Rusty's Surf & Turf

We've been coming to Rusty's for a few years and always enjoy the food here. The kitchen staff is talented and you can tell they really enjoy what they do.
We started with the fried calamari which was perfect seasoned. Not too spicy and not bland at all.
I had the Kahuku shrimp while my wife had the crab cakes. I'm not usually a fan of green beans but the garlic green beans were seriously delicious. And I know rice is generally not considered a prize-winning dish but this was hands-down the best rice I have ever had. I want to know what sauce they put on the rice because it made an otherwise boring side into something extraordinary.
I was stuffed by the time I finished my dish and should have stopped, but I had to find out about the Hatteras Sunshine Cake. Orange cake with pineapple fluff filling and toasted coconut on top? I couldn't resist and was glad I have no self control as I'm not even going to try to describe how delicious it was. My wife had the chocolate covered strawberry cake and she described it as "decadent".
I'll be back for my next trip to try the shrimp and grits. They sound amazing.

Food was definitely 5 stars, very well cooked and presented perfectly. Only two real issues with the place 1st if you use the online reservation system(which you need to since they are booked almost as soon as they open) there is no option to pick inside or outside seating. Thus when we got there they said it pre-booked us for outside sitting. (It's hot as heck, the beach and we ride motorcycles we prefer to eat inside for the little bit of AC we can get). So we decide to wait till the inside seating is avaliable. Took less than 10 mins, that's fine. What gets me is the receptionist kept saying you could chose inside or outside, we told her there was no option to pick and she said you can make a note in the request for inside seating. That is not an option, that is you having to put in an additional request. Really think they should know what app they are using and how it is viewed from the customer side. That note area is for allergies, accessibility, etc, true additional notes. 2nd food took forever and day to be made. Even the couple to our right considered leaving since their food had taken almost an hour to be brought out. Otherwise it was a good restaurant. Interior was clean and neat, could use some consistency with the chairs, was a bit of an hodgepodge from table to table. I added updated menus since the prices have changed a bit from 2yrs ago.

Very friendly girl behind the bar, I had the Surf and Turf, true to their name. Big steak, the Shrimp are not Jumbo. Grilled Asparagus would go great with this dish instead of their "House" Veggies. Hence only 4 stars. PS very nice presentation...

The food, service, and atmosphere was amazing.
Liza was an amazing waitress, gave us great suggestions and was very attentive to our needs.
I got the Kalbi Steak with sticky rice.
The steak was so juicy, bursting with Hawaiian flavors and I think I heard angels sing when I was eating it!! [I should have got up and did a hula dance but that probably would have been embarrassing for everyone😊]
The fresh catch of the day was so good that my conservative wife almost got up to let loose a loud rebel yell, even though we are Northerners.
I personally do not like Tuna, but my daughter in law shared some of her Sesame Seared Tuna with me and I may have been converted because I actually liked it alot because the seasoning and preparation was perfection.

Absolutely the best food I've had on my trips to the outer banks. It's obvious that they take pride in the food they serve and everything on the menu is unique and full of amazing flavor. Even my kids who ate from the kids menu and are 7 and 10 raved about their food. The staff is also great especially our server Liza 😀!

Update: So good we went back again the next night and tried the Ribs (SOOOO GOOD) and Shrimp fettuccine and loved that as well. When your kids chicken tenders are the best you've tried you know the chef is on point! Also, we got to meet Rusty (Chef) and of course he awesome too! Unfortunately no new pics because we just dug in like a bunch of savages...it's just that good.