The Best Beach Eats from 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'

When the sun is blazing, it’s time to escape the heat and the deafening drone of the air conditioning and hit the beach. And as everyone knows, the best thing about the beach isn’t preventing sunburn or watching seagulls divebombing french fries out of people’s hands. It’s the food. We’ve gathered 20 of Triple D’s finest here to satisfy all your beach eat needs from po’ boy to pizza, from coast to coast.

Start things off with a swing through Stony Brook, Long Island, at DJ’s Clam Shack, home of legendary lobster rolls and some incredible conch fritters. The peppery pillows are stuffed with bits of fresh conch and served up with crispy, seasoned fries, house coleslaw and sweet dipping sauce. If you want to get these to the beach safely, it might be a good idea to get a second order.

DJ's knows you might not be able to make it to one of their locations in New York, so they've spread their wings to multiple locations in both Minnesota and Florida. And no matter the location, when your dish starts with garlic butter and comes with garlic bread, you know you're in for a good time. DJ's Clam Shack twists up their steamers by adding sweet celery, and the tender shellfish get a shot of acid from pickled jalapeños.

It wouldn't be a list of "Things That Guy Fieri Has Eaten" without Guy's own Trash Can Nachos. A legend in their own right, the famous tower of chips features Guy's signature Super Melty Cheese, smoked pork, Mexican crema and pico de gallo. Available at Guy Fieri's American Kitchen & Bar worldwide, we recommend getting a bucket to go for the beach!

Oysters are having a big moment, and if you’re in Deerfield Beach, Florida, head over to the Whale’s Rib. Super stuffed with spinach and garnished with what Guy lovingly refers to as a “slab” of tomato and crispy, melty provolone, their interpretation of oysters Rockefeller is a big beach bite that won’t bog you down.

If it comes from the sea, you’ll find it at La Cameronera in Miami, Florida. But what you won’t find is a fried lobster like this anywhere else. Spiny warm-water lobster tails are diced, ketchup sauced (yes, ketchup sauced!) and dredged before being fried into a sweet and savory bite that might ruin all other lobster dishes for you.

Crispy, woodfire rotisserie, roadside chicken in Hawaii. Do I have your attention? Then pull over to Mike’s Huli Chicken next time you’re in Oahu, where bird is the word. Plated up with mouthwatering macaroni salad and pineapple, these smoky, slow-roasted chickens were so memorable that Guy bought his own Huli Huli grill.

Don't let the name fool you: Mike's Huli Chicken isn't strictly a chicken joint. Sticky-sweet and crispy char siu gets the high-temp Huli Huli treatment before a quick steam finish over hot coals. Keeping it simple with sides of white rice hot mustard, this is pork that you’ll plan a vacation around.

If you’re in Maryland, you’re going to eat crab. And if you’re going to do it, do it in the form of an egg roll from Jimmy’s Famous Seafood in Baltimore. This isn’t any egg roll: these are crab cake and cream cheese stuffed, drizzled with mango ponzu sauce and served up with sweet and tangy Japanese mayo slaw. They're such a smash hit that they’re available frozen from the supermarket. (They're also available online.)

When you’re tired of eating the same all-inclusive buffet in Cancún every day, run out of the hotel and over to El Fish Fritanga for their Tikin-Xik Fish. It’s a butterflied whole fish rubbed down with achiote and garlic, and then basket-grilled directly on a gas stovetop burner for maximum blistered crispiness while keeping the fish perfectly tender.

Leon’s at Lake Ella in Tallahassee, Florida, is serving up some seriously awesome eats right along the water. Their pork belly sandwich isn’t just a bite, it’s a full-on experience, served on a deep-fried bao bun and topped with kimchi and cilantro microgreens for a flavor locals say “melts in your mouth” and “makes you want to dance.”

When you need a break from all things fried and cheese, look no further than Big Island Kine. As close to a trip to the islands as you’ll find in Eureka, California, you’ll find plenty of favorites here like kalua pork and Spam musubi. But their big, beautiful poke bowls are where it’s at. Guy went all in on the California Dreamin’ bowl, featuring ahi tuna, crab, cucumber and avocado. Aside from jumping into the ocean, is there a better way to cool off?

Getting to the beach early is great, but leaving the beach for an incredible meal is even better. And once you’ve tried the bouillabaisse at Sunset Pointe, you might trade the beach for the harbor. They’re doing the famous French dish right on the pier with a 10-hour stock, big hunks of fresh-caught fish, shrimp and mouthwatering mussels.

Beach eats aren’t always about fish and seafood. If you put a shell up to your ear and listen closely, you can hear the ocean say “fried chicken.” Bobby’s Hawaiian Style Restaurant in Lynnwood, Washington, is frying up crispy thighs in sweet rice flour alongside cool, creamy macaroni salad and steamed rice that will have you dreaming of palm trees and island sunsets.

Portability is important when you’re packing for the beach, and portable foods are a much bigger priority than packing that extra beach chair. That’s space you could use for the braised lamb empanadas from Del Sur Artisan Eats on St. Simons Island, Georgia. The lamb gets a three-hour braise in rich demi-glace before being paired up with sofrito and their in-house criolla salsa.

It's hard to beat a surfside diner, especially when they're kicking out crispy, smoky octopus. At Cavé Bistro, everything but the beak gets a braise before being butter seared in ripping hot cast iron, then plated up with their in-house pickled carrots and onions and bright cilantro green sauce.

Maybe a new meaning for walking tacos, the sandal-inspired, open-face Huaracha a la Mexicana at Jessy’s Tienda y Taqueria in Norfolk, Virginia, comes flying at you with a homemade tortilla, melty Oaxaca cheese, skirt steak and griddled cactus.

It is our mission to get you to eat a Boudin Ball Po’ Boy this summer. Skip down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and hit up Dempsey’s Poboys for a heaping helping of deep-fried chicken and pork sausage balls, drizzled with remoulade sauce on a tenderly toasted po’ boy roll.

If you bring a pizza to the beach, you are a hero. If you bring a leopard-spotted, garlic confit-sprinkled shrimp pizza, you may spark a revolution. The inspired pie from 3 Sons Brewing Co. in Dania Beach, Florida, brings serious savory with its crisp, puffy crust, nutty manchego and briny sweet shrimp.

Come for the braised rabbit and grits, but stay at The Hummingbird Way Oyster Bar for their crab cakes and jaw-dropping whole fried fish. But a whole fried red snapper wasn't enough for chef Jim Smith: he takes it to a whole other hemisphere and tops it off with littleneck clams, spicy red curry sauce, mint, Thai basil and crushed peanuts.