Well! Our Director of Marketing, Adam, asked me to start a blog for our company called OBX Eats. He knows me too well! I know the Outer Banks, I like to eat... wah-lah! Now I'll have some stuff to add here and kill 2 birds with one stone. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it makes you want to come visit me. C'mon down! (or Up!)
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Welcome to the first installment of our new blog series, OBX Eats!
In addition to loving the role that I play at Seaside Vacations, I am closet foodie. OK, maybe not in the closet, since everyone knows how much I enjoy a yummy meal. You know how they say that you can't trust a skinny chef? Yeah, well...
This weekend my husband and I joined a few friends at The Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk, so I thought I’d share our experience. If you haven't been there, you need to go. Really. You could go now if you wanted. Heck, I may be back there right now!
The Black Pelican is one of the more popular restaurants on Outer Banks. It's one of the few places that allow you to enjoy panoramic ocean views from the upstairs dining room and outside deck. Here are some fun facts: the building was constructed in 1874 and used as a United States Lifesaving Station #6. Back in the day, the building also served as an active weather bureau! The Wright Brothers used this information to plan their experimental flights. In 1903, after their successful First Flight, the Wright Brothers sent the telegraph announcement from Station #6. Cool, right?! Ah-hem, the FOOD?!
The Black Pelican has ample parking and lots of space inside. If you get there at the right time, they can accommodate larger parties. They serve lunch & dinner, and they cater. The menu is large and diverse. Choices include fresh seafood, salads, steaks, vegetarian choices, options for kids, and they have a wood oven for delicious pizza. They have a great raw bar, too! I know, you're thinking, "Yeah, yeah. Get to It, girlie. What about the FOOD?!
For appetizers, we enjoyed 2 orders of Drunken Crab, the Spicy Cajun Fish Bites (tuna), and Tuna Tatake’. For normal people, that would have been enough for dinner. Thankfully, we aren’t normal. The Drunken Crab is unreal. If you like crab, get it and thank me later. It comes in a huge martini glass, rimmed with Old Bay seasoning. It is ALL lump crab, none of that stringy stuff, and it’s tossed in a softly spiced Bloody Mary mix. Yum-o! The tuna bites were cooked to perfection and were served with the house-made Ranch dressing. If you put good Ranch on a flip flop, I’d probably eat it, but I digress. The tuna tar-tar was ICE cold, the wasabi was sinus busting, and the seaweed salad was to die for. It’s a huge portion – enough to share if you aren’t selfish. Which I am. So I ate it all when everyone was busy chatting.
Dinner was just as delish. We all had the seafood special: Artichoke and Parmesan Encrusted Tilefish with Spinach, Wild Rice, and crisps of fried sweet potato strings. Tilefish, if you’ve never had it, is a white, tender, flaky fish, much like Rockfish/Striped Bass, but I think it’s a little sweeter. It was cooked perfectly and just flaked up. I should not, in any stretch of the imagination, have eaten the whole thing. I did, though. Scraped the remaining sauce with my toasted pita wedge, and everything. It was a spectacle, I admit. Try it for yourself and see if YOU can hold back!
If you’ll be in town the week of March 17-20, 2012, The Black Pelican is participating the OBX Restaurant Association’s Taste of the Beach. Maybe you’ll see me there!
Eat Local. Always.
Colleen
Have you been to the Black Pelican? Do you have a place that’d you’d like me to review? Post a comment and let me know!
The Black Pelican
MP 4, Oceanfront
Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
Phone: (252) 261-3171
Open Every Day Year-Round for Lunch (11:30am to 4:00pm), Dinner (4:00pm - Until) & Late-Night Menu (Until -11pm)
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