Roadside food finds in South Carolina

Do you find yourself shuttling between Boston and points south on I-95 ?

In a road food story I shared some Georgia eateries from years of driving the East Coast. Now comes a new find off the highway near Florence,
S.C., in the former cotton and tobacco town of Darlington. You'd never know it
from the scruffy exterior -- or maybe you would -- but Bay Island Seafood has
been a local favorite for 20 years. Traveling with me was Charlotte Jenkins,
the owner-chef of Gullah Cuisine in Mt. Pleasant,S.C., who's a divining rod of sorts when it comes to food. We'd missed lunch and
the restaurants in Darlington had stopped serving, when she noticed the
faded blue storefront at 1316 South Main.

Inside, the seafood market sells whole pan fish like croaker, black bass, and
Virginia spot, while the kitchen turns out plates of perfectly fried seafood
done bone-in in the Gullah style. Just look in the seafood case and see
what's fresh (we chose the croaker), and the staff will fry it up. The
portions are generous, prices cheap (a 4-piece dinner cost $8.99), and
there's plenty of sit-down space as well as take-away. Willie Pearson, who
owns the restaurant, also sells big plastic bottles of his own hot sauce. The
label contains a dedication to his mother.

Charlotte had also wanted to buy a lottery ticket in Darlington because she
thinks small lotto stores are the luckiest, but we'd forgotten that, too.
After our meal, she said, "No worries. We hit the jackpot with Bay Island."
Bay Island Seafood
Darlington, S.C.
(843) 393-5986
Directions: From I-95, take Exit 164 (US 52 N.) toward Darlington. Continue
straight about 5.2 miles to Joe Louis Blvd. and make a U-turn to restaurant
on opposite side (US 52 S.).

Posted by Patricia Borns, Globe Correspondent

Photos by Patricia Borns for The Boston Globe