French Fry Euphoria at Oyster Bay Seafood Cafe

Bacon Shrimp Po Boy with fries

They say knowledge of a person’s food preferences is a good indicator of how well you actually know them, like how someone takes their coffee, or how they like their eggs. I think the true test is knowing how a person likes her French fries. You see, there are two basic ways a person can “take” their fries: crunchy (the right way) and gushy (Andrea’s way).

My friend Andrea and I have been debating the topic of French fries since high school, and we simply cannot come to an agreement. But instead of driving a wedge in our relationship, this difference of opinion has actually made us closer. After all, she’s the perfect partner for sharing an order of fries, because she always polishes off all the (gross) gushy ones and leaves the crunchy ones for me. Still, it’s nice to find someone – or someplace – that knows what a good fry should be.

Oyster Bay Seafood Café in Lawrenceville is one such place. Here, each and every fry is cooked to a crisp perfection, yielding a deep, golden color glistening with grease and producing a satisfying snap when you bite into it that’s audible from across the table. Indelible on their own, the fries reach an higher level of greatness when dunked into Oyster Bay’s signature spicy remoulade sauce – it’s French fry euphoria.

Yet as good as they are, the fries are not the only item worth bragging about at this casual seafood joint, which reminds me of the hole-in-the-wall local hangouts I seek out at the beach, with all it’s coastal kitsch and a Florida Gulf-themed menu. 

The Key West Conch Fritters, served with that aforementioned remoulade, are full of flavor with a unique crusty-chewy texture that only good conch fritters can claim, and the Bacon Shrimp Po Boy is simply genius – why don’t all Po Boys come with bacon?? I enjoyed my meal alongside a glass of – what else? – Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, one of my favorite white wines. It’s crisp and citrusy, like adding a squeeze of lemon to my seafood, just the way I like it.

Oyster Bay Seafood Café is located at 125 Crogan St. SE in Lawrenceville. Read my full review in the April issue of Points North, on stands late March!