Scientists continually tout the health benefits of fish, but the slithery little buggers can be so iffy/messy/smelly to prepare at home that few people bother.
And really, why bother when restaurants like Harbor Inn Seafood on Wrightsboro Road are available? It offers perfectly palatable seafood at reasonable prices.
The tables and booths are roomy, the dining area brightly lit and the setting so informal that we had to pull utensils out of cellophane. But Harbor Inn is clean and cheery, with a helpful staff committed to smooth sailing, even during the crush of a Sunday lunch.
Menu items include appetizers, salads, cold plates, broiled and fried seafood platters, chicken, steaks, daily specials, lunch sandwiches, a children's menu, desserts and reduced-portion entrees. We like the idea of reduced-portion options for all diners, not just children and seniors, particularly since portions at many restaurants seem intended for none other than Moby Dick. (And people wonder why diners bear a striking resemblance to Moby Dick.)
So did WE opt for the reduced-portion offerings? Well, no. But it's our job to maintain a hearty appetite, right? That's what we'll keep telling ourselves.
We put our appetites to work on broiled jumbo shrimp and scallops ($10.50) and a fried seafood platter ($9.95), the specialty of the house. The platter includes fried flounder, deviled crab, baby shrimp, oysters, stuffed clams and scallops. The quality, we thought, was surprisingly good, considering that the restaurant is a chain dealing in high volume. The scallops were large and tender, the oysters small but plentiful, the breading tasty and the shrimp firm. (We hate mushy shrimp.)
The baked potatoes were small but fresh, and the salad delightfully crisp. Diners can opt for hush puppies or fresh bread with the broiled platters, and we chose the bread. The thick, hot slices were delicious.
Desserts, mostly an assortment of pies, are priced at $1.50 and $1.95. Our Key lime pie ($1.95), which was homemade, was tangy and delicious. We also enjoyed the cheesecake and chocolate silk pie ($1.95 each).
Plastic squeeze bottles of condiments and a basket of margarine/sour cream packets are on every table, so diners are pretty much taken care of before they even sit down. Nevertheless, our server was attentive, except that we almost drowned in a sea of clutter. (Life jackets, unfortunately, aren't supplied.)
We'll definitely keep Harbor Inn in mind next time we go fishing.
ON THE TOWN
THE EATERY: Harbor Inn Seafood, 3404 Wrightsboro Road; (706) 729-0187
HOURS:11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
THE VERDICT: Good, reasonably priced seafood in a family atmosphere. *** 1/2 out of *****
Mary Deriso is the retired general manager of the Pinnacle Club, a private dining club in Augusta. Christine Hurley Deriso is a writer whose children's book, Dreams to Grow On, is available in local bookstores and on Amazon.com.
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