It’s Time to Start Cracking Crab!

Being from the Chesapeake Bay area I was practically born with a mallet in hand and blue crab in mouth. Back east we would spread our table with newspaper, the Baltimore Sun mind you, and have at it. Now we have a similar, but all together different, version of the messy seafood feast right here in the Montrose Shopping Park. Faster than we could blink our eyes Cracking Crab has opened at the former site of Three Drunken Goats. What a concept they have! Fresh seafood by the pound served in a plastic bag, containing the sauce and spice level of your of your choice. Wear the bib, take off your good rings, and enjoy the succulent flavors on your paper lined table.

Four kinds of crab, shrimp, lobster, mussels and clams are all available to order. For $11.95 you can get a pound of fresh shrimp with a choice of Cajun sauce, garlic butter, lemon pepper or the house mix. Add some steamed corn on the cob for 75 cents and a $2 basket of Cajun, plain or sweet potato fries and you’ve got a great meal. If it’s fried seafood that you’re craving, Cracking Crab (2256 Honolulu Ave.) has got you covered. I enjoyed this basket of fried oysters on my recent visit and I would order them again. I’m also looking forward to trying their seafood gumbo.

The atmosphere is casual, bustling and noisy, but in a good way. There are shark heads on the walls and barrels with nets lining the walkways. The response has been incredible from day one. Cracking Crab is open seven days a week, Monday-Friday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and weekends from noon to 10 p.m. As with any new restaurant, it’s good to read the Yelp reviews and then give it a try. I’ll also be posting my pics on the MSP Facebook page.

Tomorrow is shop & dine Friday with live music on our streets starting at 5 p.m. My suggestion is to get here at 4 p.m., shop our one-of-a-kind stores, enjoy the street music, and head to Cracking Crab around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. This way you’ll get the whole Montrose summer experience.

One of our favorite events of the year is coming up next weekend Aug. 22-23 – our 5th Annual Montrose Film Festival is a free event, under the stars, at the location of the old Montrose Theater next to Andersen’s Pets. As always, there will be live music, a cartoon, free popcorn and our featured movie. So bring the family to Montrose to shop & dine this weekend.

Thanks for reading and supporting your local small businesses. We appreciate you! See www.shopmontrose.com for more info.

  Mary Dawson