By Dennis Chu on May 30, 2012 • ( 1 Comment )

JOE’S CRAB SHACK

Address: 190 State Route 35, Eatontown, NJ 07724

Over winter break this past year, I had noticed that there was some new construction going on over at Monmouth Mall. It was only a little while later that a sign went up saying that Joe’s Crab Shack was going in there. I was excited to get the chance to give the place a try, since I had seen other locations when travelling around. Last week, my friend Dave and I got the chance to head over and give it a try.

Stepping inside, I noticed that the interior definitely has the “shack” feel, with a lot of metallic/wood surfaces. The decorations were really nicely coordinated with a New Jersey coastline theme, with maps of Sandy Hook or pictures of the beach. Looking at the menu, you could see that the seafood spread was quite diverse, ranging from different types of crab to shrimp to a variety of fish. The prices on those dishes ranged from $12 – $16, but for fresh seafood dishes, that’s not too bad at all.

Since we were there for lunch, I decided to try to appease my wallet and opted in for the Joe’s Surf ‘N Turf Burger, which ran a little bit on the less expensive side of things. A 1/2 pound of ground chuck with a layer of crunchy popcorn shrimp on top, topped with some crispy onion strings and a slight layering of a sriracha remoulade sauce (kind of like a spicy tartar sauce). It sure sounded quite delicious to me. And it sure did deliver.

I was impressed by how well you would distinguish between the shrimp and the ground chuck, with the popcorn shrimp and onion strings giving things a really nice crunch. The lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles added a freshness element to it, and the sriracha remoulade really sealed the deal by adding the second layer of flavor to the whole thing.

While it might not have been the most accurate of representation of what true seafood tastes like at Joe’s, the Surf ‘N Turf Burger was a concept that I hadn’t seen before, and I think that they pulled it off really well. I am excited to go back to try another one of their dishes in the near future.

Here are my rankings for Joe’s Crab Shack:

Food: 4.5 / 5
My burger was very well prepared and had a definitive depth of flavor to it. I like that they have a good variety of other seafood dishes as well.

Atmosphere: 4.5 / 5
The interior of the restaurant is really well decorated, and the high ceilings give a nice, open feeling to the whole place.

Service: 5 / 5
Our waitress was very pleasant and knowledgeable about the menu. She also came back multiple times during the meal to ask how we were doing.

Price: 4 / 5
While prices do seem to run on the higher end of things, I think that for fresh seafood dishes they are pretty reasonable.

Overall: 18 / 20 (90%)