Beyond Dogs and Doughnuts

Junior’s has been a local favorite for years and our goto for ice cream and sunsets for as long as we’ve been coming to the shore.

Finally, after years of serving up dogs and doughnuts they’ve decided to give Smitty’s Clam Bar in SomersPoint a run for their money and opened up Junior’s Seafood Shack.

A few months ago, we got wind from a restaurateur friend that Junior’s was up for sale. Today, it’s a seafood restaurant that looks as if it had been thrown together at the last moment and, according to some, it was.  One moment, it was Roy Goldberg’s office and the next, with chef Dennis Moesta at the helm, Junior’s Seafood Shack. Moesta spent two decades in Louisiana, where he cooked in Baton Rouge at the well-known Cajun seafoodery Ralph & Kacoo’s and being  a big fan of anything with an LA influence, I was excited to give his food a try.
Now, a few weeks into it, we decided to pay a visit with the goal of finding our next local favorite.  Having grown up in MD I’m always on the lookout for fresh local seafood spots that rival those in Ocean City, MD.  So far, I’ve been unsuccessful but I do love the journey.
So…I called ahead and confirmed that it was a BYO…nice!
They reassured me that while they don’t take reservations, there is no wait…double nice!
So, we rounded up the boy and the booze and arrived just as the sun was setting.

The small rooms, still with their wall-to-wall office carpeting and set up with tall tables and plastic buckets for BYO, were packed but they stayed true to their promise and sat us within 5 minutes.  All outdoor seating is counter and offer prime sunset views overlooking the gorgeous marina.

After pouring a round and perusing the menu, we decided on the New England clam chowder, fried clam strips, fried onion rings, lobster roll and a bucket of steamers.
The waitress who was sweet and petite barely squeezed behind us with her tray as she brought out the apps and we went to work.

The creamy chowder was good and, served in a cute clay mug, had a decent clam to potato ratio which is how I judge my chowder…it is afterall clam chowder and not potato chowder right!?
Most importantly, Jacob gave it 2 thumbs up beating out Smitty’s.  Next up, fried clam strips served with a side of tartar and some other white dill sauce that I liked. They were tasty as were the onion rings but honestly, how can you go wrong with fried anything?
I was most excited for the bucket of steamers but after we each had one, we did what we never do and sent them back! They were so salty and sandy that even now, hours and bottles of water later, I can still taste them…pass!

The lobster roll with a light mayo dressing sparked by celery and lime served on a buttery roll was delicious and by far the best thing we ordered.

Moesta’s Southern influence may be more evident in other dishes but I for one was disappointed with the too many fried food options and little to no grilled or steamed ones and for that, I say that there is little to no chance that we’ll return. 
Although…they were nice enough to take the steamers off of the bill and presented Jacob with a free ice cream voucher and that kind of service goes a long way with this kid!

The FoodBuzz:
The food was good, the sunset great and while we didn’t find our local favorite, we did what we love most and that’s spend quality time together as a family!

As we wabbled back home reviewing our experience I felt the need to share it and now, you have it here…lmk if you go and how it goes.

Alya