Captain Chuck-A-Muck�s
21088 Marina Road � Carrollton (Rescue), Virginia 23424
I often end my column with a wish that you �Be of Good
Cheer.� Not only was this expression my Mom�s favorite way to end our phone
conversations and a gateway expression in the Bible, it�s also my wish to
our readers for good dining experiences as you travel Virginia.
In other words, may your restaurants of choice have
tasty food, good service, and pleasant, enjoyable surroundings. One
restaurant that always leaves me with a spirit of good cheer is Captain
Chuck-A-Muck�s Sandbar and Grill (Secret Hideout #2), in Rescue, Virginia,
just off the James River on beautiful Jones Creek.
If you�ve heard of this place or eaten there, you�re
probably already smiling or nodding your head! Eliciting big smiles through
their great, fresh seafood is the mission of its owners, Chuck Lawrence and
his wife, Cris.
Chuck, a licensed sea captain, spent most of his life
living and boating around marshy areas of the East Coast. He knows from
experience that fresh seafood is the best.
�We serve over
13 varieties of fresh seafood, never frozen, because our customers know the
difference. Unlike beef, the molecular structure of seafood changes when it
is frozen, and so does its taste.�
Captain Chuck continues, �When I grew up, you were
taught to do your best, whatever you did. This means sometimes you have to
think outside the box to achieve your goals. In 1997, we got into the
seafood business by accident. However, that didn�t stop us from doing our
best to serve the best local seafood we could in surroundings that the whole
family could enjoy.�
If you have been a Cooperative Living reader for a
while, you may remember one of my past columns, �Seafood Road Trip,� in
October, 2009, when I first visited Captain Chuck-A-Muck�s while researching
seafood restaurants in Virginia.
I was very impressed with the fresh taste of his
seafood, especially his unisex (rather than she crab) crab soup and the
restaurant�s location, which allows you to dine and watch the boats and life
along the marsh. Captain Chuck-A-Muck�s has also been featured on the
popular Food Network program, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, with Guy Fieri
(episode: �Where The Locals Go�).
My most recent two visits gave me a good opportunity to
sample a greater variety of Captain Chuck-A-Muck�s entrees and appetizers,
both broiled and fried. And as you know from past columns, if you visit a
restaurant with Dan, you have to share. (This type of research is invaluable
and also a lot of fun.)
So, between several friends and my granddaughter, we
tried appetizers of crab soup, clam strips, calamari, mussels, onion rings,
and hush puppies. For the entrees, the group ordered soft-shell crab, crab
cakes, scallops, shrimp, and a very tasty fish flown in fresh from Costa
Rica called Corvina. For dessert, the two favorites were �real� key lime pie
and deep-dish cobbler. Everyone seemed to like his or her own selections. My
favorites were the unisex crab soup, broiled scallops and shrimp, and key
lime pie. The one thing my research group agreed on at the end of the meal
was that they were all happy and content.
Or, in other words, they were all of �Good Cheer.�
Please take a moment and email me at
[email protected], with your idea for a possible Dining with Dan
road-trip.
