Crab Corner

Kenneth Watrous is my name. All the opinions here are mine. They also apply only to the places I have tried in Las Vegas.

Last month, we went to Herringbone This month, I tried Crab Corner. 

The Crab Corner is more of an all-you-can-handle than some other places. While not exactly giving a flat price for a whatever you can do, they offer a flat rate per unit and let you kind of add up from there. This works pretty well for trying a few things in combination but knowing you will get high quality eats. Their signature deal is the $1 oysters and $2 crabs.

 The décor is a lot like the some other deep seafood places. There are limited utensils, a lot of eating with the hands, and a certain amount of making everything be about just the rustic essentials. They spread paper on the tables and hand you a bucket of utensils and bibs and you get to go from there.

 

The drinks are also discounted on different days or they have daily drink specials where you can plan what day you will get what yo might want the most at some cheap prices or in some great quantity. Like the margaritas refills on their football brunch, but they are a bit pricy at $15 but that is for the whole time. So it can be worth it when you are really drilling down.

The crabs are specialized in Maryland and so are more of the blue meat variety. These have a softer flavor than some of the arctic crabs and are more fishy and less meaty. They also tend to be softer and this makes them quick to work with when making crab cakes or crab soup, which The Crab Corner offers great versions of. These are true crab dishes. Some places will give you a soup that has crab in it or cakes that are made with some crab somewhere, but the crab isn’t the central part it is just marketing. The Crab Corner works with the meat first and builds up around it and it shows. The food is much more flavor and also is what you want. They don’t spend too much time dressing things up with extra spices or sauces and cooking techniques. Everything is good and simple and well made.

The oysters are fresh and on the half shell. They can demonstrate shucking if you are in experienced. Which, if you are, be prepared to look silly a bit, but enjoy the atmosphere, others will be having the same experience and the laughter is generally good natured.

 If you are looking for something more in the fusion style they also have a crab burger that features soft-shell battered and cooked up on a bun. This can be a good introduction to crab for people who are okay with the idea of the flavor but maybe not big on breaking up or looking at something that can be described with bug jargon. I like the quick style of everything. Because they are working with a limited menu and also prepared to put out bunches of items on a pay per unit, they always have these things ready to go. While you might have to wait for a specific dish, most of the stuff is to you in just the time it takes for the staff to take the order and take a lap through the place to and back from the kitchen. They don’t go so far as to say they are doing table set food at fast food speeds, but that is the way I would put it out there.

 

I also have to recommend the scallops. Scallops are great in many places, but there is always a question of how worth it they are. While the prices on most of the items are set by the availability and quantity, scallops have a tendency to be priced by whatever marketing the place uses to talk about their secret technique being the best. Scallops are so good by themselves that it doesn’t take much to sell them, which is weird how often places go to lengths to show them off. At The Crab Corner they are just one more option and they are priced as such. They are really good, without being oversold. 

-Kenneth Watrous
Find more about me on www.kennethwatrous.com or follow me on twitter at @KennethWatrous