If you know Panama City Beach, you know Shuckums Oyster Pub and Seafood Grill known for their motto: We shuckum, you suckum. They have been in the same location since 1967, relatively unchanged. The place is visited by people of all ages, from men in sunglasses and baseball caps sucking oysters at the bar, to the couples sitting on the outside patio watching the Spring Break traffic and sharing appetizers and a pitcher of beer, to families with kids coloring dollars sitting at the initial-carved picnic tables surrounded by dollars everywhere a staple can be affixed.
We thought we would enjoy the local food and fun atmosphere. The service lived up to our expectation, with the waitress checking on us every now and then. The food, however, was nothing less than dreadful. The kids wouldn’t eat their chicken fingers (you know something is wrong when that happens!). My crab cake dinner was three cakes, a small soufflé of factory made coleslaw and hush puppies that were so burnt they were inedible. The crab cakes themselves were probably the worst I have ever tasted. My mother’s chef special hot dog was covered with so much gook that she couldn’t find the dog. The only thing we found appetizing was the cold pitcher of beer.
The one highpoint of the meal was when my kids could hang their decorated dollars among the other thousands. We were sadly disappointed when we were told they did not have a stapler, tape, or anything else, but we could leave the dollars in cup for someone to hang them. We left disappointed and hungry.
If you really must visit Shuckums, have a cold beer and oysters, which seem to please those that eat them. Maybe try the grouper or gumbo. Check out their web page before you go for a coupon for a free pitcher of beer. And if you go, see if they really hung up our dollars. . .