I had previously reviewed Coach's as a mediocre sports bar. They've revamped and found a niche market in Morgantown: seafood.

Coach's is now Coach's Crab Shack, and if you're hesitant about a sports bar transforming into a seafood restaurant, you're not alone. I definitely had my reservations. But I'm always up for an adventure, so my friend Afton and I went out Collins Ferry Road to check it out.

Walking in, I could tell a good bit has changed. The theme is more nautical. A hostess seated us, and we looked over the menu.

They have "steamers," which are these huge combo plates of seafood. I went with the shack classic ($19), which has snow crabs, shrimp and kielbasa. Others have variations of this plus crawfish, clams, and other types of crab. All steamers come with corn on the cob, red potatoes and hushpuppies.

You get to choose which flavor you want your seafood cooked in, and I went with garlic herb butter. They also have spicy cajun, old bay, bbq, good old steam, and Signature J.O. - which is their special seafood seasoning.

After a bit, our waitress came back with two metal trays overflowing with food. We were so excited, we dived in. It wasn't until a solid 15 minutes later that the waitress realized she forgot our tools. Clearly we're resourceful because we had devoured about half the meal anyway.

What Coach's has going for it is there is literally no local competition. If you want food like this, you can go here or Red Lobster. This is the much better option. It's a ton of food. It's fresh and delicious. I have little qualms - like the potatoes and hushpuppies are basic and could use some spices, but overall - awesome.

I was completely surprised. I think you might be, too.






Grade: A