Even when part of something gloriously grand, one still may yearn break out on one's own with something utterly simple -- like Keith Richards doing raw-voiced solo albums, or the Lachey guy doing Jessica Simpson. For the restaurant version, hit Nettie's Crab Shack.

The debut of a well-pedigreed duo who've each played second fiddle at the likes of Spruce/Foreign Cinema/Chez Panisse, Nettie's unflinchingly devotes itself to unassuming seafood fare (the Low Self-Esteem Bass?). Walk down the path past the palm tree'd, 20-seat front patio and behold Nettie's proper: a long, rustic main room dominated by an oxidized copper, lantern-lit bar, a sun-drenched raised eating cubby up front, and a barn-plank-floored rear area that spies the open kitchen -- so you can give your still-living dinner the stink-eye. Beyond daily-changed chalkboard specials, the menu starts mini (herb-stuffed tomatoes, jalapeno spoonbread okra, roasted beet rock shrimp salad) then goes big: BBQ'd oysters w/ a beer chaser, sockeye salmon w/ fig leaf/egg/bacon, lobster rolls, and hot dogs from Fatted Calf (if there's any god up there, this weight gain is not due to hot dogs).

Alcoholically speaking, Nettie's stocks 80+ bottles of red/white/sparkling Euro-Cali vino and pours specialty 'tails (the gin/citrus "Boston Swizzle", the bourbon/peach "House Cobbler", etc). Also available: six draft beers, plus bottles like Anderson Boont served in ice buckets -- because in your heart, it will always be 98º.

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Check the grub at NettiesCrabShack.com