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Nick's Fish House, Seafood (with Great Steamed Crabs) Near The Hanover Street Bridge - South Waterfront


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Well, here's my report.

It's out of the way on the Patapsco river. The main attraction seemed to be the outdoor bar overlooking the river and the boats docked there.

The food was good but a bit pricier than I expected. I had a soft shell crab sandwich for $16. The platter with 2 crabs would have been $28. Stuffed with crab imperial would have been $34. I'd never heard of stuffing a soft shell crab so I wonder what that was like!

Crab cake dinners were good, they said, but $28.

The cream of crab soup was tasty but there wasn't much discernible crab meat in it. Someone ordered the lobster bisque and sent it back in favor of the crab soup. She thought the bisque was off. Could have been a bad day.

The shrimp salad sandwich someone had looked very big and was enjoyed very much.

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Went here last night with some friend's back in town for the holidays.

The last time I went here was shad roe season in the spring- that was delicious by the way.

Last night, we indulged in some oysters- had some Blue Point and Chincoteque- both tasty- liked the Blue Point's salt water flavor a lot.

My friends ended up getting appetizers as entrees- a gigantic serving of mussels, some crab soup, crab dip, and quesadilla.

I had even more oysters with the fried oyster platter.

All in all, this place has simple straightforward seafood and reasonable prices. On nice days, the view of the hanover street bridge (made famous in Ice Cube's XXX:State of the Union boat jump stunt) is really pleasant to have a meal to.

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With daughter attending school up there, looks like we will be visiting Charm City more often. Two Sundays ago we stopped into Nick's for a late lunch/early dinner. I enjoyed the looks of trepidation on the faces of my 3 dining companions as I guided them into the nether regions of the light industrial area where Nick's is located. From the parking lot, the walkway to the entrance is bordered by their outdoor deck to the right and the restaurant on the left. We were greeted by a chalkboard that stated "Open Just for You." If that weren't inviting enough, my companions' fears were eased when presented with a vista of the Hanover St. bridge and the middle branch of the Middle Patapsco River.

Inside there is a large bar area and two dining rooms. There were very few patrons late on this Sunday afternoon, maybe a half dozen in the bar watching football, and perhaps and equal number of parties in the dining area. The food lived up to the view -- nothing spectacular, but thoroughly enjoyable. We had blue point oysters on the half shell (very fresh), crab cakes, and broiled fillets of rockfish. Everyone was pleased with their food. The only weak link was the fries (most of which went uneaten on my daughter's plate, and I was not tempted to sample them, based on appearance). I enjoyed the sides that came with my rockfish: garlicy sauteed spinach and macaroni and cheese (a bit runny, but still satisfying).

Our server (Amada) was helpful and charming. We will be back.

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I can't believe I've never posted about Nick's. It's my favorite crab house in Baltimore. I like their seasoning blend, they always have good crabs in season, and they're usually on the lower end for pricing. Great view, great service. Last time we were there our 2 dozen had a couple of crabs that were light - and they were immediately replaced on request.

I've really never ventured beyond crabs, though if you want crab soup, do what the regulars do - 1/2 cream of crab 1/2 Maryland crab. Very tasty.

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So with a sudden night free, a crab fix was in order. By overwhelming recommendation, Nick's is the place to go. A dive, they say. An understatement, I say. Upon arrival, I got a disapproving glance from the woman manning the front. This must have been because they don't like my NYC cadence. I asked for a table near the water and was told there would be a 45 minute wait. When we took another table, three tables in the exact area we asked for became available in 10 minutes. Starting out with oysters, they were quite fresh and came swimming in melted icewater. The ritz cracker as an accompaniment was bizarre, but may be something the locals like. A salad my companion had was devoid of any flavor though it came with what they say was calamari. It was so breaded and salty, it may as well have been cooked Good Year Radials. 

The crabs arrived at the same time as the appetizers. When asked, the runners informed us there are two kitchens and they don't communicate with each other. Why is this such a source of pride, I am wondering? Our waitress was just charming and clueless, but I forgive her because I found her work ethic commendable. She wanted us to have a great time, even if she forgot some of our order. 

