Ultimate Oyster Tour: Wilmington, NC

Vintage postcard of Wilmington,  NC. Photographed at Shuckin' Shack.

Somehow, Wilmington, North Carolina, still flies under the radar. From the charming, history-steeped downtown on the west side to the family-friendly beach towns on the east side, the city had me at "Hello." In fact, I was so enamored with the place, I decided to move here. 

How are the oysters? I would put local Stump Sound oysters against the best. Like the city, they fly under the radar and I've never seen them served outside of Southeastern North Carolina. During open season (Oct. - Mar.), Stump Sounds are the oyster of choice in most restaurants. So for this tour, it won't be as much about trying new oysters, but about trying our oysters in new ways. 

We'll start in downtown Wilmington and finish near the beach. Travel times are included. You'll need a car for the second half of the tour.

Let's start with the map:

For you GPSers, here's where we're going:

Dock Street Oyster Bar (12 Dock St.)

Shuckin' Shack (109 Market St.)

Rx Restaurant (421 Castle St.) 

Hieronymus Seafood (5035 Market St.)

Catch (6623 Market St.)

Brasserie du Sol (1908 Eastwood Rd.)

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DOCK STREET OYSTER BAR

12 Dock St.
910.762.2827
www.dockstreetoysterbar.net

Dock Street Oyster Bar
Look for unique oyster appetizers.

Start your tour downtown at a long-time Oyster Stew favorite: Dock Street Oyster Bar. Nestled along the cobblestoned streets of downtown Wilmington, NC, Dock Street Oyster Bar is the kind of place you hope to stumble upon during a wanderlust afternoon. The restaurant was voted "Best Oysters" by a local lifestyle magazine for 13 years in a row! On this stop, grab six oysters on the half shell (either NC Stump Sounds or FL Apalachicolas) and an order of Oyster Imperial, oysters topped with bacon and backfin crab meat. Read more about our earlier visit to Dock Street Oyster Bar. 

Next stop: Shuckin' Shack. Head east on Dock St (away from the Cape Fear River). Turn left onto S. Front St. and then right onto Market St.

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SHUCKIN' SHACK

109 Market St.
910.833.8622
www.pleasureislandoysterbar.com

Shuckin' Shack
Oyster Shooters Menu

A two-minute walk from Dock Street, Shuckin' Shack was recently named "22 Favorite Seafood Dives" by Coastal Living Magazine. It's a cozy, everyone-knows-your-name bar deliberately decorated to feel like it's been around forever. During NC oyster season, oysters on the half shell come from nearby Sneads Ferry. Outside of oyster season, look for Gulf oysters. Order some if you please, but listen up - you're not there for the oysters. Whaaat!? That's right. You're there for its clever selection of oyster shooters. Crowd favorite Bloody Bivalve starts with a freshly shucked oyster, chilled vodka, and bloody mary mix and finishes with Old Bay and a lemon wedge. The Mexican Bullfighter includes tequila, lime juice and hot sauce. And the Whisky Dick is served over ice in a rocks glass.  

Coming soon: Shuckin' Shack franchises.

Next stop: Rx Restaurant and Bar, less than a mile through downtown Wilmington. Head east on Market St. (away from the river). Turn right onto 3rd St. Travel 1/2 mile. Turn left onto Castle St. During the day, it's a nice walk. At night, take a cab.

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RX RESTAURANT AND BAR

421 Castle St.
910.399.3080
www.rxwilmington.com

Rx Restaurant and Bar
Order Bill's Oysters on the Half Shell

Rx Restaurant and Bar, located in a former pharmacy, continually gets rave reviews from critics and customers for fresh, local, inventive food. For your oyster tour, Rx Restaurant is a quick stop for one very special dish: Bill's Oysters on the Half Shell with Jalepeno Vinaigrette and Pippen Apple Sorbet. The sorbet is a just-sweet-enough dollop of icy happiness that is so brilliant, it's shocking. And it gets better, the shells are nestled in a damp salt mixture that accidentially gets into each oyster for a turbo burst of salt flavor. You'll be thankful there are six of them.

Next stop: Hieronymus Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar. Hop in the car. Head west on Castle Street and take a quick right onto 3rd Street. Travel 1/2 mile and turn right onto Market Street. Drive four miles up the heavily congested Market Street.

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HIERONYMUS SEAFOOD RESTAURANT AND OYSTER BAR

5035 Market St.
910.392.6313
www.hieronymusseafood.com

Hieronymus Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar
Order steamed Stump Sound Oysters.

Hieronymus Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar was started in 1980 by one of the Hieronymus brothers, mainstays on the Wilmington seafood scene. The restaurant is one of several stops on the tour where you'll be asking, "Are you sure I'm in the right place?" Yes. Park in the back, ignore the cars whizzing by, pop your head into the oyster bar at the front of the house, and head straight for the fire. The daily oyster menu features Stump Sounds alongside lesser known local oysters such as Topsail Sound Salties. This is the place to order a half peck of steamed Stump Sound oyster clusters. 

Next stop: Catch. Head back to the car. Turn left (if you can.) Stay on Market Street until the next stop.

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CATCH

6623 Market Street

910.799.3847

www.catchwilmington.com

Catch Restaurant

Keep an eye out or you may miss the small storefront for Catch restaurant. (It's next to Leisure World.) Chef/Owner Keith Rhodes is the closest thing Wilmington's got to a celebrity chef. Rhodes, a semi-finalist for the James Beard Southeast Best Chef award in 2011, and the winner of Best Chef Southeast 2011, appeared as a contestant on Bravo TV's "Celebrity Chef" and hobknobbed with actress Gwenyth Paltrow when she was in town shooting "Iron Man 3." Locally, he's known for encouraging and supporting area chefs and restaurants - and that extends to the oyster farmers. Order a plate of Harkers Island or Lockwood Folly oysters plucked from nearby NC waters. Reservations are recommended.

Onto the final stop: Brasserie du Sol. Turn right onto Market Street.  Turn left onto Eastwood Road. Drive about 3 miles. Turn right onto Southerland Ave. Brasserie will be on the right.

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BRASSERIE DU SOLEIL

1908 Eastwood Road

910.256.2226

www.brasseriedusoleil.com

The final stop on the Wilmington Oyster Tour ends just before the drawbridge to Wrightsville Beach, an easy 10-minute drive from Catch. My go-to, always-get-a-good-meal restaurant in Wilmington is Brasserie Du Sol. Chef Engel does the best job in town sourcing both out-of-state and unknown local oysters (such as Elmore Bays) on a revolving oyster raw bar menu that's available only during dinner. Join the upscale local scene at the bar and order the day's featured oysters WITH ... a side of the pomme frites. Dip them in mayo. You're welcome.

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Have fun! I'd love to hear about your tour: email me at kim@harborislandoyster.com or tweet me @OysterBuzz.