4th Street Shrimp Store

The Scene
Inside hangs various goofy antiques, a Victorian bathtub lounges on the lawn and hung inside on the wall is a carved naked woman that once graced the prow of a ship—she is quixotically wearing a man's necktie and strings of Gasparilla beads. We were so chilled at that point, we didn't care whether the food was any good or not—the restaurant has all the earmarks of a terrific place to hang.

The Food
A clam chowder, rich and thick and loaded with clams and potatoes, arrived straightaway. It was very good, and people with delicate appetites probably would be satisfied to stop there and go home. But duty called, so we answered by ordering shrimp and scallop dinners.

Mine entailed a huge pile of fried scallops, accompanied with homemade coleslaw and new potatoes swimming in parsley and butter. It must have been a half pound or more or scallops, way too much to eat at a sitting, but who cares? Homemade rather than commercial breading might have made the dish better, but it was still perfectly respectable. Ditto for the shrimp dinner my hubbie got.

The Dessert
If you're genetically unable to decline anything chocolate, try the ''Chocolate Suicide'' cake, which lives up to its name: Dark, rich cake loaded with satiny frosting, its outside rolled with peanuts, a wonderful, crunchy variation. Suicide would only be attractive if you knew you would never taste this cake again.