St. Pete Beach, FL
Crabby Bills
Night 2 of SB2K11 found us at Crabby Bill's. I have heard from many past vacationers that Crabby Bill's was the place to go for seafood. JBH's family specifically recommended it, funny because she doesn't eat seafood. The restaurant is huge. The downstairs dining area is full of picnic tables. You may be eating with strangers, but that is the fun of SB. There was a wait before we got to eat dinner, so we made use of our time on the upstairs deck. They had a gorgeous view of the beach and the sunset, as you can see here. The one problem I did have was our waiter was kind of an idiot. I think he messed up everybody's checks. In a way that is our problem, seeing we had 9 people dining, so a little more room to mess up, but he was double charging cards, mixing up orders, etc. Other than that it was a pretty nice dining experience. 
I tend to stay away from the fried dishes, but for this meal I decided not to. From a taste standpoint, fried anything usually tastes the same, often masking the true flavor of a dish. We decided to order a couple appetizers for the table. I chose hush puppies and fried pickles. The hush puppies were served with a side of honey. I had never seen that before, it was a nice touch. The honey provided a good mix of sweet with the salty corn based hush puppies. I think I have mentioned before that sweet and salty is one of my favorite combinations, like Smash and Bang (semi NSFW). The good thing about the appetizers was that there was plenty to share. I'll admit I am a sucker for fried pickles. Now I'm not on the same level as Snooki when it comes to an affinity for pickles, but I do enjoy a good pickle every now and then (that's what she said). I would rate Crabby Bill's pickles as average. They were not seasoned and alone tasted pretty bland. The dipping sauce you see was ranch dressing. My favorite fried pickle dipping sauce is the one you get at Scotty's Brewhouse because it is a horseradish sauce. Don't get me wrong, I love ranch as much as the next guy, but sometimes its better to step out of the ordinary My bigger issue with the pickles was that they were very thinly slicked. It was more breading than pickle. At least at Scotty's, you get a thicker cut of pickle. Now for my entree. I have a complex, where I tend to order meals based on what the restaurant is named. A coworker who once said, "Ever been to The Beef House? They have amazing rolls." Granted they do have amazing rolls, BUT its not called the Roll House. You don't go to St. Elmo's for their onion rings. So i went with the soft shell crab. I would have ordered the crab legs, but I was to tired to work for my meal. With soft shell blue crab, you just eat the whole thing. As you can see, I did order some veggies to attempt to off set my trip to the fryer. As long as you are not freaked out by sticking an entire crab shell in your mouth, it has the same flavor as a regular crab. I will be honest, its not for everybody. There were times when I had no idea what part of the crab I was eating, and to some that is kind of scary. I wasn't mad at the decision I made, but next time around I will opt for another menu item. The girls ordered a steamed seafood combo platter that looked delicious. For the record, I am allergic to shellfish (only mussels and clams), but I can do shrimp, lobster, and crab. Overall I was satisfied with the meal, and I would go back. It was a fun restaurant that had something for everyone on the menu, minus PJB, who got a salad. 
"It's okay to EAt fish because they don't have any feelings." - Kurt Cobain
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