Audio By Carbonatix
Every once in a while diners will come across a restaurant that makes them feel happy the minute they walk in the door. Crabby’s is such a place. A lot of the cheerfulness derives from the homey look: warm knotty-pine paneling reminiscent of a rec room from a more innocent, hopeful era; strings of Christmas lights all year round; lots of booths, which are so superior, in terms of comfort décor, to tables.
None of this cozy ambiance is obvious from Crabby’s warehouse exterior, but that’s because the massive, boxy building also houses a separate space that’s a take-out operation. Though only three years old, and hardly situated in a hot locale, Crabby’s is more than popular enough to need all the room it can find. “The owner’s real business is windows,” our neighborly server confided. “He just loves cooking.” And that’s how the food tasted — like a labor of love.
The eatery is half barbecue joint and half fish house, with the seafood side offering a pretty extensive selection: grouper, tilapia, sea trout, mahi mahi, snapper, or catfish (all but the last two available broiled as well as fried). There are also Gulf oysters on the half shell, fried conch, and shellfish-packed conch fritters. Shrimp comes in numerous preparations including a Caesar salad and white- or red-sauced pastas, but the fried and U-Peel shrimp couldn’t be beat for simple satisfaction. While the former had spent about fifteen seconds too long in the deep fryer, they were large enough to remain juicy, and came with a wonderfully tart tartar sauce. The U-Peels were available steamed plain, but it’s hard to imagine passing up Crabby’s potent garlic-oil bath, messy but fabulous. Both fried shrimp and U-Peels are sold by the piece (75 cents for one, $17.95 for 30), or for $11.75 as a dinner with choice of two sides.
Not surprisingly, though, the seafood specialty here is crab, with a choice of three preparations (plain steamed, spiced with Old Bay seasoning, or garlic) and five varieties: Dungeness, blue, snow, Alaskan king, and stone. Dousing stone crabs in garlic oil (the same used on the shrimp) isn’t a standard preparation, but it proved irresistible, especially at a price of only $10.50 per pound. The medium claws were good, too, despite being relatively small (shellfish seem to be sized, like condoms, with great optimism). There was, however, the usual problem with stone crab meat served hot: It ends up with a rather flaccid, watery texture. A few leftovers were better the next day, chilled.
Crab cakes ($4.95) were flawless. Breading was thick on the two big cakes, as is customary with old-fashioned patties, but was perfectly crisp. The thickness was necessary to hold the cake together as the crab within seemed to have no starch-heavy binders at all, just a beautifully creamy béchamel-type sauce.
Salmon is the only fish prepared in the smokehouse, but there’s a big choice of meat, including beef as well as chicken and ribs. The savory loin slices in Crabby’s pork sandwich ($4.95) were intensely flavored with blackjack oak, enough to keep fans of real pit barbecue happy. Smoky chicken legs, basted with lots of sweet but sufficiently tangy sauce, were equally moist and intense. Spare ribs ($11.95 with two sides) were superior to baby backs: fattier but meatier too, and less dry; the babies were tasty but, frankly, a bit overcooked.
Not all dishes come with sides, but some items on Crabby’s list of twenty-plus vegetable extras must not be missed. Coleslaw was remarkably crunchy; baked beans were supplemented generously with smoked meat; macaroni and cheese was as comforting as eight hours of sleep. And a new side, a huge grated potato pancake studded with sweet and tingly hot pepper chunks, was a perfect wake-up call. Crabby’s is well worth a visit.
