zest.

I ordered applesauce and french fries with my entree. Laura chose cabbage and boiled potatoes. All were tasty and well cooked.

But nothing compared with the hushpuppies. Each meal included two of the golfball-sized cornbread balls. And we ordered an extra basket of hushpuppies ($1) halfway through our dinner. Crispy and golden brown on the outside, warm and doughy on the inside, these treats are made from a mix - but are among the best on the beach. There's something sweet in them, too, which tastes more like a muffin than regular cornmeal fritters.

``Everybody remarks on those hushpuppies. It's just how we've always done 'em,'' said our waitress, Sherry. ``There's customers come back every summer just for some of those.''

The clam chowder at Kitty Hawk Pier Restaurant is served Hatteras style - with a water-based broth instead of New England's cream stock or Manhattan's tomato style. Chunks of carrots, potatoes and onions floated in the thin soup. Clams were small but plentiful.

Seafood platters at this eatery include two vegetables, a crabcake, six jumbo fried shrimp (with the tails on), six fried oysters and a piece of fish. Judy's catch of the day was fried trout - straight out of the sound. ``The breading on this food is wonderful,'' she said, popping another oyster into her mouth. ``It's just the right amount. Light and crunchy - but not enough to overpower the food.''

Full as we were from dinner, we decided we had to have dessert. Pies at this restaurant are made elsewhere and brought in daily. But cobblers and strawberry shortcakes are prepared at the pier. So we ordered a cherry cobbler ($1.50) and shortcake ($2.50). Each was enormous - the size of two regular desserts. The cobbler was a bit dry, Laura said. But my shortcake was stupendous. About a pint of sliced strawberries was strewn across a slab of yellow sheetcake, dripping juices into the cake and forming a sticky glaze. Five giant dollops of whipped cream crowned the delicious creation, a fine finishing touch to a simple seafood supper. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON

Deanie Bowers, 71, left and Bobby Bowers, 74, both of Jackson,

N.C., sit at the Kitty Hawk Restaurant. ``We know all the

waitresses,'' Deanie Bowers said. ``We've been coming here for 60

years.''

Graphic

HOW TO EAT THERE

What: Kitty Hawk Pier Restaurant

When: Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Where: Milepost 1 on the beach road in Kitty Hawk

Handicapped accessible: Ramp on pier, no steps

Credit cards: None

Drinks: Bottled beer served only with food