hideaway tribeca

I’ve mentioned before my obsession with crab, so once restaurants in New York start serving up crab boils, I’m all over it.  Back Forty in the East Village seems to get the most press, though Mara’s Homemade (which otherwise, meaning non-crab nights,serves really delicious and inexpensive southern food – love it), City Crab, and Fish and Choptank on Bleecker also have their own specials.

hideaway food

In my neighborhood, there’s an unassuming, little, pub-like place that’s tucked away on Duane Street, aptly called the The Hideaway. (FYI, they are a few doors down from my favorite bakery in Manhattan, Duane Park Patisserie whose scooter pies are to completely die for.)  Until Labor Day, they are doing Sunday and Monday “Blue Crab Nights”, and a similarly crab-obsessed girlfriend and I decided to head over there to make a night of it.  I’ve passed by it countless times, and it’s usually quiet, with a game on the screen.  This night it was brimming.

This spot serves both large and jumbo-sized Maryland blue crabs; clearly we went for the Old Bay-dusted jumbos with bbq-spiced fries, juicy corn on the cob, and some spicy peel-and-eat shrimp.  Eating on paper and knowing that crab was seriously going to fly everywhere was part of the pleasure for me.  So I went into this venture with not-so-cute clothes on, hair tied back into a ponytail (ahem, unwashed because I was going to hightail it to a shower after), and I practically wore a bib.  I still somehow managed to make a mess of myself (and quite possibly, those around us…).

hideaway

Everything was delicious.  I hear people complaining all the time about how much meat is in a crab, and the fact is it’s just work if you want to get something out of it.  I think it’s totally worth it, and these were incredibly flavorful.  The fries were completely addictive, seasoned beautifully and that perfect crispy vs. pillowy combo.  It wasn’t just the crab that went flying; the corn on the cob was also insanely juicy.  All in, we stuffed ourselves silly.

The place only has a handful of tables and a highly coveted window seat, and I can honestly say that the servers totally helped make this a great experience.  They were just on it – giving us demos, replacing the crab-scrap-filled buckets, and refreshing drinks constantly.  I’m ashamed after this experience to say that I’ve lived in this neighborhood for so long and never eaten here; this time made sure that I will definitely be back for a non-crab night…