Let’s assume you’ll be spending most of your time at the beach. And that you’ll be hungry at some point. The good news is, Surfside Beach has several good vacation-style eateries. The best of the bunch is the Red Snapper Inn (402 Bluewater Hwy., 979/239-3226, www.redsnapperinn.com, $9–21). This quality surf and turf restaurant is best known for its seafood items, including the grilled boneless flounder stuffed with crabmeat dressing, the fried soft-shell crabs with rémoulade sauce, bacon-wrapped oysters, and sautéed garlic shrimp. Turf-wise, most diners opt for the spaghetti and charbroiled Greek-style meatballs or the classic chicken-fried steak.

You can’t miss Kitty’s Purple Cow (323 Ocean Ave., 979/233-9161, $4–8). The food isn’t quite as attention-grabbing as the restaurant’s facade, a distractingly purple building on the beach; regardless, Kitty’s specializes in tasty meaty burgers and even a little seafood (boiled shrimp) from the unfortunately named “app-moo-tizers” menu. Breakfast is also available (after 10 a.m.) with hearty portions of biscuits and gravy and standard egg dishes.

Locals loiter at the low-key Jetty Shack (412 Parkview St., 979/233-5300, $4–10), a beachside dive offering a tasty Angus burger, plenty of fried food, grilled cheese, and cold beer.

Any beach town worth its weight in sand dollars has a classic pizza joint—in Surfside, it’s Landshark Pizza (409 Hwy. 332, 979/233-4355, $5–12), where you can order a pie in-house or take-out to complement the tasty waves.