Brooklyn Crab

I am very grateful for the opportunity to have eaten at Brooklyn Crab with Alex's family a little while back.  I still think back at that dinner fondly and wish I had someone who could drive me to Red Hook at the drop of a hat.

Brooklyn Crab is a really dive-y restaurant out in Red Hook. It literally looks like a shack on a beach, with mismatched furniture and surf boards, fishing bait and tackle, and a big plastic shark hanging off the walls.  The tables are nothing more than picnic benches with paper plates and a roll of paper towels.  There are bottles of hot sauce lining the tables and booths so you can grab any of dozens of varieties to season your seafood to taste.  The wide-open windows afford a beautiful view of Manhattan, especially breathtaking at sunset!

We did a bit of family-style dining with appetizers, and I had a fish sandwich for my meal.  We shared peel-and-eat shrimp, fried oysters, fried calamari, and fried clam strips.  My culinary companions had a big crab bake thing.  Everything was fantastic, although I have to admit the roof of my mouth was starting to get sore halfway through my sandwich because nearly everything I was eating was deep-fried.  The peel-and-eat shrimp were rubbed with a Spanish-style spice rub, and though a bit spicy, very juicy and flavorful.  The fried shellfish came with a delicious dipping sauce that had bits of bacon mingling with ketchup/mayo.  I found myself dipping my knife into the sauce and just eating it straight up - it was that good.

Finally at the end of the meal, we - thankfully - were in for one last treat; key lime pie from Steve's! Steve's is this tiny shop in Red Hook that has some of the most delicious key lime pie. Perhaps they are most famous for their frozen...key lime pie...on a stick...covered in dark chocolate - if that doesn't get your mouth watering, I don't know what will. The only time I've had it was on a blisteringly hot day last summer and boy did it hit the spot.

Next time - and I sincerely hope there is a next time soon - I will try to stay away from the deep-fried-and-breaded options and try some of the other amazing seafood options.