Out, Out at Crab Tavern

South Carolina Shovel 

On a rare afternoon outing ...sans L'Enfant terrible deux....we swung by the great new bayou leaning Seafood eatery at Media One Hotel called Crab Tavern. 

All stripped wood, exposed brick and industrial style lighting as is the trend now, this Crab Shack slash upmarket sports bar serves fine seafaring fare.  

Crab - La Mer underdog in my view and so often overshadowed by it's ostentatious cousins Lobster, Oysters and Langoustine!!  

Here the score card is evened up a little as the whole concept is around the numerous different ways one can enjoy wonderful Crab the true king of crustaceans!
I'm a massive fan of crab, especially the dark meat..which is less popular but far more flavoursome. 

Spicy Singapore crab cakes, Soft Shell Crab burger, Vietnamese Crab spring rolls, Crab Risotto and Goan Crab curry are just a few ways its served up.  

The main focus though is on sharing seafood Deep South style. So we went all in with the South Carolina Shovel 110dhs pp - which is a giant tin stuffed full with 1KG of meaty crab claws, king prawns, buttery corn cobs all soaked in dreamy creamy old bay bisque which is perfect to stew the ratte potatoes (a potato that looks like a sausage) and to dip hunks of crusty bread in. twas totes amaze.

There's also a Louisiana Shovel (125dhspp) with Cajun bisque and spicy sausage or you can even trump it with a West or East coast Bucket (190dhs pp 150dhspp respectively) of even more epic seafood proportions, throwing mussels, lobster, oysters, and cured salmon into the mix. 

This is how I like my seafood, big easy style, lots of smoky flavours and textures, messy and interactive the gastronomic nemesis of the sad little Noma Prawn. 

Of course if you don't like creatures of the sea there's a good selection of steaks, burgers,  Jerk beef loaded skins, down south BBQ pulled beef tacos or Mama's fried chicken to keep you satisfied.  

We paired our shovel with some lovely Chablis but you could also go Scandi and enjoy with Schnapps. We also added side of 'Kevin's' slaw....don't know who Kevin is but his slaw was fabulous, with apple sauce and vanilla!!

Staff were super helpful and as we sat in a state of post crab carnage, groaning and feeling stuffed I realise the whole time I'd been seated with an enormous football showing flat screen right behind my head - hubby looking over my head lovingly and declaring he was having the best time he'd had in ages...ah the romance! 

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