food finds
Planning a fall beach trip to St. Simons Island, Georgia? Pack an appetite for flavors from the sea.
Barbara Jean's
If you want to forget froufrou, try this spot that welcomes flip-flops and families. It looks like the rich relative of a Denny's with subdued tones, personal service, and fantastic old St. Simons photos on the walls. In an ode to the crustacean, I savored both the she-crab soup and the crab cakes, a local legend. (Forgive me, Alix, but these were the best.) The soup was thick and creamy with a little heat, but crab remained the star, as it should be. When I fork into a crab cake, I dream of seeing big lumps, not strings of crabmeat suspended in gummy breadcrumbs. Here, I was granted those visible lumps and a soft, creamy binding. Dessert, like all else, was unpretentious--a gooey chocolate brownie with real whipped cream, artfully named "Chocolate Stuff." 'Nuff said. 214 Mallory Street, St. Simons Island, (912) 634-6500. Entrees: $7-$17.
Dana Adkins Campbell
