CUISINE
CRABS GALORE
Shell Shack
By Margaret Word Burnside and Aaron R. Fodiman
Oysters at the Shell Shack come shucked raw on the half shell by the dozen or
half-dozen, or coated in cornbread and fried if you prefer.
154 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2021
The Shell Shack is also
known for its signature
drinks, such as its Blue
Hawaiian, which is made
with rum, Blue Curacao,
Real CoCo and pineapple
juice; the rum-based Shell
Shack Marina; and an
awesome adult cherry limeade. All drinks
are created at the long bar, which has
seating inside and out to create a fun
atmosphere.
Try to leave room for one of their special
desserts. The carrot cake is served with a
caramel gelato and the ultimate three-layer
chocolate cake comes with chocolate
hazelnut gelato. You can also choose from
raspberry cheesecake, bread pudding, fried
bread pudding, fried cheesecake, funnel
cake fries and a scoop of gelato or sorbet.
This casual fun-filled restaurant is filled
with friendly servers who want to make
you feel at home as you enjoy this different
concept for Florida. We loved the surgical
automatic hand washer that we used to
clean up after enjoying our crab boil. The
overall experience and food make for an
enjoyable time at Shell Shack. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Shell Shack is
located in Westfield Countryside Mall on
U.S. Highway 19 N. in Clearwater on the
south side between PF Chang and Red Robin,
(727) 947-9233.
Shell Shack, located
in We s t f i e l d
Countryside Mall
between PF Chang
and Red Robin in
Clearwater, is a Texas
chain serving seafood
favorites ranging from
crawfish to catfish with an emphasis on
crabs. You can begin your meal here with
delicious crab stuffed tater tots, crispy
calamari, alligator tenders, fried crawfish
tails, catfish bites, or Buffalo wings in a
variety of flavors, then move on to one of
their signature infused wet marinade
seasonal boils, where you choose the type
of crab, King, snow or Dungeness; shrimp
or crawfish; and then pick a flavor such
as Naked (natural), Cajun, garlic, lemon
pepper or an all-in-one, which is known
as the Kitchen Sink. Likewise, you can
pick the heat level you prefer from mild,
medium, hot or Diablo. With those
decisions made, you can also add sausage,
potatoes or corn to the mix, and it will be
prepared together. However, if you prefer
having your boil de-shelled and served
with a side of orzo pasta in a garlic and
white wine sauce, you can order it Uptown
style for an additional charge.
Platters are served with fresh hand cut
fries, hush puppies and your choice of
sauces. The Boss Platter has two fried
catfish fillets and eight fried shrimp. The
VIP has 1¼ pounds of snow crab, a pound
of boiled shrimp, two corn servings, three
potatoes and three pieces of sausage. Date
Night platters have 1¼ pounds of snow
crab, 1 pound of boiled shrimp, a pound
of King crab, four corn servings, six
potatoes and six pieces of sausage. The
Heavyweight platter, which feeds five or
six people, has 2 ½ pounds of snow crab,
2 pounds of boiled shrimp, 1 pound of
King crab, two fried catfish fillets, eight
fried shrimp, eight corn servings,
12 potatoes and 12 pieces of sausage.
There are other options, such as fried
catfish, fried shrimp, Buffalo shrimp and
a fried Buffalo chicken sandwich, or from
the grill, there are garlic butter marinated
shrimp, a grilled chicken sandwich and a
half-pound burger. In addition, they have
a house salad, a Caesar salad and a blue
cheese wedge salad, plus two great soups
– a New England clam chowder, and a
New Orleans-style chicken and sausage
gumbo. Whatever you order, don’t miss
their perfectly steamed and buttery
broccoli side dish.
GRAM