City Crab & Seafood Company

[oakapple]

The red neon sign at the corner of Park Avenue S. and 19th St beckons me every time I drive by it in a taxi. I gave the restaurant a try last night, mainly because my ten-year-old son is fond of very few foods, but crab happens to be one of them.

The space, on three levels, is massive. Both Ruth Reichl and Eric Asimov reviewed it, and both of them said that it is loud when crowded. It was decidedly not crowded last night. We were seated at a high-top table with bar stool chairs, which was comfortable enough, but a curious choice given the many other empty tables.

City Crab is one of those places that offers every seafood entrée grilled, broiled, sauteed, fried, or blackened. I chose the blackened scallops, since I'd never had scallops that way before. I wasn't disappointed to receive five good-sized scallops (plus rice pilaf and cole slaw) for just $19.99. The heat of the cajun spices pretty much defined the dish, but I expected that.

I foolishly allowed my son to be upsold on the crab legs. They were $29.99 a pound, which the server said was just three legs. "Most people get a pound and a half," he said. So we ordered that much, which turned out to be a massive, $45 portion, which even the typical adult probably wouldn't have finished. Even my son, who is not especially price conscious, recognized the wretched excess. He could have had a new video game for that amount.

The bread service was better than many higher end restaurants, and I was especially impressed with the dessert menu. It was printed with the current date, and there was a named pastry chef, which I wouldn't have expected at this type of restaurant. My son particularly liked the oreo ice cream cake, which was perhaps the most impressive thing that we tried.

Service was generally attentive until, most curiously, after we'd received our dessert. Finding our waiter to request a check proved to be a challenge, and we had a movie to catch. Thanks mainly to that ridiculous crab order, dinner for two was $80 before tax and tip.

[Jason Perlow]

I guess you were safe eating King Crab, considering virtually of that which is delivered to this coast is frozen. I was talking to an owner of a local seafood restaurant yesterday, and he told me Fulton wasn't making any deliveries on Monday.

[Daniel]

I hate this place.. As someone said its a safe alternative to Red Lobster.. And for me, not eating is my preferred alternative to City Crab.. You cant help but feel cheated leaving this place..

Edited December 27, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[BryanZ]

I just was talking about this place yesterday and happened to walk by it. The g/f was always saying how it was a 1000 points on Opentable but still had no desire to try it. I think it's better that we left this place a mystery.

[M.X.Hassett]

you made the right choice BryanZ

[menton1]

Yes, New York has the pastrami, but you have to go to Maryland for good crabs. (April-Sept).

[alacarte]

We affectionately (?) refer to it as City Crap. That pretty much sums up my opinion of the place.

It's a great space. I live nearby and still get pulled in there every now and then, hoping for the best. Each time I walk away with the impression that they just don't care. The service tends to be spotty and the food is ordinary and overpriced. It's time for something new to open up in that great space.