Having never eaten at the original Calypso, I didn’t know what to expect, though I have to admit, my expectations were not very high. I was wrong.

The decor epitomizes ecclectic though, if not for the scarfed bear that greets guests upon entry, one could argue the theme is “tropical”. The menu boasts a combination of asian and caribbean cuisine with impressive variety and a much-appreciated selection of portion sizes.

In terms of seafood, triggerfish is a staple and appears in multiple dishes, and there are several shellfish options. Additionally, one of the daily specials is likely to include fresh fish. I enjoyed the wine list, particularly because it featured California’s Steele vineyard conglomerate, a personal favorite of mine. (If Pinot Noir is your thing, I recommend the Writer’s Block at $30/bottle).

The bar is charming and the staff friendly and knowledgable. Though off the main restaurant path, Calypso is conveniently located on 20th Street in close proximity to most Morehead City hotels. A fine option for divers, casual yet flavorful and original, Calypso is a terrific addition to the Morehead dining scene. I stand corrected.

Location: 1103 N. 20th Street
Phone: 252.247.9600

I had lunch at the New York Deli today and was thus prompted to write a long overdue entry. I like the NY Deli. A lot.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the proprietor is a fellow Nittany Lion. (It’s important for us Big Ten folk to find each other here in the land of the ACC, especially during football season.) I hold a space in my heart for a good pastrami on rye and am never disappointed.

Once only available on Wednesdays, they recently added another of my favorites, the Cuban sandwich, to their regular menu and I recommend it without hesitation. It’s a small restaurant and is often crowded for lunch, so you may want to consider placing a To-Go order on your way to or from the beach.

They also have, as the name suggests, deli items available including prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and other assorted meats and cheeses. There is a Pasta night Thursday through Saturday (yes, they serve wine & beer) and though I haven’t been personally, I have, not surprisingly, heard positive reviews.

New York Deli tends to be pricier than what you might expect to pay for a sandwich, but without much competition in the area, the quality and consistency is worth the extra couple bucks. If you’re staying in Atlantic Beach, I’d highly recommend a boxed lunch for the boat on the day of your dive.

Location: Atlantic Beach Causeway

This photo reminds me of my aunt. In fact, I think everyone has an aunt like this. You see them at holidays, family picnics, weddings. You’re alerted of their presence by the unmistakable stench of what can only be described as a catastrophic department store perfume counter explosion that has you gasping for air while fighting the urge to sneeze. They appear wearing an outfit similar to the one seen above- an unfortunate combination of sky blue and mustard yellow, and come at you lips pursed, ready to strike. Your eyes widen. You move left, then right, ducking and dodging like George Foreman in an attempt to avoid her intended objective- mouth-to-mouth contact. Most of the time, you’re successful, left only mildly scarred with an epoxy-like lip imprint on your check. It’s a mark shared by countless cousins encountered periodically throughout the event; bonds form as you nod empathetically to one another. “She got you too, huh?”, you might say.

Luckily, coronet fish don’t wear perfume or lipstick.

Thanks to Mike Madelung for this frightful, yet somehow endearing photo.

Area Dive Shops:

• Discovery Diving
• Olympus Dive Center

Recommended Dive Boats:

• Atlantis IV
• Captain’s Lady, Discovery Diving
• Midnight Express, Olympus Dive Center
• Mutiny
• Olympus, Olympus Dive Center
• Outrageous IV, Discovery Diving
• Sea Quest, Discovery Diving

Top Five Upper End Restaurants

• Aqua, Beaufort
• Blue Moon Bistro, Beaufort
• Beaufort Grocery, Beaufort
• Floyd’s 1921, Morehead City
• William’s, Morehead City

Top Five Casual Restaurants

• Beach Bumz, Downtown Morehead City
• Clawson’s. Beaufort
• Monkey Bar, Atlantic Beach
• New York Deli, Atlantic Beach
• Raps, Downtown Morehead City

Top Five Places to Grab a Quick Bite

• Bountiful Bagel, Morehead City
• Luigi’s Pizza, Morehead City
• Michelangelo’s Pizza, Atlantic Beach
• Roland’s BBQ, Beaufort
• Shark Shack, Atlantic Beach

Top Places to Stay

• Beaufort Inn, Beaufort
• The Cedars Inn, Beaufort
• Harborside Suites, Beaufort
• Inlet Inn, Beaufort

Top Places to Stay on a Budget

• EconoLodge, Morehead City
• Comfort Inn, Morehead City
• Caribe Inn, Atlantic Beach

Top Post-Dive-Drink Spots

• The Dockhouse, Beaufort
• Raps, Morehead City
• Beach Bumz, Morehead City

Top Five Helpful Tidbits

• Dunking Donuts in Morehead is the only place to get food and coffee early enough to make it to a dive boat on time.
• Lowe’s grocery store in Morehead opens at 6am
• Lots of restaurants are closed on Sundays
• Cannot buy alcohol before noon on Sundays
• Speed limit in downtown Morehead City is 20mph and is closely monitored

Hopefully, you’ll find these lists to be helpful. I’ll expand on most of the above at a later time and, as always, if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to email or comment.

