Dining This Week
'O Captain!' My Captain's Table
By Sherley Buckland
In 1978, Hugh Whaley and Moses Brown had the idea to change the old Doughnut Palace building on Arendell Street in Morehead City into a family eatery. Almost 30 years have passed, and The Captain’s Table has become a Morehead City landmark.
Whaley
and his dedicated staff take pride in serving their customers and know them
all by name. The longtime wait staff at The Captain’s Table is so familiar
with their customers that when they see them pull up in the parking lot, they
immediately prepare the customers’ favorite beverage and has it waiting at
their favorite table when they walk in the door.
Seafood cook Francis Rouse has been preparing seafood at The Captain’s Table for nearly 20 years and head cook Ernie Blasiman has been preparing meals there for nearly 17 years. Their continuity of service has greatly contributed to the success of The Captain’s Table.
The coffee is always hot, always fresh and always good at The Captain’s Table, no matter what time of day it is. The breakfast menu includes a variety of eggs, omelets, sandwiches, waffles, pancakes, French toast, bacon, ham and sausage.
During my visit I sampled the western omelet and the bacon and egg breakfast sandwich. The western omelet is loaded with fresh-cut green peppers, tomatoes, onion, ham and cheese, and served with a choice of hash browns or grits and toast. The hash browns are delicate and crispy and the omelet is bursting with garden flavors.
The
breakfast sandwich consisted of crispy bacon, fried egg and cheese on white
toast. I immediately noticed how
attractive the sandwich was presented on the plate and after taking the first
few bites I thought, “how delicious!”
The sandwiches are quite filling and not greasy at all, unlike many sandwiches and biscuits served at fast food chains.
The lunch menu includes an assortment of burgers and sandwiches, as well as shrimp burgers, tuna and chicken salad, each available with French fries, onion rings or choice of vegetable.
Weekday lunch specials include a choice of filet of flounder, Salisbury steak or veal cutlet with two vegetables and rolls.
Dinner at the Captain’s Table is definitely a treat. Whaley has made the Captain’s Table famous with his nightly seafood dinner specials for $7.99. He is also the first person in Carteret County to have an “all you can eat” shrimp special and continues to do so on Friday and Saturday nights from 5-10 p.m.
Homemade cocktail sauce, tarter sauce and coleslaw are made in-house daily to accent the popular seafood selections.
One of my favorite dinners at The Captain’s Table is pork chops. Whaley has the pork chops cut fresh daily at a local market and they are wonderful. Served with your choice of two vegetables, rolls or hushpuppies, the pork chops are tender and flavorful.
Proper manners may need to be “tabled” for a moment because you will definitely want to “gnaw the bones” to get every, last, tasty morsel. I prefer my pork chops with a little gravy and that is no problem here.
Another hearty dinner at the Captains Table is the fresh hamburger steak with gravy and onions. Also served with two vegetables and dinner rolls, this is a filling meal and a better option than the burger combo you might consider down the street.
It’s the little things like customer respect and appreciation, reasonable prices and a good family atmosphere that have made The Captain’s Table a locals choice for almost 30 years.
“The Captain’s Table has a large amount of loyal, repeat customers,” said Whaley. “It is important to take care of them because they take care of you.”
Location
4113
Arendell St.
Hours
Mon.-Thurs.: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Fri.-Sat.: 24 hours and close at 2:30 p.m. Sundays
Phone
(252)
726-0253
See the previously reviewed restaurants on the Restaurant Archive page
Featured listings in this series:
Capt. Jim’s
Seafood-Fresh seafood sold by the
pound
Reservations: No
Dress:
Beach casual
(252) 726-3454
Captain’s Table-Seafood
and southern style cooking, breakfast and lunch favorites
Reservations:
No
Dress:
Beach casual
(252)
726-0253
Cattle Ranch &
Oceans Restaurant-Seafood,
steaks, Greek,
Mediterranean cuisine
Reservations:
Accepted
Dress:
Beach casual
(252) 726-0120
CC Rawlwiggies-Vegetarian
playground
Reservations:
No
Dress:
Beach casual
(252) 240-8646
Floyd’s 1921-Southern
and eclectic
Reservations:
Encouraged
Dress:
Business casual
Fourth
and Bridges streets
(252) 727-1921
Mrs. Culpepper’s
Crab Café & Thai Stir Fry-Thai
and seafood
Reservations:
No
Dress:
Business casual
(252) 240-1960
Mrs. Willis
Restaurant-Seafood,
steaks, American favorites
Reservations:
Accepted
Dress:
Business casual
(252) 726-3741
Reservations:
No
Dress:
Beach casual
(252) 247-7476
Amos Mosquito’s-Swampy
chic, Cajun style cuisine
Reservations: Accepted
Dress:
Business casual
(252) 247-6222
Channel Marker-Seafood,
fresh grilled, blackened seafood, angus beef
Reservations: Accepted
Dress: Business
casual
718
(252) 247-2344
The Crab’s Claw-Oceanfront
fine dining
Reservations:
Encouraged
Dress:
Business casual
201
(252) 726-8222
White Swan BBQ-Country
style barbecue
Reservations:
No
Dress:
Beach casual
2500
(252) 726-9607
Beaufort
Sharpies Restaurant-Contemporary
coastal cuisine
Reservations:
Accepted
Dress:
Business Casual
(252) 838-0101
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