More Than World-Class Seafood
The fishing village known as Calabash bills itself as being the “Seafood Capital of the World” and is quite unique among the many villages that dot the Brunswick Isles landscape. Taking its name from the tropical Calabash tree and the gourd that bears its name, the community has brought world-wide fame to its Calabash style, deep-fried seafood. Diners arrive from miles around to dine at the over two dozen restaurants. Fame also came in the 1940’s with Jimmy Durante’s signature sign-off “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.” Durante was singer, comedian and actor with a significantly prominent nose and deep gravelly voice that helped make him one of the country’s most popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s.
According to legend, “Mrs.Calabash” was Lucy Coleman, who ran a Calabash restaurant where Durante and his party had enjoyed a memorable meal.
Despite the fact that this little village has no less than four ice cream shops … be sure to check out a personal favorite, Calabash Creamery. Calabash is about more than just food. The little village of Calabash is located directly on the Intracoastal Waterway just a short distance from Sunset Beach. Fewer than 2,000 people call Calabash home year-round but summertime visitors swell the numbers to several times that number. This quaint village has a lot going on. If golf is your thing there are several great golf courses in the neighborhood. Brunswick Plantation is a Byrd-Johnston designed course with 27 holes with 3 completely different 9 hole courses which provides for 3 different 18-hole setups. They also offer accommodations if you want to rent a townhome for a few days or longer. Nearby is Crow Creek which is a newer course that was built around 2000. This 18-hole public course is a Rick Robbins design and you can grab a bite of breakfast or lunch at their restaurant.
If golf isn’t your bag, then perhaps shopping is. Today, Calabash has a respectable variety of shopping options. You can’t miss the enormous Callahans Gifts right in the heart of town. It’s been there a number of years … it is an institution … and has a following for the unique gifts they sell. And, it’s a great way to spend a little time if there’s a line at your favorite restaurant next door. For the younger folks, you’ll find plenty of fun, cool stuff at Alley Oop Surf Shop. As the name implies, Alley Oop Surf Shop carries all the fun beach stuff without the kitch typical of Myrtle Beach’s Beach Stores. This is a real surf-shop.
At the end of the day, literally and figuratively, the Calabash Seafood is “the thing.” It’s why Calabash is famous. It’s why people drive miles and miles (over and over again) to enjoy it. Hot from the fryer Calabash-style fried seafood … there simply is no compare. Now some folks will insist on dining where they can have a beautiful sweeping view of the Calabash River, the docks, the trawlers, and the utterly beautiful natural backdrop that Calabash offers. In that case, you can eat at one of the tried and true restaurants on the water in Calabash or enjoy one of the fanciest and newest restaurants in Calabash like Oyster Rock. If you want a beautiful restaurant with equally wonderful views this place will not disappoint. You can also venture to the other end of the dining spectrum and try a place that doesn’t even have indoor dining at all. At Calabash Seafood Hut, it is window pickup only … even before Novel Coronavirus made window pickup in vogue.
And while the name fits the restaurant, you won’t find fresher, hotter seafood anywhere in Calabash. Or enjoy it as much as you may dining at one of their outdoor picnic tables under the lovely natural canopy. The wonderful thing about Calabash seafood restaurants is that you can find and enjoy both ends of the dining spectrum from fancy Oytser Rocks to laid-back Calabash Seafood Hut … both with extraordinary food … but also everything in between. In Calabash, you can go as fancy or as casual as you like and find just what you’re looking for.
Calabash is a short drive north of Myrtle Beach, a much longer drive south of Wilmington, but worth the drive from wherever you’re coming ... and who knows ... you might just decide to stay.