The thing about local cuisine is that it is never what you think it is going to be. Curry in Bangladesh is not the same as curry from your neighborhood Indian restaurant. Sushi in Japan is not like what you get at Benihana. In fact, you might actually prefer Thai Heaven’s Tom Ka Gai to what you got in Bangkok. Our instinctive aversion to most regional cuisine stems almost entirely from expecting one thing, but getting another.

As tourists, we carry with us distinct palatal biases resulting from years of falsely believing that we are familiar with ethnic cuisine because we purchased it at the local strip mall, and this erroneous preconception is what hinders our ability to enjoy food that actually is authentic. Our only hope, really, is to either shed these biases completely or, at the very least, adjust our expectations.

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with dining in North Carolina. After all, it’s American food. How different can it really be? If this is what you’re thinking, then clearly you have yet to blindly enter a NC seafood or barbeque restaurant—two instances that illustrate so clearly the above-mentioned phenomenon.

Eastern North Carolina is known (at least we like to think we’re “known”) for barbeque. Now, this is important: East of Interstate 95, “barbeque” has only one meaning. It isn’t a cooking method involving a variety of meats; it isn’t another word for “grill”; it isn’t a ketchup-based sauce; it isn’t an event. Barbeque is a noun, and it refers only to shredded pork in a clear, vinegar-based, seasoned liquid. This is not up for discussion or argument. You need to just accept it.

If you go to a barbeque restaurant in Eastern North Carolina, you will find the following menu items: Barbeque, fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, hush puppies, and banana pudding. The only red sauces available are Texas Pete’s and Tabasco and there aren’t any ribs.

Another important piece of information: In Eastern North Carolina, barbeque sandwiches come with coleslaw on them. If you don’t want coleslaw on your sandwich, it is your responsibility, and yours alone, to specify accordingly. Once you’re onboard, all again is well in your world, as I promise you’re in for a treat. Eastern Carolina BBQ is indeed a delicacy to treasure…once you know what it is.

The same is true for seafood. In Eastern North Carolina, “seafood” is battered, fried, and served with ketchup and/or tarter sauce, and your choice of sides (which, coincidentally, mirror the sides offered with barbeque.) There is typically a “broiled” alternative, but that’s the extent of it. Does that mean that it is impossible to find grilled tuna or shrimp over pasta? Absolutely not. The difference is that these dishes are not available in “seafood restaurants”. This is the coast. Fish is everywhere.

Therefore, most restaurants don’t feel the need to advertise that they serve it. It would be like going to Texas and thinking that, in order to find a good ribeye, you’d need to go to a “steakhouse”. Ridiculous. The term “steakhouse” carries with it its own stigma, as does…and you see where I’m going here…the NC seafood restaurant. Think basket-o-fried-flounder-with-hushpuppies-and-slaw. Yes, you can order it broiled, but that’s not the Eastern North Carolina way. Again, don’t fight it—just adjust your expectations and all will be well. Here’s the bottom line: If you enjoy fried fish, or if you really want to sample local cuisine, I highly suggest patronizing a “seafood restaurant”. If, on the other hand, you want a nice piece of grilled local fish (like grouper or mahi) served with pilaf as your starch, you’ll simply need to look elsewhere. (Oh, and we have “buffets”, but I would be remiss if I didn’t warn you to proceed with caution.)

This shark is clearly imitating the likes of G.W. Bailey as the misunderstood security guard in the 1987 cinema classic, Mannequin (don’t deny it- you’ve seen it.) That’s not really a shipwreck, you see, it’s a submerged shopping mall. Andrew McCarthy is just around the corner hanging out with Mesach Taylor (Anthony from Designing Women) professing his love for Kim Cattrall who, if this shot had been moved slightly further to the right, you’d see portrayed as a lion fish instead of a wooden dummy. A big thanks to Chris Walker for this fabulous burst of nostalgia.

Floyd’s 1921 in downtown Morehead City has done what I would have dubbed impossible. They have taken a menu that features authentic North Carolina cuisine, and made it equally palatable for tourists and locals. Make no mistake- many have tried to bridge these two culinary disparities, but all, at least all in this area, have failed. And, to be honest, I can’t figure out how Floyd’s is able to do it.

Everything on the menu is equally delicious- from the fried oyster salad with the mango vinaigrette, to the meatloaf, to the macadamia-encrusted grouper, not to mention my personal favorite, the buttered rum sweet potatoes. Floyd is obviously an extremely talented and versatile chef and his wife, Shana, is a model restaurateur- friendly, attentive, accommodating, and professional. The service is wonderful-I can’t say enough about Nancy and Carolyn, the wine and beer lists are well composed, and rarely is it difficult to get a reservation, though I highly recommend making one. (Oh, and save room for dessert.)

