Seafood World

FOOD

Unlimited snow crab is Seafood World’s calling card, but the rest of the buffet deserves a proper look. Calabash fried shrimp, oysters and flounder give it a coastal identity; grilled salmon, broiled crabmeat and mussels in marinara keep that identity from stopping at the fryer. Prime rib and ribeye add the steakhouse streak. There is quite a dinner here before anyone gets to dessert.

The snow crab legs are included and unlimited, with all the picking and cracking that makes a crab dinner an occupation in its own right. Steamed white clams, blue crab and crawfish keep the shell-on seafood company. Blue crab in particular brings crab to the table in another form, alongside the legs that have become the buffet’s main attraction.

The Calabash dishes take a different route. Large fantail shrimp, fried oysters, sea scallops and flounder follow the coastal tradition of light batter around seafood. Shrimp may be the familiar starting point, but oysters and scallops deserve attention within the same spread. Flounder makes it a fish dinner as well, and hushpuppies supply the Southern cornmeal companion that belongs so naturally beside fried seafood.

Grilled Atlantic salmon gives the fryer a little competition. Mahi-mahi and grouper also appear on the buffet menu, so the fish offering reaches beyond fried flounder. Broiled shrimp belongs to this side of the seafood program too. For someone drawn to the seafood itself rather than the Calabash treatment, those names are worth noticing, with corn and mixed vegetables among the available accompaniments.

Mussels in marinara bring a tomato-based sauce into the conversation. Broiled crabmeat and deviled crabs offer crab already worked into a dish, leaving the shell-opening to the snow crab and blue crab. Shrimp appears on skewers as well as broiled and fried. It is a useful reminder that the same seafood can lead to very different dinners: fried fantails, broiled shrimp and skewers each have a place here.

The beef has not been left to make a token appearance. Prime rib and ribeye give the buffet two substantial reasons to take the steakhouse side seriously, while baby back ribs and smoked sausage extend the meat offering. The nautical decor may suggest an exclusively seafood dinner, but the menu leaves plenty of room for a decided interest in beef and ribs.

Macaroni and cheese brings familiar comfort to the spread, with broccoli with cheese and corn on the cob among the other sides. These dishes sit easily with both the fried seafood and the ribs. Salad offers a simpler interlude. Along with the hushpuppies, the accompaniments keep the restaurant grounded in the American and Southern traditions that run through its seafood-and-steak menu.

The dessert bar is included. Lobster and king crab, however, are individually priced on the separate à la carte menu. Anyone coming with those in mind should keep that distinction clear: snow crab is the unlimited crab included in the buffet. The separate menu offers another way to approach dinner, without changing what the buffet price covers.