Don’t worry, the food is just as good if you arrive by car – so is the atmosphere. Go to the restroom (labeled mermaids and sailors) whether you need to or not. You’re going to want to wash your hands after cracking a couple pounds of crab legs anyway. Then you can explore the foyer where a fountain splashes near photos of the fire that burned the restaurant to the ground in 1998 (that’s also another story).

The decor is Early American shipwreck meets suburban garage sale. An eclectic array of nautical gewgaws shares the space with antique stoves and a pink Corvette once owned by Barbie.

Taxidermied and papier mache fish dangle from the ceiling next to antique bicycles. All this stuff was collected by owner Jerry Powell. General manager John DeMore said as they were readying the restaurant for its grand reopening after the fire, boxes arrived daily via UPS .

“You never knew what you were going to find inside the boxes,” DeMore said.

Chunky clam chowder

We managed to pick one of the coldest days of the summer, but still decided to eat outside. We perused the lunch and barge menu to quacks and honks from the waterfowl population while shivering on the covered porch.

We had the famous pickles ($4 – they’re great, ya gotta try ’em). We also had the shrimp cocktail ($7) from the dinner menu. We decided against the peel-n-eat shrimp, figuring it was too labor-intensive for lunch. We also had a bowl of clam chowder ($5) – we had to warm up somehow!

According to my dining partner, “The clam chowder was worth the visit – everything else was just a plus.” Thick and chunky, the distinct but not overpowering flavor of bacon mixed well with lots of pieces of clam.

My companion ordered the corned beef primanti ($7), similar to a panini sandwich served on thick Italian bread with coleslaw and fries. I had the landsfall perch sandwich ($8) made with two good-sized filets on garlic bread.

But it’s the dinner menu you’ll be choosing from now through next June. And it’s a seafood lover’s dream. Oysters can be ordered on the half-shell, in stew or prepared Rockefeller-style. Clams are steamed and served with broth and drawn butter. Mussels are sautéed and served in a marinara sauce. Peel-n-eat shrimp are just $4.50 for a quarter pound.

Then there’s the all-you-can-eat selections. Fried and peel-n-eat shrimp ($20), walleye ($21), barbecue ribs ($21), prime rib ($26), and of course, Alaskan snow crab legs ($35), are all available by the bellyful.You don’t need to know that the AYCE dinners come with fried dough, choice of salad or coleslaw and a side dish because you won’t have room for it anyway.

Fresh fish, never frozen, arrives packed in ice from Hawaii and Alaska within 36 hours of being caught.

“With the economy, we’re seeing people ordering more of the fresh fish instead of the lobster and crab which can be a little bit more expensive,” DeMore said. “Halibut is in season now and it’s one of our most popular dishes.” Sea bass, snapper, grouper, salmon and walleye are other fresh selections.

Some of the menu items that don’t come out of the water include burgers and chicken breast sandwich, a slab of ribs, chicken Marsala and a chicken pasta with spinach and tomatoes in a red pepper cream sauce.

For dessert we had the coconut cream pie and the lemon square ($5). The pie was rich and creamy, but not too sweet. The lemon square was not the standard flat lemony dessert. Topped with an inch of whipped cream, an extra layer of cream cheese made it less tart and quite delicious.

Plenty of room

DeMore has seen the restaurant serve 1,500 dinners and 2,000 pounds of crab legs on a single Saturday night. The seating capacity is 600 when the deck is open.

Admiral Charlie’s is an attached party room/banquet facility that can hold about 75 people. Perfect for business parties, rehearsal dinners and other small get-togethers, it has a wood-burning fireplace and elegant decor.

I think any reason is a good one to visit Pickle Bill’s. Just go hungry! The one-of-a-kind restaurant is located at 101 River St. in Grand River and is closed Mondays. Call (440) 352-6343 or (800) 352-6343 before you go, as hours are not set in stone.

Laura Freeman reviews restaurants regularly for the Lake County Business Journal.