WASTED MONEY AND WASTED FOOD

This was possibly the worst restaurant meal I have ever eaten. I totally wasted the $50 charge (+ $3.00 for iced tea and several local taxes) and threw away a lot of food. Although the buffet offered 140 items, I tried only the ones that interested me the most. Here is an analysis of these dishes.

I'll start with the star of the show - CRAB LEGS. In a word - AWFUL. I have eaten a lot of crab legs and I know how to dissect them efficiently. (Break the legs apart at the joints, slide out the two thin pieces of cartilage, snap the leg section in half on one side, turn it over and snap the other side. Then gently slide out the delicious, juicy, firm meat. The lobster cracker is used only on the claws.) A bit of work, but worth the effort. UNLESS, when you get to the final step, you find the meat is mushy and tears apart like a wet tissue. Part of the problem with the crabs at Captain Jacks was that the shell was not crackable - it was like thin linoleum. As a result, it was virtually impossible to get at any of the mushy meat out except for the largest leg section. After struggling with two clusters, I finally gave up and tried other items.

SHRIMP - another of my favorites. The peel-and-eat shrimp were very hard to peel and the meat had the consistency of 'Play Dough.' This is the result of shrimp that have been lying around for a long time or grossly overcooked - or both. I ate two shrimp and, unfortunately, had to throw away the rest. The fried shrimp (at least that's what I thought they were) were like little lumps of battered stones, with about as much flavor.

MUSSELS - The is nothing better than a properly steamed P.E.I. mussel. If they are removed from the steamer just when they start to open up, they are tender and succulent. However, when they a cooked the way Captain Jacks does them, they are wide-open, dry as cardboard and just as hard to chew. Again, I had to throw away most of my serving.

PRIME RIB - The only good thing about Captain Jacks prime rib was that it was sliced thin was paper; otherwise I don't think I could have cut it at all. Even the thin slices were so tough and stringy that I had to hack at it aggressively in order to get a few mouthfuls. I quickly realized that it wasn't worth the effort and more of my meal went in the waste tray.

CRAB BALLS OR CRAB CAKES - Whatever they call it, it was really bad. Smelled and tasted so fishy I was afraid to swallow the first mouthful - more food for the waste tray.

I did not try any of the other items, but I will say that some of the desserts and salads LOOKED tempting - but I can't comment on how they tasted. Also, the service was very good, Of course, this is a buffet so you get your own food, but the server was attentive to the table and emptied the waste food tray and refilled drinks in a timely manner.

The restaurant was not adequately air conditioned. The warm dining room seemed to curb our appetites and caused us to finish our meal earlier than otherwise. Since this is an "all-you-can-eat" buffet, I guess this works in the favor of the owner.

When you are visiting the South Carolina Grand Strand, do yourself a favor and go to a real restaurant - one that focuses on quality instead of quantity. There are dozens of them down here.