The crabs themselves were wonderful and worth the trip. At $125/dozen, they were pretty pricey, but given the level of cooking with everything else, I thought it was worth it. Plastic cups, forks and napkins is, I guess, the speed the locals are used to, but why is this necessary? It gives this diner the distinct feel of a beach diner, when they do serious seafood. Place was packed and no-one seemed to mind any service issues at all. Would we come back? Only for the crabs, ordering nothing else. 

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1 hour ago, Arts Hawk said:

The crabs themselves were wonderful and worth the trip. 

When it comes to traditional Maryland crab shacks, this is all anyone needs to hear!

I'm really, really sorry you ordered salad and calamari. I can't imagine what it must have been like.

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I'll wise up next time. Short list of requisite items for the next meal:

1. Stemware (plastic cups tip over in the wind-what a shock)

2. Pellegrino 

3. Napkins that don't disintegrate upon contact with seasoning. 

4. Lobster picks (real sturdy metal only)

6. Actual beer (Miller does not count)

7. Liquor-  so that when someone orders a vodka martini it has vodka in it. 

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I thought people eating crackers with oysters was a Southern thing?  In MD, oysters used to be eaten by poor people, not rich people and were very plentiful.  Eating them on a cracker with some cocktail sauce helped make them a more filling, cheap meal and if the oysters were a bit cloudy, didn't matter as much.  At least that is what I was always told.  

Traditionally, MD crabs are eaten with a small knife and a mallet, no other cutlery.  Since most people likely go for crabs, they probably just don't care.  If you sit inside they sometimes give you different cutlery, as well, like at Cantlers.  Normally you sit on the docks to eat crabs, inside for a "nicer" meal.  I certainly wouldn't eat a salad there, maybe Maryland crab soup and boardwalk fries.   I have never seen anyone drink a martini while eating crabs, they would certainly give you a look for that.  Crabs and a bucket of cheap beer is the way Maryland does it.  You can go to fancier crab houses that will meet all your requirements though, and won't give you looks for not doing it the "MD" way, although the crabs may or may not be as good and could be more expensive 120 for jumbos at a restaurant has been pretty standard this year. 

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5 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:

I thought people eating crackers with oysters was a Southern thing?  In MD, oysters used to be eaten by poor people, not rich people and were very plentiful.  Eating them on a cracker with some cocktail sauce helped make them a more filling, cheap meal and if the oysters were a bit cloudy, didn't matter as much.  At least that is what I was always told.  

Traditionally, MD crabs are eaten with a small knife and a mallet, no other cutlery.  Since most people likely go for crabs, they probably just don't care.  If you sit inside they sometimes give you different cutlery, as well, like at Cantlers.  Normally you sit on the docks to eat crabs, inside for a "nicer" meal.  I certainly wouldn't eat a salad there, maybe Maryland crab soup and boardwalk fries.   I have never seen anyone drink a martini while eating crabs, they would certainly give you a look for that.  Crabs and a bucket of cheap beer is the way Maryland does it.  You can go to fancier crab houses that will meet all your requirements though, and won't give you looks for not doing it the "MD" way, although the crabs may or may not be as good and could be more expensive 120 for jumbos at a restaurant has been pretty standard this year. 

Good points all around. For the record it was $120 for large not jumbo, but as previously noted, it was the best part of the meal. As for oysters being the food of the poor, true, if your calendar is stuck in 1879. These days, it is a currency like any other perishable, where you can leave $40-60 for a dozen depending on where they come from. All I can say is the entire experience was like a Restaurant Impossible episode, except I doubt they are failing! Maybe it is the Starbucks model - shitty product, but the brand recognition gets the proletariat to go. 

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39 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:

I thought people eating crackers with oysters was a Southern thing?  In MD, oysters used to be eaten by poor people, not rich people and were very plentiful.  Eating them on a cracker with some cocktail sauce helped make them a more filling, cheap meal and if the oysters were a bit cloudy, didn't matter as much.  At least that is what I was always told.  

"Oysters" - A group of hip Jewish people.

When I lived in Charlotte, I was at happy hour at A.W. Shuck's, and my roommate told me if I could eat four-dozen oysters, he'd buy them. Not only did I polish them off, I put each one on a saltine with some cocktail sauce. And I ate two more to make it an even 50.

(Bear in mind, I was 24 years old at the time, but imagine trying to eat *just* 50 saltines!)

The oysters, by the way, were 25 cents each.

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