Atlantic City Weekly

Chef Paul Gregory (photo by nick valinote)

It seems only appropriate that we dropped into Somers Point's Gregory's on the Saturday night management labels as "Adios Touristas" celebrating the return of normalcy to the Jersey shore after a most spectacular summer of 2008.

Gregory's -- a Shore Road staple in multiple incarnations for a full century as of this year -- is perhaps the consummate locals' bar and tavern, serving dual natures as both a casual taproom and a moderately formal dining space.

Thanks to the packed nature of this particular evening, we opted for the former, and were thrilled to obtain the last remaining booth as the room swelled with joyous patrons.

This is the kind of place we grew up eating in, and if you were lucky, you did too. Nothing pretentious, mind you, just quality food delivered quickly in a thoroughly enjoyable environment.

Sports fans will feel particularly blissful at Gregory's, with multiple TVs delivering an array of athletics. Most on this first weekend of fall were tuned to college-football action.

And what works better with football than buffalo chicken wings? Not much we can imagine, so we ordered up some as soon as our prompt server initially arrived. Priced at $7 for an order of seven, these were juicy, well seasoned and blisteringly hot within, clearly indicating they had moved swiftly from the fry station to our table.

While taking the edge off our hunger, we perused the sizeable menu. We liked having the same bill of fare as the dining room, full-course entrees plus a wide array of snacks, classic shore seafood and sandwiches. If you can't find something you want here, then you just aren't hungry.

From the appetizer section, our companion picked Cajun shrimp ($8.99). Fifteen or so baby crustaceans were tossed in a tangy, not hot, bright red sauce. Composed of the traditional trinity of ingredients -- onion, celery and bell peppers -- this ate more like a spicy southern seafood soup, with loads of flavor being delivered by the sauteed vegetables.

Bread, and plenty of it, provided alongside, encouraged sopping up and sharing around the table.

From the opposite corner of the country, I ordered the half Dungeness crab ($10.79), also available in a larger portion/price as an entree. That giant northwest Pacific creature, loaded with the biggest, tastiest chunks of crabmeat in the animal kingdom, was steamed and presented simply alongside drawn butter and an orange slice. We took our time, digging into every crevice to obtain its precious, clean contents.

Soup, included with our entrees as a choice with salads, was on this night a chowder-style potato with bacon and cheddar. Rich and smooth, it possessed a great balance of smoke and salt from the pork and cheese.

Seared scallops ($18.99), locally indigenous, are probably one of the first items available at this location, whose curious, entertaining history is explained in great detail on the back of the menu. This entree brought more than a dozen, bathed in a light, pleasant lemon butter sauce. They had been cooked thoroughly, but removed from their heat source well prior to obtaining an undesirably chewy texture, which can often result.

Sides, of which there are a large number of choices, were a mound of steamed spinach, gently seasoned, and a baked potato.

Pay special attention to the price structure here. Few, if any, other local restaurants we can think of offer a more potent combination of quality and affordability.