Bennett’s Calabash Seafood #2

FOOD

Snow crab legs and Calabash fried seafood are the headline attractions at Bennett’s #2. Crab legs are available as a buffet option; confirm the crab-included selection when choosing the buffet. Around that option, fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried oysters, fried clams and fried flounder give Calabash frying a substantial share of the dinner. The lightly battered style runs across several kinds of seafood rather than stopping at shrimp.

Homemade crabcakes and broiled crab meat put crab into two further hot dishes. Steamed oysters and steamed clams sit alongside their fried counterparts, and black mussels widen the shellfish selection. These are different preparations of seafood within the same buffet, giving the crab feast more company than a row of fried fish alone. Oysters and clams each appear in both steamed and fried form, a real distinction within the spread.

Shrimp continues through scampi, Bang Bang shrimp and shrimp fried rice. The fried Calabash shrimp belongs to the main fried group, while these dishes expand shrimp into other preparations. Thai chili salmon supplies a clearly defined salmon dish beyond the fried fish. Between salmon and the several shrimp dishes, the hot seafood has individual entrées to notice as well as the headline shellfish. The buffet offers seafood cooked in several directions within one meal.

Prime rib and rib-eye steaks make the beef portion of the buffet substantial in its own right. Both are included among the buffet foods, with grilled chicken, Southern fried chicken, chicken tenders and fresh country sausage supplying the rest of the land dishes. This is where the country side of the restaurant’s description becomes a dinner rather than an afterthought. Beef and fried chicken can carry a complete meal for somebody sharing the table with a shellfish enthusiast.

Macaroni and cheese, candied yams, cheesy broccoli, corn and seasonal vegetables provide the accompaniments. The yams and macaroni and cheese belong naturally beside the country meats, and the seafood has the same sides available. Seasonal vegetables vary with the selection. Soup adds New England clam chowder, with a rotating daily special alongside it. The chowder keeps seafood in the bowl as well as on the plate, while the changing soup brings a little variation to the program.

The cold selections include spiced peel-and-eat shrimp, Cajun crawfish, shrimp salad and crabmeat salad. Peeling shrimp gives that part of the meal some of the hands-on involvement of crab legs, and the prepared seafood salads offer another form of shrimp and crab. Greens and garden vegetables complete the salad selection. These dishes extend the seafood dinner beyond the hot pans without turning the salad portion into a requirement for anyone more interested in shellfish.

Banana pudding, cheesecake, ice cream and hot cobbler finish the buffet, with pies and cakes also in the dessert selection. Pudding and cobbler give the sweets a familiar country-dinner character beside the cheesecake and cakes. Selection varies with availability. Separate kitchen platters are also sold, but the buffet itself combines crab-leg options, a broad Calabash fried group, other hot and cold seafood, beef and country dishes. Dessert is included in that full buffet meal.