Sand and Surf: Seafood on the Beach Just Tastes Better

Channahon-Minooka, Ill. Patch Editor came to vacation in Clearwater. She shared some of her trip here:

As I mentioned last week, one of the goals in going to Florida on vacation was a stop at an ocean or two.

One of the stops was in Clearwater, Fla. A great little seaside town, the beach is the Gulf of Mexico, which I had never visited before. The beach was great. The little shops along the beach were fun. And, by chance, the place we chose to eat was delicious.

Crabby Bill's has a number of Florida locations. The one in Clearwater is about a block away from the beach. You can park in the lot near the restaurant but you cannot leave your car there when you go to the beach. The lot for the beach is a bit further, priced higher, but closer to the sand.

Back to the food.

In Clearwater, Crabby Bill's is a two-story restaurant with an outdoor patio bar. We chose to eat outside. After seeing the upstairs at the end of the meal, I would ask to eat up there next time to watch the surf from above.

The outdoor patio was really relaxed. On the day I attended, there was live entertainment. The food was great and the pina colada was fantastic.

The first thing that excited me about the menu was clams. They weren't clam strips breaded and fried. They were fresh. Just a little drawn butter and a ton of lemons and I was thrilled. My husband and my youngest split a steam bucket and my oldest - a purest - had crab legs.

The clams were fantastic. They weren't enough for a meal but when I nibbled on the steam bucket I had plenty to eat.

I opted for a pina colada. My husband ordered the banana colada. He said his was great. I am not a fan of banana in my drinks, so I stuck with the original, which was terrific. If I wasn't headed straight to the sand to bake in the heat, I would probably have ordered a second one.

All in all, I really enjoyed this restaurant. It was a perfect stop on vacation. The outside patio/bar was really relaxed. The food was outstanding, especially for this Midwestern girl with a coastal taste for seafood.