Dining This Week
Mrs. Culpepper’s Crab Café
by Sherley Buckland
This week I visited Mrs. Culpepper’s Crab Café and Thai
Stir-Fry Restaurant in Brandywine Crossing,
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There
I met Garry and Lek Culpepper (owners/operators) and learned the Thai food
philosophy: “Everything you eat is supposed to be good for you.” Thai food
is a high concentration of vegetables to meat, yielding healthy nutritious
dishes with no MSG!
Mrs. Culpepper (Lek as she prefers to be called) began
cooking for her family in her native
Garry describes the food at Mrs. Culpepper’s as Thai-influenced, American-friendly food. Their menu includes an eight-item buffet as well as cafeteria-style cook to order selections and a strictly Thai specialty order menu.
Your options are open and I was fortunate enough to experience selections from each section of the menu. I also learned several new food facts that I am eager to share with you.
The first thing I sampled was Pad Thai, the national dish
of
The shrimp curry, described by Mr. Culpepper as “shrimp that cures what ales ya,” is very spicy with a red curry base, shrimp, green beans, sweet basil and onion. Powerful flavors somewhat similar to a good shrimp Creole, the shrimp curry packs a punch in the heat department.
The beef and basil combines tender sliced beef with hot basil, onion, garlic, hot pepper, black pepper and salt. I found the beef and basil to be the mildest of the three spicy dishes, truly filling and enjoyable. Served over a mound of jasmine rice, it would make a healthy “meat and potatoes” type meal for those fussy meat lovers.
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Thinly
sliced pork, ginger and yellow onion combine to create the pork and ginger
entree. Simply stated, I like the
balance of flavor between the pork and onion, while the zest of the ginger
gives it just enough “oomph” to be considered spicy.
Following the spicy dishes I sampled the sweet and sour shrimp and the Thai spring rolls.
The sweet and sour shrimp contains green bell pepper,
pineapple and shrimp, each item blending nicely, yet retaining its own
distinctive flavor. This selection can also be served on top of jasmine rice,
a superior grade of long grain rice from
The Thai spring rolls have fewer vegetables to meat as compared with Chinese egg rolls. The spring rolls are made with a different wrapper as well, yielding a delicate flaky crust with a moist delicious filling. I wanted to take several home with me.
The last two items I sampled at Mrs. Culpepper’s were the crab cakes and the lemon grass soup.
I have to admit I have sampled more than my share of crab cakes, many different sizes, shapes and consistencies, most of which have been rather good. This, however, was the first crab cake I ever finished. The cakes were very moist, full of crabmeat, and just the right size (about 3 inches in diameter by about 1 1/2 inches thick).
I’m not the only “expert” who likes them. The
Culpeppers have recently signed on to make crab cakes for U.S. Foodservice, a
leading restaurant food and equipment supplier in the
The lemon grass soup was the highlight of my evening. Not only did I get to sample a wonderful creation, I was also able to watch Ms. Culpepper prepare this from beginning to end.
She started by pouring a ladle of water into her wok, then she hand cut and added tomatoes, mushrooms and a few other secret ingredients. Next she added shrimp, hand picked each herb (including the lemon grass), stirred it together and voilá — a masterpiece.
The aromas billowing out of the wok were incredible and I could not believe how just a few small pieces of lemon grass gave the soup such incredible citrus smells and flavors. If you like homemade soup, you will love this one.
Mrs. Culpepper’s Crab Café and Thai Stir-Fry is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., and Sundays from noon until 3 p.m.
The prices are extremely affordable with menu items starting at $4.50 for the lunch buffet and ranging up to $14.95 for all-you-can-eat-seafood, in which they cook seafood to order and serve it to you all night long.
On Sundays, they do not open the register. Instead, a donation bucket is put on the counter and all proceeds go into Ministry Outreach.
Enjoy!
Location.jpg)
Brandywine
Crossing,
(252) 240-1960
Not accepted
MasterCard, Visa, cash
Dylan Ray and Sherley Buckland photos
See the previously reviewed restaurants on the Restaurant Archive page
Featured restaurants in this series:
Morehead City
Capt. Jim’s
Seafood-Fresh seafood sold by the
pound
Price Range:
$1.99-$12.99 lb.
4665 Arendell St.
252-727-3454
Captain’s Table-
Seafood and Southern Style cooking, Breakfast and Lunch Favorites
Price Range:
$1-9
Reservations:
N/A
Dress:
Beach Casual
4113 Arendell St.
Cattle Ranch &
Oceans Restaurant-Seafood,
Steaks, Greek,
Mediterranean Cuisine
Price Range:
$3-25
Reservations:
Accepted
Dress:
Beach Casual
4051 Arendell St.
252-726-0120
Floyd’s 1921-Southern
and eclectic
Price Range:
$4-28
Reservations:
Encouraged
Dress:
Business casual
Fourth
and Bridges Street
(252)
727-1921
Mrs. Culpepper’s
Crab Café & Thai Stir Fry-
Thai & Seafood
Price Range:
$5.50-14.95
Reservations:
N/A
Dress:
Business Casual
5370-D Hwy 70W
252-240-1960
Mrs. Willis
Restaurant-Seafood-Steaks-American
Favorites
Price Range:
$2-25
Reservations:
Accepted
Dress:
Business Casual
3114 Bridges St.
252-726-3741
Smithfield’s
Chicken & Bar-B-Q-Barbecue,
Chicken, Shrimp
Price Range:
.79-$20
Reservations:
N/A
Dress:
Beach Casual
4114 Arendell St.
252-247-7476
Atlantic
Beach
Amos Mosquito’s-Swampy
Chic, Cajun Style Cuisine
Price Range: $5-30
Reservations: Accepted
Dress:
Business Casual
703 E. Fort Macon Road
252-247-6222
Channel Marker-Seafood-Fresh
Grilled-Blackened Seafood-Angus Beef
Price Range: $9.95-37.95
Reservations: Accepted
Dress: Business
Casual
718 Atlantic Beach
Causeway
252-247-2344
White Swan BBQ-Country
Style Barbecue
Price Range: $3-10
Reservations:
N/A
Dress:
Beach Casual
2500 W Fort Macon Road
252-726-9607
Beaufort
Sharpies Restaurant-Contemporary
Coastal Cuisine
Price Range:
$6-35
Reservations:
Accepted
Dress:
Business Casual
521 Front St., Beaufort
252-838-0101
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