T’s Seafood Restaurant

*** THIS RESTAURANT IS PERMANENTLY CLOSED ***

T’s is an Augusta seafood institution. To the question, Who’d want to eat in an institution?, we answer: anyone with a taste for decent fish and an appreciation of tradition.

T’s originally opened in the McBean neighborhood of Hephzibah in 1946 and moved to its current location in 1952. It has built its reputation on cornmeal-crusted farm-raised catfish (whole or filleted) and astounding hushpuppies that are thick ribbons of fried cornmeal a good eight inches long. While they look unlike any other hushpuppies, their taste is classic: earthy and just barely onion-sweet with an agreeably crunchy, thick skin. They begin every meal, served with a ramekin of tartar sauce, or they can be the companion of a trip to the Boat Load Salad Bar — an option for fish-frowners who want to pile their plate with countless composed salads, cheeses, vegetables, peppers, and all the usual green-salad ingredients.

But the reason most people come to T’s is seafood. Catfish is billed as the house specialty, and it is fine: moist with an outdoorsy flavor inside a crisp cornmeal crust. Shrimp are firm-fleshed, available fried in a thin veil of breading or steamed or charbroiled. Other available seafare includes flounder (fried, broiled, or crabmeat-stuffed), scallops and oysters (fried or broiled), and snow crab legs by the pound. If someone in your group simply does not like fish (or the salad bar), the menu’s “Land Lovers’ Favorites” include quail, ribeye steak, and chicken.

T’s is not cozy. It’s a big, sprawling place — ideal for large parties — and its personality is institutional. But for a wide variety of well-prepared seafood, for unique hushpuppies and a bountiful salad bar, we’ll be back.