Dead Dog Fetches Diner Devotion
By Becky Billingsley
It's difficult to believe Dead Dog Saloon is only 9 years old, because these days it is such an icon of the Murrells Inlet waterfront it's hard to imagine a time when its joyful partying wasn't part of the landscape.
And what a gorgeous landscape it is, right on the inlet waterfront with an expansive deck that lovingly wraps around an ancient and majestic live oak tree. Some people like to come for solitude and sit out under the trees to people-watch the folks strolling by on the Marsh Walk and contemplate shore birds dotting the waters. Others come to party and dance by the outside bar where live bands often perform.
The Dead Dog building is vintage inlet, which is apparent from the weathered and handsome wood floors and the shape of the sprawling building, but practically everything else has been remodeled, updated and/or enlarged at least a couple of times in the previous decade, including a new kitchen. The decor is a mixture of classically beautiful hardwoods in the walls and booths with colorful ladder-back chairs pulled up to tables with custom-painted tops.
Those tabletops are a source of amusement for first-time visitors, with hilarious canine cartoons and sayings on them.
One given aspect of diners' motivation for choosing Dead Dog Saloon over other inlet choices is the food that's served. The menu is whimsical with its humorous canine references, but the cuisine is seriously delicious.
If you like beef, start with the Boo Boo's Tender Bites. A favorite among locals since the restaurant opened, it features garlic toast spread with garlic Parmesan mayonnaise and topped with thin slices of beef tenderloin, Asiago cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. This dish is right up there in the area's top 10 appetizers.
A few more top picks from their lengthy appetizer list include Lobster Bites where mini lobster tails are breaded and fried and served with drawn butter and Creole sauce; Spike's Sweet & Spicy Shrimp bathed in Thai chili glaze; and Chorizo con Queso where a blend of cheeses are melted and mixed with diced tomato, green chilies and crumbled cooked chorizo sausage, and served in a crock with tortilla chips.
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Soups include a regional classic called She-Crab Soup - a luxuriously creamy concoction loaded with crab and served with a kiss of sherry. Dead Dog proprietor Charlie Campbell has his Chili on the menu, and it's meaty and served with Cheddar cheese and green onions.
Caesar, Cobb and Spinach are the salad choices, and the spinach is tossed with grilled chicken or shrimp, crumbled blue cheese, cherry tomatoes, red onions and balsamic vinaigrette.
Many fried seafood baskets are sold at Dead Dog Saloon, along with a long list of sandwiches and wraps. There are Grouper Tacos and Lobster Rolls, Po' Boys and Crab Cake Sandwiches, Cheese Steaks and Burgers, Pastrami on Rye and Corned Beef Reuben, and a Smoked Turkey Avocado Sandwich with Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and mayonnaise on toasted wheat bread.
Then there are the entrees, and this section offers a wide variety of tastes and flavors. Steaks include Ribeye with garlic sauce, or you can get a half or full rack of Buster's Baby Back Ribs. Blackened Chicken Alfredo is a hot seller along with Surf & Turf where a ribeye is topped with lobster chunks and Béarnaise.
Of course seafood is king in this idyllic waterfront setting, and there are Steamer Platters with clams, Alaskan Snow Crab, shrimp and crawfish. Grilled fish can be slathered in a choice of several glazes and rubs like Red Pepper Hollandaise or Dill Sauce, and it can come topped with lump crab meat.
Shrimp and Grits are doused in a creamy Southern Gravy, Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna is a delightfully spicy choice, and dinner just doesn't get much better than The Heavenly Inlet Trio of grilled crab cake, scallops and fresh creek shrimp.
Dead Dog Saloon has a well-maintained website where you can check out special events and live music lineups. One of the restaurant's most revered annual events is a day-long 9/11 commemoration that raises money for emergency services.
Dead Dog Saloon is at 4079 U.S. 17 Business in Murrells Inlet, and the number is (843) 651-0664. It's open daily starting at 11 a.m.
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