The Original Crab House: Sketchy GPS Treats Us to Malnourished Blue Crab
Categories: Buyer Beware
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| John Zur |
| Everglades blue claw crabs |
The husband (co-owner, host, waiter, busser) greeted us with menus while we had a straight-shot view of the wife cooking in the kitchen. Appetizers ranged from $4.95 (raw oysters) to $14.95 (jumbo cocktail shrimp) and also included clam chowder ($3.95 for a cup, $4.95 for a bowl).
Crab is all we came for. Almost all of the seafood prices were listed as "market price." So when we inquired about the Alaskan king crab legs ($59.95) and Alaskan snow crab legs ($29.95), the husband retrieved plastic wrapped crab legs from the freezer and brought them over. They weren't the meatiest-looking crab legs, so the price seemed high.
We settled upon the regular bowl ($29.95) of original garlic blue crabs in herbs, spices, and garlic sauce; ($39.95 for the jumbo bowl). As we waited, we could hear nothing but the sweet sounds of Simon & Garfunkel overhead and the snapping of crab shells as our fellow crab-eaters dug into their bowls.
The owner prepped us by putting on our plastic bibs. He seemed to relish the role. He also seemed to notice that we weren't quite enjoying the nearly meatless blue claws. I asked where he obtained them and he replied "the Everglades," adding, "we didn't know we could get them there, but when they ran out on the east coast of Florida, we found them there..." He knew they were runt crabs and explained that because it's winter, they're smaller, When it gets warmer, the crabs they find will be larger, he said.
Your best bet is to not leave finding a crab house to the lottery of GPS as we did. Maybe instead you should wait for summer and head for the Glades.
The Original Crab House
9636 SW 77th Avenue, Miami
305-279-7050
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