Messy Shellfish Dining at Shrimply Delicious

The term “food that fights back” might suggest something on the order of sushi on the hoof, as in the case of swordfish that would rather duel than be dipped in soy sauce.

It is, however, a useful term to describe any sort of comestible that requires a great deal of effort on the part of the diner, or that presents a real threat to the diner’s apparel--examples would be fish riddled with bones, or shellfish still in the shell, such as crab and shrimp. Those of us who like simply to pick up knife and fork and go to town really don’t care to be forced to work for our suppers by having to peel away carapaces and shells.

But if-- if --you really do like food that puts up a fight, leave your better duds at home and head off to Shrimply Delicious in downtown Encinitas, a self-styled Cajun seafoodery that dumps large portions of shrimp, stone crab claws, snow crab “clusters” and king crab legs directly on the table.

Guests, equipped with plastic bibs and wooden mallets, do the work of extracting juicy bits of seafood, dipping the morsels in cups of melted butter and enjoying the sometimes tasty results. The experience is messy, and fun if you’re in the mood. But you must work fast, since everything cools quickly, as dawdlers will discover to their dismay.

In its most formal moments, Shrimply Delicious presents stainless steel cocktail forks with which to consume the rather good shrimp and crab cocktails, heavily spiked with horseradish and flavorful to the bottom of the plastic cups. But that’s as fancy as the place gets--all the dishware is disposable, and most knives, forks and spoons are of the plastic persuasion; high-toned, Shrimply Delicious ain’t.

The style may owe partly to an urge to economize, but it also fits both a mood and a mode that go hand-in-hand with the sawdust sprinkled on the floor, the homage to New Orleans payed by the posters of shellfish and peppers and the jazz that plays ceaselessly over the sound system. Tables boast two brands of hot sauce--Red Devil from Louisiana and Guaca-maya from Mexico--splatters of which blotch the walls as evidence that guests do use them. An even more useful table adornment is the roll of paper towels that, rest assured, you will employ liberally; after the meal, the server brings a dispenser of “moist towelettes” for which you will be even more grateful.

Shrimply Delicious describes itself as “Cajun,” a term much abused and not too meaningful here, since this is primarily a shellfish house, a fact that by itself makes the restaurant unique in these parts. One side of the menu simply lists shellfish by weight, beginning with whole shrimp (this means the heads are intact) steamed in beer, and continuing with stone crab claws; snow crab “clusters” (meaty joints, and good); Alaska king crab legs, again meaty and delicious; steamed crayfish; steamed clams and several types of mussels, also steamed. Fresh Maine lobster also is available.

All the above items can be ordered in various combinations, mostly served for two, that include chunks of steamed red potato, corn on the cob and moderately spicy, New Orleans-style andouille sausage.

A combo called “Sons of the Beaches” offers portions of king, snow and stone crab, shrimp, sausage, corn and red-skin spuds. Priced at $19.25 for two, this has the makings of an immoderate feast. The presentation is startling for these parts: After covering the table with a few sheets of paper, the server simply dumps the food in the middle and invites guests to dig in. Wooden mallets are provided to crack the crab pieces, which yield meat of varying quality. The snow and Alaska crab is good, the stone crab utterly flavorless (if you’ve had this fresh in Florida, the frozen product never will satisfy) and the shrimp surprisingly bland. The sausage, corn and potatoes serve mostly as fillers.

The specifically “Cajun” dishes consist of red beans and rice (not sampled), jambalaya and seafood gumbo. The jambalaya, a rice stew distantly related to Spanish paella, was fairly flavorful and authentic, while the gumbo had a lot in common with cookbook gumbos but in no way resembled the genuine New Orleans article; to make matters worse, it was virtually innocent of shellfish.

Another starter, the Caesar salad, was tossed at the table but had little to recommend it; this salad now appears so commonly on local menus that any restaurant unwilling to serve a first-rate version would be well advised not to bother.

Shrimply Delicious

559 1st St., Encinitas

Calls: 944-9172

Hours: Dinner nightly

Cost: Most entrees $8 to $9; dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $25 to $50.