Ate Days of Wild Caught Texas Shrimp & The Journey to Finding Them

Given our inland location, it’s clear that our shrimp in North Texas comes from elsewhere. With the recent news of radioactive shrimp at one big box retailer on everyone’s minds, sourcing is more important than ever. The Texas Department of Agriculture says one way to know what you’re getting is to “look for clues.” By that, they mean the icons Go Texan, Texas Gulf Seafood, and Wild Caught Texas Shrimp.

Senate Bill 823, which took effect on September 1, introduced new protections for consumers and marks a significant victory for Texas’ shrimping and aquaculture industries. The bill requires informing consumers if the shrimp sold in the state are imported from outside Texas. If shrimp is imported, then distributors, food suppliers, and restaurants must clearly disclose that fact, and the imported shrimp cannot be passed off as “American,” “Domestic,” “Gulf,” or “Texas” shrimp. State and local health authorities will have the power to enforce these rules, with penalties for violators.

“Shady labeling is over,” said Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. “If someone wants to call it ‘Texas shrimp,’ it better be Texas shrimp, not an imported product often raised in poor conditions.”

This change in labeling is an opportunity to support local producers. Miller suggests seeking out Go Texan partners that proudly carry the mark of Texas authenticity at WildCaughtTXShrimp.com.

“When you see that logo,” Miller said, “you know you’re supporting Texas jobs, Texas families, and the Texas economy.”

Through the Eat Local drop-down menu at WildCaughtTXShrimp.com, I quickly figured out that Central Market, including our locations in Fort Worth and Southlake, is the go-to for buying raw Texas shrimp to cook at home. As for restaurants, North Texas offers five great options. Fort Worth spots Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine (4259 Bryant Irvin Rd, 817-738-5489) and J&J Oyster Bar (612 University Dr, 817-367-9792) both use authentic Texas shrimp. The next time you’re at “JJ’s,” try Jim’s Cold Catch, a new appetizer item with oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, and a cup of shrimp cocktail.

There are only three other North Texas restaurants on the list: Arthur’s Prime Steaks & Seafood (15175 Quorum Dr, Addison, 972-385-0800), Café Pacific (24 Highland Park Village, Dallas, 214-526-1170), and Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill (4017 Preston Rd, Ste 530, Plano, 972-473-2722). However, if you factor in road trips and how often we venture out of the Fort, there are great choices south of here, too.

As it is also time to compile our monthly Crosstown Sounds feature, which lists local bands and their whereabouts, I posed an additional question when emailing artists about their upcoming gigs: Are you playing in Austin anytime soon? The answer was a resounding yes from several local musicians.

Punks Toxic Madness are doing a small Texas run in November. Should you road-trip it down to their show at Noiseland Rehearsal (2439 E State Hwy 71 Service Rd, Del Valle, 512-806-5392) on Fri, Nov 14, you can do a Texas (shrimp) run of your own. Perla’s Seafood & Oyster Bar (1400 S Congress Av, Austin, 512-291-7300) is just 13 minutes away from Noiseland.

Along with being one of the openers for Shane Smith & The Saints at Western Days in Old Town Lewisville (150 W Church St, 972-219-3401) on Sat, Sep 27, local country favorite Summer Dean has two upcoming stops in Austin. She will be at The White Horse (500 Comal St, 512-553-6756) on Fri, Oct 24, and Sagebrush (5500 S Congress Av, @SageBrushTexas) on Fri, Nov 14. Both are 10 minutes from Perla’s.

Plus, eight other places are serving wild-caught Texas shrimp in the capital, including the six locations of the Jack Allen’s Kitchen regional chain (JackAllensKitchen.net), plus Salt Traders (1101 S Mopac Exp, 737-484-0095) and Truluck’s (300 Colorado St, 512-482-9000).

As you head even further south, you’ll find Sea Island Shrimp House (154 Creekside Xing, New Braunfels, 830-387-4809) and one of the best music venues in the region, Gruene Hall (1281 Gruene Rd, New Braunfels, 830-606-1281). Do you have your Halloween plans for 2025 set yet? On Oct 31, the Tejas Brothers are playing a Dia de Los Muertos show there with their good friends the Squeezebox Bandits.

Another Halloween season idea is visiting the new Scarborough’s Hollow (formerly Screams), an interactive fantasy park located on the grounds of Scarborough Renaissance Festival, off I-35 at FM 66 in Waxahachie. It’s open from 2pm to 10pm on Saturdays from Oct 11 to Nov 15 (plus Halloween night from 5pm to midnight). Before or after, get your shrimp on at Atkins Seafood (400 W Main St, 214-463-5490), where the slogan is, “If they were any fresher, they’d still be swimmin’!” No wonder they made the list.