What is also interesting is that Floyd and Shana have effectively extended their dichotomist style to the décor, where contemporary urban acrylics hang alongside wooden bumblebees and red bows. True story- I was sitting at the bar one evening admiring a painting when I overheard three women in their 80s remarking favorably on the white lace curtains that, until that moment, I hadn’t seen (and still wish I hadn’t).

My point though, is this: Not only is there something for everyone, but there is enough of it so that you don’t even notice that which was not intended for you. “Would you like collards with that?” “No thanks, I’ll have the grilled asparagus please. And I really like that sculpture- the one over there next to the fish on the wall.”

Important info:
Floyd’s 1921
4th and Bridges Street, Morehead City
252.727.1921
www.floyds1921nc.com
Closed Mondays

When I worked at the dive shop, I got these questions ALL THE TIME…How rough is rough? How do I know if it’s going to be rough? How likely is it to be rough? How rough does it have to be before the dive is canceled? All valid, yet difficult to answer, but let me see what I can do…

North Carolina, similar to the entire east coast…or any coast for that matter…has its issues with wind. See, the magic of an island is that, at any given point, there is a windward side and a leeward side, meaning depending on which way the wind is blowing, it’s bound to be calm enough to dive somewhere. Not the case with a coastline. In the summer, the prevailing winds in North Carolina come out of the southwest, paralleling the coast, so there is no protection at all offered by land. So, when the wind blows hard, the seas get rough.

Let me also make a distinction between “wind chop” and “swell”. Wind chop is a sea condition categorized by lots of waves, very close together that have, what the boat captains say, “no back on them”…meaning they’re like miniature ski-jumps where the boat goes up one side then comes crashing down on the other side, as opposed to gently riding over them as it would a “swell”. Wind chop can start or stop rather suddenly and is, as its name implies, completely dependent on how hard the wind is blowing. “Swell”, on the other hand, refers to big, wide rollers that have a lot of space in between them. Swell is generally caused by offshore storms and doesn’t fluctuate as quickly as chop. While swell can have an impact on visibility and current, it’s typically not a problem for topside conditions unless compounded by wind chop. In other words, a 4 foot swell is not an issue, but a 4 foot chop can be downright uncomfortable. And, the two together? Forget about it.

So how rough IS “rough”? Your perception will vary according to what you’re used to, but here are some guidelines. 1-2 foot seas produce calm, lake-like conditions. 2-3 foot seas make for a pretty good day on the water, though it is a tad bumpy. A solid 3 foot is doable not miserable, where 4 foot is doable but definitely miserable. 5 foot is no fun at all and if you are in 5 foot seas, you’re probably on your way back to the dock. Anything 6 foot or over, if you left the dock at all (which is unlikely), there is no chance you’re getting in the water. The most common is a 2-3 foot sea, which comprises about 60% of all diveable days. The remaining 40% is evenly split between the marginally miserable, miserable, and absolute perfection. A good rule of thumb- the actual size of a wave is two-thirds the size you think it is. What you think are 3s are really 2s, 6s are 4s, 8s are 5s, etc. (This caveat is included to save you the embarrassment of claiming you went diving in 8 foot seas to those who know better. And I promise you, as you’re reading this there are absolutely folks saying out loud to themselves or to those around them, “Pfffft. I was too out in 8 foot seas!!”)

But, what winds produce what seas, you ask? Out of the southwest, winds exceeding 15 knots will create sea conditions that over a few hours, build to the point of being undiveable, If you’re reading NOAA’s marine forecast, and you see words like “light and variable” or “winds 5 to 10 knots”, you’re in for a fabulous, “dead slick calm” day on the water. Another common forecast is “SW winds 10-15 knots”, which is a lot like a “50% chance of rain” in that it sounds like you’re being provided with information, but actually, you know nothing. When you start to see “SW winds 15-20 knots”, your chances of visiting the Aquarium are rising, though if the boat departs early enough, you might be OK. Anything over 20 knots, go to breakfast, then buy a kite. And, while you’re sure to be disappointed, I promise you that you’ll be infinitely happier on land than you would be on a boat. In fact, and I will leave you with these final words of wisdom: It is always better to be on land wishing you were out there than it is to be out there wishing you were on land.

Few things make me happier than good sushi. Read into that statement as you will, but those of you who are fans of the “bait and rice” (as it is referred to by my favorite fishing boat captain), understand that of which I speak. Quaint with a good personality, pleasant atmosphere and terrific food, this establishment is a fabulous addition to downtown Morehead City.

As indicated by the name, the restaurant is more west coast inspired than actually Japanese (though the proprietor is from Australia…go figure) with a lot of avocado and imaginative combinations. In addition to their selection of sushi, the rice paper rolls are lovely, as is the sashimi salad.

The bar options are limited (much to my chagrin, they only serve beer), but as divers are not usually known for their restraint, this could be seen as a positive. It’s also worth mentioning that in addition to being the best, it is by far the most convenient sushi restaurant to all the area dive operations.