By David Jones

The summer is a great time for trips and I often see OBX stickers on cars around our area so I thought I would do a piece on our dining experiences in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We split our stay between Kill Devil Hills and Duck, so we also tried a variety of different eating options.

First up was Henry’s near mile marker 4.5 on the Croatian Highway.  We didn’t know anything about this place and just stopped in need of a quick dinner.  What a mistake!  I’m always suspect when I see lots of empty tables in a restaurant at dinner time during the height of the tourist season.  We were seated right away, so that wasn’t a problem, but then we waited a good 20 minutes to get menus.

Once we placed our order it wasn’t worth the wait.  Lin got shrimp that wasn’t even eatable.  My chicken dish was hard and dry.  Our waitress had a very foul body odor that lingered long after she had left the table.  The party of 6 in the booth next to us got tired of waiting for service and got up and left before they even got to order.

I will say that when I told the cashier about the shrimp, after checking with the manager, she deducted it from the bill although they still charged for the vegetables.  That was at least a little helpful.

We went past Henry’s at breakfast time for 3 days and they were packed.  All we kept thinking was, they must be a breakfast place because they sure don’t do dinners well at all.

We made our next stop at The Outer Banks Brewing Station.  This is a little further south on Croatian Highway, around mile marker 6.  This was a delightful step up.

The Brewing Station promotes themselves as the very first brew pub in the country to switch to wind power and their place is easy to spot along Croatian Highway due to the very large windmill sitting just off the road.  Unlike Henry’s the brew station was packed and there was a party of 12 just in front of us.

A lot places in beach towns don’t take reservations and the OBBS is no exception, but they got us seated very quickly even at 6 p.m. on a busy night.

I had scallops that were very good with a Caesar Salad that was also delicious.  Lin had fried fish with a house salad that was also very good.  I tried the Imperial Stout, which was excellent.  If you are a brew pub fan or you just like good food at a decent price, don’t miss this one in Kill Devil Hills.

You should expect about $30 per person if you get drinks and below $25 per person without the beer.

Venture a little further south and cross over the bridge to Roanoke Island and in the village of Manteo, right across from the water is the Full Moon Café and Brewery.  This is a sweet little gem with comfortable outdoor seating and a limited, but very nice menu.

I had a very good shrimp and grits.  Lin had a first rate burger.  I kept with my heavy beer theme by having yet another Imperial Stout.  I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite between The Outer Banks Brewing Station and the Full Moon Café and Brewery.  Both beers were delicious.  Likewise, the food was very good at each place.

The atmosphere in both restaurants was very lively and just right for a summer getaway.  Manteo is a little out of the way for most visitors, but the quaint little village has lots of unique little shops and it’s a fun place to park the car and explore.  Full Moon is in the same price range as the Brewing Station at about $25 per person or $30 if you try the beers.

Another favorite of ours is Agave Roja in Corolla.  We celebrated Patti’s birthday here and in the past have celebrated Samantha’s birthday too.  We’ve been to this place more than any other in the Outer Banks because we get lots of delicious chips and salsa!  This is a small but very good Mexican style eatery, where tequila is the main bar item, but there are lots of others to choose from.  They even have a tequila sampler, which we have tried on previous trips and learned the hard way that one shot of tequila is more than enough!

We had a party of 14 at Agave Roja and no one was disappointed with their meal.  That’s saying something with such a large group.  The service was also quite good.  Mexican food can vary quite a bit from one place to the next, but Agave Roja gives you a very good experience at a good price point.  Our average per person cost with drinks was just $30.  That’s not bad when you factor the drinks come with a variety of different and higher cost tequilas.

The final destination for dining on our trip was back in Kill Devil on the Croatian Highway.  This is again a little place, but Sea Salt takes reservations and has a unique menu and an owner who strolls the room making sure his customers are happy and satisfied with their dining experience.

Sea Salt also provides a light live musical background with your dinner, which is a really nice surprise after a long day in the sun and water.  The house specialty is tomato pie and several members of our table of 8 got the dish.  It wasn’t at all what we expected.  First, there was no crust.  It was served in a small shallow dish.  It was made with lots of tomatoes and croutons, with some garlic and oil added for good measure.

Although it was not what was expected and it was a rather small portion size, everyone thought it was absolutely delicious.  I went back for more shrimp and grits and I wasn’t disappointed.  Another first class dish.  Sea Salt doesn’t have a big menu and the portions are smaller than we are used to, but everything was excellent!  This is also where I had my only dessert of the trip.  My brother-in-law, Fred, loves Key Lime pie and several party members got this offering.  I went for the flourless chocolate as did Patti.  Once again, the portions were on the small side, but very good.  Overall, the smaller portions allow for trying a variety of dishes without getting really over stuffed.  Sea Salt was a little more expensive than the other restaurants with an average per person cost of about $40, including drinks.

Overall, we usually take turns making meals to eat in while in the Outer Banks.  It’s a tradition we’ve come to enjoy and going out with a large group during the busy tourist season can be a hassle.  However, with the exception of Henry’s our dining experiences were lots of fun with very good food.  I have no doubt you’d enjoy any one of the other establishments I’ve mentioned here if you get down that way.

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A native of Chester County and a 1968 graduate of Octorara Area High School, David Jones earned a Masters Degree in Medical Ethics from from Villanova University. Mr. Jones served as CEO of both Mayview and Wernersville State Hospitals and later worked directly with then Governor Rendell to modernize and right-size Pennsylvania’s entire state hospital system. Jones and his wife Lynn make their home in Parkesburg and dine out frequently across Chester County and the Delaware Valley.