The Iconic Southern Dishes Every Seafood Lover Must Try

The United States is a literal melting pot of food, with different cuisines found in almost every town, city, and state. Thanks to the vast cultures that reside in each region, the fare offered has a blend of the culinary traditions not only from our heritage but from the cultures of those who have settled in the particular section over generations. Today, many of these delicious foods are also largely influenced by the availability of locally-grown produce and other foods from farmers.

One area that is home to several traditional styles of cooking is the American South. According to the Census Bureau, the South is comprised of 16 states – Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Not only is the cuisine of each state influenced by people of all different backgrounds, but each region is as well.

Certain areas on the South Carolina and Georgia coasts feature Lowcountry and Gullah cuisines that have roots in West African cooking traditions, while Lowcountry also incorporates English, French, and Caribbean influences. In Louisiana, Cajun food is derived from the palates of French colonists who settled in Canada before traveling South, while Creole is a blend of French, Native American, West African, and Spanish cuisines. And in all of these American culinary traditions, seafood plays a major role. (To experience a different type of regional specialty, you can visit New York's Coney Island and check out the Mermaid Parade, held every year since 1983.)

24/7 Tempo consulted numerous books and websites dedicated to seafood and Southern food to compile a list of must-try Southern seafood dishes. To better recommend restaurants that serve the dishes mentioned, we consulted reviews and rankings on websites including Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Eater, and Time Out. While we strived for geographical diversity in our choice of restaurants, half of our choices turned out to be in New Orleans or elsewhere in Louisiana because so many iconic Southern seafood dishes come out of Cajun or Creole cuisine. Note that the images that follow don't necessarily represent the dish as served at the recommended restaurant.

Southern seafood dishes use a variety of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans that are traditionally found in the local region, like fried catfish and crawfish étouffée. Oysters and blue crabs are big players along the mid-Atlantic coast, while the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast also offer conch, stone crabs, shrimp, and grouper. Crawfish are prominent in Cajun and Creole dishes, and frog legs are also popular in the South, especially in areas with French influence. (Here are 20 iconic Southern foods every American should try.)

Here are must-try Southern seafood dishes

• Type of dish: Deep-fried oysters with rémoulade sauce or mayonnaise on a New Orleans French roll
• Where to taste it: Frady's One Stop Food Shop, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Shrimp in tomato and garlic sauce over creamy grits, sometimes with cheese added
• Where to taste it: 82 Queen, Charleston, South Carolina

• Type of dish: Redfish filet coated in spices and blackened in butter in a searing-hot skillet
• Where to taste it: Nina P's Café, Lake Charles, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Oysters wrapped in burlap and grilled till they open, served with crackers and cocktail sauce
• Where to taste it: One of the Lowcountry's numerous annual oyster roasts

• Type of dish: Crawfish with potatoes, onions, corn on the cob, and other ingredients boiled with spices (often Zatarain's)
• Where to taste it: Crawdaddy's Boil-n-Go, Lufkin, Texas

• Type of dish: Oysters baked in a shrimp sauce with cheese and bread crumbs
• Where to taste it: Arnaud's, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Catfish filets typically soaked in buttermilk and then dredged in cornmeal before frying
• Where to taste it: Taylor Grocery, Taylor, Mississippi

• Type of dish: Crawfish simmered in a sauce that may or may not be made with a roux, sometimes with tomatoes
• Where to taste it: The Original Pierre Maspero's, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Shrimp in a spicy sauce including celery, bell pepper, and scallion or onion
• Where to taste it: Darwell's Cafe, Long Beach, Mississippi

• Type of dish: Frogs' legs marinated, breaded, and deep-fried
• Where to taste it: Beaudreau & Thibodeau's Cajun Cookin', Houma, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Chopped conch meat bound with flour and egg, formed into balls or patties and deep-fried
• Where to taste it: Alabama Jack's, Key Largo, Florida

• Type of dish: Oysters on the half-shell baked with butter, spinach and/or green herbs, and bread crumbs
• Where to taste it: Antoine's, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Meaty cracked crab claws with mustard dipping sauce
• Where to taste it: Joe's Stone Crab, Miami, Florida

• Type of dish: Nothing to do with barbecue – shrimp in a spicy sauce including butter and Worcestershire sauce
• Where to taste it: Pascal's Manale, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Crab meat usually bound with bread crumbs and/or egg, formed into cakes, and sautéed or baked
• Where to taste it: G&M Restaurant, Linthicum Heights, Maryland

• Type of dish: Boiled or poached shrimp in a tartar-sauce-like emulsion
• Where to taste it: Galatoire's, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Breaded or battered grouper filet, sometimes with spices, served on a bun with condiments
• Where to taste it: Grouper & Chips, Naples, Florida

• Type of dish: A bisque-like crabmeat soup to which crab roe is traditionally added
• Where to taste it: Vic's River Grill, Savannah, Georgia

• Type of dish: A soupy stew of shrimp, crawfish, and/or crab and sometimes oysters in a sauce thickened with okra or filé powder (ground dried sassafras leaves)
• Where to taste it: Gumbo Shop, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Type of dish: Catfish filets in a spicy tomato sauce thickened with roux
• Where to taste it: T-Coon's, Lafayette, Louisiana