Anette, Harry and Jessica headed over to Orange Beach for this month’s Adventures in Dining where the Shrimp Shack in SanRoc Cay puts family and selection first. The family owned and operated restaurant offers a plethora of oyster dishes and a cheeseburger as heavenly as their seafood dishes.

 Troy and Melody Newton met while working in the seafood restaurant business. Troy bar tended and Melody waited tables, but they didn’t wait on each other for long.

 The couple has been married for seven years. Now they have a three-year-old named Riley, a six-month-old named Tucker and a seafood restaurant of their own.

 The couple opened a Shrimp Shack in Fairhope in 2007, then moved to the current, Orange Beach location in May of this year.

 “Just after (college) graduation, I’d spend nights bar tending, I managed a couple of restaurants, then we just decided we’d open one,” Troy said. “Most of my restaurant experience was in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area; new looked for two years, then this spot opened up.”

 Troy said he feels at home in the seafood restaurant business and just wants to offer “consistently good seafood—fried, grilled or blackened.”

 The Shrimp Shack offers a wide variety of oyster dishes: raw, cajun, baked, grilled or Rockefellar.

 While Rockefellars have the traditional spinach mixture, other half-shells don unique and delicious toppings.

 Baked oysters hide under cheese and bacon bits; cajun oysters bask in hot sauce, cheese and jalapenos; while grilled delights are smothered in gouda cheese and garlic butter. The three of us all defended different favorites.

 Shrimp slept in a semi spicy and light breading, enjoyed by all, and sweet potato fries masqueraded as candy with a sweet, vanilla sugar coating.

 Po Boys are served on grilled Gambino French bread—if you can find the bun under mounds of shrimp.

 “The bun’s supposed to be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside,” Troy explained.

 All seemed to agree that the half pound, black angus cheeseburger stole the show. Waitress Courtney Johnson seemed to cheer from the sidelines as she supported her favorite dish.

 When asked his favorite menu item, Troy never missed a beat, “shrimp and grits!”

 “It’s always been my favorite food and we use gouda cheese in them,” he said.

 Melody’s mother, Pat Ball chimed in on their homemade desserts. She makes the brownie pie and key lime pie herself.

 The “consistently good seafood” keeps a consistent crowd as the Shrimp Shack brings a steady flow of hungry guests.

 They’re even adding breakfast—to be served daily at 7 a.m. The eatery is open until 10 p.m. nightly and also offers happy hour and catering.