The Buccaneer Crab House
108 W. Merrick Rd., Freeport
516-442-1151
All-you-can-eat blue claw crabs, fish in a bag, pots of mussels, fried oyster Po Boys: The Buccaneer Crab House, opened a few months ago in Freeport, sounds like the easy antidote to all the frou-frou seafood restaurants—a throwback to a time before fish became overproduced and overpriced. Just the name “crab house” makes us happy. Cleverly branding themselves as having “Crisis Prices” seems perfectly timed as well.
The Crab Cake appetizer ($12), served on a long rectangular plate, is excellent, chock full of crab meat with only a light breading and served with bruscetta. New England Clam Chowder ($5.50/$10) is full of clams and flavorful. My Catch of the Day ($18), skin on porgy filet, lightly sautéed with lemon juice and capers, was a simple pleasure served with mashed potatoes. But the menu promises too much. Lobster Bisque ($7/$13) “creamed out with chunks of lobster” had no lobster, chunks or otherwise. Not a shred. Cream, yes; lobster, no. “Flash-fried” Calamari ($10) amounts to fried calamari. Good but not any less fried than what you’d expect. “Fish In A Bag” wasn’t available according to our waiter. “It went bad,” he intimated, giving us too much information. Service is like a tadpole, young and green. Décor is nautical, satellite radio plays the blues and there are several rooms, one with a fireplace.
It would be difficult to find better fried oysters than the ones found here (at lunch only) on a Po Boy sandwich ($12). The waitress says they’re fresh shucked and they tasted that way, ocean fresh and lightly battered. They should be offered at dinner as well. They’re a steal with a cup of chowder and a mountain of crispy fries.
Southside Fish & Clam
1095 Jericho Tpke., Commack
631-486-8864
After 75 years in Lindenhurst, Southside Fish & Clam has expanded to the northside—Commack. Not a clone, but a step up from the legendary fish shack atmosphere of the original. There’s a bar and fish store and it’s still the home of the Twin Lobster Dinner, but it has enough quirks to irk. A sign reads “Please Wait To Be Seated” but there’s no wait service that we can detect. Gone are the funky wall menus and signs to order from. Customers must grab a five-page menu and scour it while waiting on line. We sit at one of the many tables with one of those vibrating pagers and damn if I don’t jump out of my skin mid-conversation when that thing goes off!
I wanted some clam chowder but was informed they had none. “We have to order it,” the counter girl informed us. Really? No chowder and they don’t make it here? On a cold blustery day on this island?
They’re without crusted Rainbow Trout too, but I enjoyed a large platter of tasty broiled Lemon Sole ($12.99) sided with skin on mashed potatoes and good steamed string beans. Fish & Chips ($10.99) tasted chalky but Fried Oysters ($13.99) are satisfying and enough for two, if not as fresh as I’d like.
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