Fried Shrimp

Anyone know who serves great fried shrimp with very little batter (and not spicy) --preferrably on the north side? It doesn't matter if they specialize in seafood or not.

I don't like Lawrence's because the breading is so thick, and the Fish Keg is too heavy for me, too. I like the shrimp at Captain Hook's but I'm looking for something even lighter.

Saw a place in Australia on cable that had fried shrimp (prawns really) with such light breading which looked so wonderful that I wondered if any place around here has something comparable.

Snappy's on Irving Park a little west of the Brown Line. Gulf shrimp, never frozen.

Snappy's Shrimp
1901 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60613-2407
(773) 244-1008

Have you thought about a Japanese restaurant that serves shrimp tempura?

or, if it's really light batter you're looking for, I might suggest getting the "salt & pepper" shrimp or prawns offered at many chinese places. Ed's Potsticker House, Mei Shung and Silver Seafood are places where I've had this.

Ed's Potsticker House
3139 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60608-6601

Mei Shung (they call it "spicy salt")
5511 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640-1405

Silver Seafood
4829 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640

sarcon wrote:Snappy's on Irving Park a little west of the Brown Line. Gulf shrimp, never frozen.

Snappy's Shrimp
1901 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60613-2407
(773) 244-1008

I've heard very good things about Snappy's Shrimp, but haven't tried them. But I've always understood that shrimp deteriorate very quickly and so, unless you live near the source, it is always best to get shrimp that are frozen right after they are caught/harvested. So I would have presumed Snappy's is buying frozen shrimp, but maybe not.

I can't speak to fresh/frozen for Snappys. But, I would definitely not consider them lightly battered. They have a good, thick crust on them. It's pretty good fried shrimp, but probably not what you are looking for based upon your original post.

Most shrimp you'd want to eat, including most wild-caught Gulf shrimp, are frozen on the boat. This goes back pretty far, at least 20 years. That said, there's nothing quite like shrimp that come in the kitchen door still squirming from the boat. As with most seafood, I'd like for it to have been alive and well within the past day or two or frozen on the boat. The worst is the "fresh, previously frozen" stuff that gets thawed to look pretty in the display case.

Whatever Snappy's has, it's plenty good. For the OP, please do a search as shrimp shacks, a quirky Chicago phenomenon, are well-documented here already. Cantonese S&P preps are a good idea if one doesn't want thick breading.

Thanks for all the tips! I will give some of the seafood places mentioned a try.

The shrimp shacks typically have more breading than I would like. Anyone know if the one on the far south side, east on 95th street, has lightly battered shrimp? Haven't been there in ages and can't recall --or their name!?

I've never thought of the Chinese fried shrimp that I've had as lightly battered. Sometimes it's hard to find the shrimp for all the batter. Is the salt and pepper version different --and not spicy?

Am not very familiar with Japanese food. Is Japanese shrimp tempora typically prepared with less batter?

cosmictinker wrote: Anyone know if the one on the far south side, east on 95th street, has lightly battered shrimp? Haven't been there in ages and can't recall --or their name!?

Calumet Fisheries
3259 E. 95th St
Chicago, IL 60617
(773) 933-9855
http://www.calumetfisheries.com

cosmictinker wrote:I've never thought of the Chinese fried shrimp that I've had as lightly battered. Sometimes it's hard to find the shrimp for all the batter. Is the salt and pepper version different --and not spicy?

Salt & Pepper shrimp taste like they're dredged in flour in addition to whatever spices are used, but do not have a thick batter or breading. Since the shrimp don't go through an egg wash in the breading process, the crust is light and enhances the flavor without bringing a fried chicken-like crunchiness. I've never had this dish that was spicy from chiles, at most there's some spiciness of black pepper.