By Becky Billingsley

Wednesday, August 22, 2012, Georgetown – Before tasting KC Terry’s food at The Krazy Fish in Georgetown, diners have clues the chef is all about scrumptious flavors.

Indications include the long row of enticing-sounding cookbooks on top of the drink cooler, herbs Terry is busily planting outside the restaurant’s front door, intriguing chalkboard menus and tantalizing aromas emanating from the kitchen.

The restaurant looks radically different and more casual than when the space was Morsels Market, which had racks and coolers and display cases full of deli and market items, with just a few dining tables. Now seats are fashioned from raw lumber (they may be recycled warehouse pallets) and splatter painted in bright colors. They have high backs, and give the feeling you’re in a booth.

The seats’ ends are rough and unsanded, so be aware of that if you’re wearing clothing of a silken or rayon texture, because they could be snagged on it. Music played at a low-key level is a mellow blues/folk/jazz.

Terry, a native of the North Carolina high country, came to Georgetown via Charlotte, where he had a Krazy Fish Grille five blocks from the high rent Plaza Midwood area. He sold that one, and he and partner Duff North Ramsey settled on Front Street in Georgetown as a perfect spot for their style of casual food-centric dining.

My husband and I picked an appetizer from one of two chalkboard menus – Curry Shrimp. The dish has five large butterflied shrimp that are lightly battered and fried to delicate crispiness with five broccoli florets in a spicy red curry broth. Also on the plate are two warm flour tortillas shaped to resemble wontons, for sopping up and relishing the broth. It is excellent.

We also enjoyed the Caprese Salad with fresh mozzarella, flavorful tomato Roma tomato slices, julienne purple onions, Romaine lettuce, a balsamic drizzle and super-spicy blackened shrimp. We quickly learned to save bites of mozzarella and eat them after the shrimp, to tampen the fire, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

For our entrees we went with two recommendations from Terry. From the chalkboard we had Louisiana BBQ Shrimp, which is like a soup. The broth is thin and spicy – although nowhere near as spicy as the blackened shrimp on the Caprese Salad – and filled with large shrimp, scallions, red bell peppers and a myriad of fresh herbs. It came with large grilled bread slices for dunking in the broth. Again, the dish was entrancingly wonderful.

In all three of the dishes we had with shrimp, they were plump and juicy.

Our final dish was from the menu – Krazy Pad Thai ($14). It contains chicken and small shrimp tossed with Singapore stick noodles, onions, bell pepper, scallions, fresh cilantro, and a sauce I think Terry said was tamarind fish sauce.

I say “I think,” because Terry’s a fast-talker who enthusiastically discusses his ingredients at a rapid pace, and I didn’t want to stop eating long enough to concentrate on note-taking. Just know his food is delicious.

The Mr. and I will definitely return, often. We want to check out Mussels in Green Thai Curry Sauce ($11), Salt ‘n’ Pepper Wings with sweet and sour sauce, Peanut Butter and Jelly Wings, and Mermaid Salad ($12) with fish, shrimp, calamari, scallops and pickled vegetables.

Tacos sound incredible – you get two for $7.45-$10, and they can be filled with fish, shrimp, calamari, scallops, Cuban chicken, pulled pork with blueberry tamarind chutney, smoked beef brisket, Southern fried chicken or Buffalo chicken. There are four fresh salsa choices, including green tomatillo, and none of them contain fruit.

From 3-5 p.m. daily, tacos are half-price.

Krazy Fish also has sandwiches for $8-$11, like Big Daddy’s Beef Brisket, Cuban, Three Little Pigs BBQ and Po’ Boys that can contain a variety of seafood. A few more entrees are Acadian Shrimp and Grits ($15), Krazy Fish Fry ($14-$16) and Blackened Katfish ($17) with a “special wasabi blackening spice served over Krazy rice with Creole sauce, green beans, cornbread and garden salad.”

Our bill was $52.70 for one appetizer, one salad, two entrees and three soft drinks, and we had a lot of leftovers. We appreciated our soup was packed in a specific-purpose non-leak recyclable cardboard container.

You can check out the entire menu HERE. The Krazy Fish is at 619 Front St. in Georgetown, and the number is (843) 527-3250. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and you can see the day’s chalkboard specials on its Facebook page.

It’s like nothing else on Front Street.