The Mad Crabber is a local crabbery in Avon, NC, on Cape Hatteras. As the name would suggest, they specialize in crab: Blue Crabs, King Crabs, Dungeness Crabs, Snow Crab, Soft-shell Crab and every imaginable recipe for this sea creature. We visited on a Friday night and the line was manageable. The restaurant is like a beer hall, big and full of picnic tables and high pub tables. This night they were out of local Blue Crabs due to the local water temperatures being high and poor fishing.
I started with an appetizer of local clams on the half shell. They served up a baker?s half dozen which were so fresh you could hear the gulls calling in your ears. For my main course, I ordered a combination deep fried soft shell crab and crab cake. Although I prefer my soft-shell crabs to be pan fried, these were still tasty. The crab cake was excellent ?little cake to be found ?mostly crab. My wife ordered the King Crab legs. The 1 pound serving was enough for a king. Sides include a choice of fries, baked potato, corn on the cob, coleslaw, rice or tater tots.
We were traveling with our 21/2 year old and they made a special effort to welcome her with a high chair, a stuffed animal and lots of attention. Crayons and a write-on-table-cloth are available for doodling. Our waiter, Robert, was the best waiter we've had during our 2 week vacation.
We will return to the Mad Crabber when the water?s are cooler and we can hack away at a table top full of blue crabs.
For those not into crabs, the Mad Crabber had an assortment of other fish and beef.
Price: Moderate
Food Quality: Very Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Congenial
Pros: Good food, Good service, moderate prices
Cons: None
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