By LINDA SALISBURY

FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

The new seafood "kid" in town has steakhouse roots. Mike Sullivan once owned a steakhouse in Dale City that served seafood. After living in Florida for a while, he moved to Fredericksburg and started an eatery specializing in seafood--but also serving steak.

Sully's Seafood and Steak in Massaponax opened earlier this year, despite the challenges of two heavy snows.

My Dining Partner and I decided to give Sully's a try.

We started with "firecracker" shrimp ($7.95), guaranteed to wake up the palate. The half-pound of shrimp had a light crisp breading with enough zing to warrant its name.

The shrimp was fresh and not overcooked.

We split a bowl of crab soup ($5.95). This is serious soup! Creamy, hearty and full of chunks of crab meat, the bowl was large enough to share, although hoarding rather than sharing might be the preferable option.

We decided to try both the seafood and steak entrees. I picked crab cakes ($17.95), which were lightly battered and fried, full of crab meat and delicate seasoning. Both the slaw and a side of homemade potato salad were quite good.

MDP ordered the 12-ounce rib-eye ($15.95) with a house salad ($2.95). His sides included a loaded baked potato and barbecue beans. The flavorful and tender rib-eye was cooked rare as requested. His potato was topped with cheese and bacon bits, with sour cream and butter on the side.

The beans included several varieties and a superior sauce--so good that we asked about possible summer takeout orders.

The desserts were outstanding. Sully's makes its own apple cobbler and cheesecakes, so we tried both ($3.95 each). The warm cobbler, topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream was as homemade as it gets.

My cheesecake was rich and creamy without being overly sweet.

Service was good, and there's a nicely varied menu (including pastas and burgers).

Sully's seems to have quite a following, and use of newspaper coupons helps make dining at Sully's even more affordable.

Linda Salisbury is the author of the Bailey Fish books, an award-winning adventure series for kids.