The tastiest two days in the Seafood Capital of South Carolina are set for Jan. 25-26 at the seventh annual Taste of the MarshWalk.

Featuring seven restaurants serving their best dishes and drinks along with live entertainment, vendor booths and kids’ activities, the Murrells Inlet MarshWalk awakens from its winter slumber with one of the most popular events in town.

“We always hold it the weekend before the Super Bowl so there’s no football to keep people inside,” said MarshWalk director of events Christina Burzler. “After the holidays people are ready to get outside and enjoy a great day on the MarshWalk.”

Taking place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting, the MarshWalk will be transformed into the ultimate pub and grub crawl along the Murrells Inlet waterfront. Rather than one central location, each participating restaurant will host its own festivities.

“Each restaurant sets up at their own location so people can walk around and experience different types of food and entertainment,” Burzler said. “Each restaurant has its own live entertainment during the daytime in addition to their regular nightly entertainment, so even though the festival ends at 4 the live music continues all evening.”

Participating restaurants include Bovine’s, Creek Ratz, Dead Dog Saloon, Drunken Jack’s, The Claw House, Wahoo’s and The Wicked Tuna. Each one serves sample sizes of some of its signature dishes, highlighting local seafood but also offering “landfood,” appetizers and desserts.

Guests can expect to feast on all types of seafood – oysters, shrimp, blue crabs and more – along with a wide variety of land-based dishes that represent their restaurants’ regular menu.  This year’s food lineup features Seafood Gumbo, BBQ Ribs and Hushpuppies with Honey Butter (Bovine’s), Coconut Shrimp with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, Fried Fish Tacos and Crab Bruchetta (Wahoo’s), She Crab Soup, Blackened Triggerfish (Drunken Jack’s), Gator Bites, Fried Shrimp and Black Bean Bourbon Chili (Creek Ratz), Burger and Brisket Beer Cheese Sliders, Ribs and Chipotle Shrimp Tacos (Dead Dog), Crab Cake Poppers, Crab Nachos and Carpaccio (The Claw House), and Pork Gyoza, Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Sushi (Wicked Tuna). Other dessert items will also be available. 

“The chefs really go all out to showcase what their restaurant is known for,” Burzler said. “Each dish is only 3 to 5 tickets ($1 apiece), so you can try all the different restaurants without filling up. It’s a great opportunity to try them out without having to buy a full meal.”

But perhaps the biggest seller comes in liquid form with the Fourth Annual Bloody Mary Showdown, sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Each representing bartender creates their own concoction of the traditional brunch beverage, incorporating garnishes that include seafood and bacon.

“It’s a fun little event for the restaurants as well as the public,” said Tito’s event coordinator Alana Sing. “Some of the bartenders go over the top by making their own mixes and adding lots of different toppings. They definitely take it seriously.”

Vendor booths include arts and crafts, clothing and jewelry. Taste of the MarshWalk also has lots of activities for kids, including bounce houses, pony and camel rides, games, face-painting and a petting zoo, which for the first time will include a kangaroo exhibit.

The live music schedule for Saturday daytime includes Cornbread (Dead Dog), Billy King (Creek Ratz), Matt Craine Band (Wicked Tuna), Ryan Newman (Drunken Jack’s), Painted Man (Wahoo’s), followed by Saturday evening sets by The New High (Dead Dog), Charlie Floyd and Charlie Brewer (Creek Ratz), Mark Daffer (Drunken Jack’s), Matt Parker & The Deacons (Wahoo’s), Janko Winehart (Wicked Tuna) and Bill Krauss (The Claw House). Sunday’s lineup sees The Lost Remotes (Wicked Tuna), Saluda Shoals Duo (Dead Dog), Cornbread (Creek Ratz), Billy King (Drunken Jack’s) and If Birds Could Fly (Wahoo’s) during the daytime, followed by Ronnie O’Briant (Wahoo’s), N’Tranze (Creek Ratz) and the Matt Craine Band (Dead Dog) in the evening hours.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.marshwalk.com/events/.