Landry's Seafood

Living in Myrtle Beach, there is never a shortage of restaurants to try.  We generally stay away from those that have fish, seafood, or captain in the name, as we do not eat fish, seafood, or captains.  Due to a great many people raving about the food there, we decided to dismiss our rule for the day and check out Landry's Seafood.

Located at Broadway at the Beach, Landry's is easy to find and has ample parking.  In the evening, the place appears busy, with a man out front making balloon animals for the waiting masses.  However, we decided to wander in shortly after they opened for lunch.  I only noticed one other table when we arrived.  We were quickly seated at a very nice booth.

The decor was fitting, a lot of dark wood with various shades of blue, leaning towards aqua.  The only disturbing bit of decor was the lobster tank.  It creeps me out, and it was just looked sad.  The rest of the decor was nautical in nature, with a medium sized wooden lighthouse on the dividing wall of our table.  It was sitting there amid the fake greens and dust.  In general, though, the place was actually very pleasant and clean.

The lunch menu, as I feared, was primarily seafood.  In the past, this was my reason for not visiting Landry's, but everyone assured me they had so much more than seafood.  I wouldn't say they had a lot more, but there were two appetizers, a couple of sandwiches, and a few main dishes that were water-dweller free.

Mark and I settled on an appetizer quickly.  He had seen the battered onion strings and jalapenos on the menu posted outside, so he ordered it when we ordered our drinks.  I was curious about the fried zucchini, but I didn't think Mark would try it.  Besides, we did not need two appetizers.

The girl returned swiftly with our drinks and ready to take our order.  Mark was dithering between the grilled chicken BLT and the herb-crusted chicken sandwich, but when the server mentioned a lot of spices on the herb-crusted option, he jumped on that.  As she was happy to help Mark choose, the server was also nice enough to take my special order.  I chose the Landry's Fettuccine with blackened chicken, but I wanted it made with no mushrooms, tomatoes, or green onions.  I was assured that was no problem and told I also got a salad.  I chose the ranch dressing, as it was a basic house salad.

Before too long, our appetizer came out, and it was mammoth.  It was a large stack of thinly sliced onions that had been deep fried with a tempura type batter.  Mixed in were jalapenos and red peppers that had received the same treatment.  With dishes like this, it is very easy to overcook them or not drain off enough of the oil.  It can get heavy, messy, and just plain disgusting.  I was happy to see that Landry's had cooked it perfectly.  As all appetizers should, it was served with a side of very delicious side of ranch.

In the past, I have had problems with my glass going empty.  I drink a lot when I eat, and today was no exception.  We had walked around Broadway prior to eating, so I was quite hot.  I ordered two drinks, one water and one soda, so I wouldn't run out.  I needn't have worried, as the staff was quite adept at filling my drinks before I ran out.  Sometimes, she brought another drink before I even realized I was getting low.

Our great experience continued with my salad.  It was a basic house salad, but with the ranch, it was amazing.  It almost had a slight lemon flavor, which I never thought I would have enjoyed.  I don't know if it came from the ranch or the wash they used on the lettuce, but it was divine.  Mark kept stealing bites of my salad when he wasn't continuing to dominate our appetizer.

As I was finishing my salad, Mark commented that it was strange our food had not arrived.  I believe they were just timing the meal so food didn't stack up.  Shortly after I finished my salad, our entrees arrived.  Mark's chicken sandwich was quite flavorful.  He said it probably would have been better without the feta.  I didn't try a bit with cheese; I just took a small bite of the chicken, which was cooked well and tasted good.

My pasta was properly prepared, but it wasn't particularly good, so far as the flavors go.  I can't fault Landry's, as I was the one who chose to tinker with their recipe by having them leave out ingredients.  The sauce was a good consistency, and the noodles were fine.  The flavor was a bit off though, very bland.  I tried adding a bit of salt to fix it up, but it wasn't enough.  The blackened chicken, however, was nice.  The flavor was good, and the chicken was not over-done.

We had hoped to have room for the bananas foster dessert, but we were pleasantly full.  We decided not to push ourselves overmuch and skipped it.  Our bill was average for a sit down meal, coming in a bit over $30.

I'm sure we'll return to Landry's in the future.  I will probably try a sandwich next time or perhaps a steak.  The experience was a pleasant one, with good food, great service, and a pleasant atmosphere.  If you like seafood, I'm sure you would love Landry's even more.