February is the month for love and I found my love in of all places,
Joe’s Crab Shack. Love of seafood, I mean, unbelievable, unadulterated
seafood.
Just a short hop over the Commodore Barry or even Memorial Bridge into
Wilmington, you will find this unique restaurant. Decorated in kind of the
shabby, hippy décor, you’ll see walrus’s hanging from the ceiling along with
peace signs and waiters dressed in tied died shirts. In fact, one of the
restaurant’s slogan is Peace, Love & Crabs.
Inside you’ll find plain no nonsense linoleum tables with a bucket
actually in the middle of the table for shells and a roll of brown paper
industrial type towels. The salt and pepper shakers are empty Coor’s
bottles. Jimmy Buffet would feel right at home here.
No fancy shmanssy things here. There is nothing to impede you from diving
in to your crabs or shrimp up to your elbows without offending anyone. Bibs
are provided, though, for the wimps.
Joe’s Crab Shack offers a variety of steampots of king crab, snow crab,
dungeness crab, lobster, clams, shrimp and prawns. You can eat them plain or
have a variety of spices, such as Old Bay or Cajun to top off your pot.
They offer several different kinds of combinations that come with a piece
of corn on the cob and potatoes. Some even include sausage.
Drooling yet?
You can order from their selection of steampots including the Orleans
Steampot with one pound of crawfish, 12 shrimp (not the tiny type),
andouille sausage, fresh corn and potatoes all spiced up.
There is the Ragin Cajun with Dungeness crab, shrimp, andouille sausage,
corn and potatoes. Or the Old Bay Steampot with two clusters of snow crab,
one pound of clams, sausage, corn and potatoes with Old Bay seasoning.
Then there is the Samuel Adams Steampot with snow crab, one pound of
clams, meaty lobster claw, sausage, corn and potatoes steamed in Samuel
Adams lager.
Bean Town Bake is two whole lobsters, one pound of clams, shrimp,
sausage, corn and potatoes. Then there is Joe’s Classic Steampot with
dungeness crab, snow crab, boiled shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes.
But wait. There is a great selection of appetizers from seafood fondue,
Great Balls of Fire (jalapeno shrimp and crab), fried oysters, salads to
crab nachos.
For those who want something a little fancier they offer platters of fish
from snapper, salmon, tilapia, mahi mahi, to snapper. There is also pasta
and beef.
Even their alcohol drinks are fun. I ordered the Shark Bite, which comes
as a blue beverage with a shark hooked to the outside of the glass. You pour
the red liqueur from the shark into the drink to create a “bloody” good
drink. Did I mention that they serve some drinks in Mason Jars?
I topped my meal off with key lime pie. The piece actually measured 4
inches by 4 inches and was delicious. I had to bring it home because I was
too full. I couldn’t even finish my crabs. I outlasted my son, though. He
gave up finishing after only 2/3 of his pot.
Their steampot prices run about $22 to $25. The lobster steampot may be a
little higher. The crab nachos were $10.49. Platters run about the same. But
for the amount of food you get, it is well worth it.
Even their website is fun. Click on
http://www.joescrabshack.com for some entertainment and their menu
choice and lists of locations. Joe’s Crab Shack is a restaurant chain and
the closest one is in Wilmington, along the riverfront near Frawley Stadium.
Their address is
600 South Madison Street
Wilmington,
DE
19801,
(302) 777-1803.
If you love seafood – GO!! GO!! GO!! And have FUN!!
FUN!! FUN!!
I give it a resounding 4 stars. |
