Woody's Crab House by Apryl Parcher

Their pen and ink menus are stuffed to the gills (pun intended) with appetizers, entrees, steamers (shrimp, little-neck clams, king crab legs, Prince Edward Island Mussels) and, of course, crabs. You can even get lobster tails, filet mignon or baby back ribs (even a vegetarian stack “to make your doctor poor and happy”).

Woody’s has a great, crabby fish-house atmosphere, with giant, red stuffed crabs appearing in doorways—lots of fish netting, paddles, and brown paper table covers.

Founded in 1993 on the location of what used to be Baker’s Tavern on Main Street in North East, Woody’s has expanded over the years to add two dining rooms on either side of the bar, complete with big, double-hung windows that look out on the street. They just built a new kitchen, and offer dining out at a new Tiki Bar on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with live music.

Early in the season, crabs are shipped in from the Gulf Coast of Texas, but Manager, Chip Beverung thinks it’s going to be a good season locally.

“We get our crabs from the Chester River, and have been working with the same local crabbers for two years,” he said. “Things are looking good for a great crab season this year.”

Ken and I arrived early on a Tuesday evening, and the room was already getting full. When our server, Maria Testa, arrived, she deftly wrote her name upside-down in crayon on the brown paper table cover and took our drink order. I asked her how she could write her name so well upside down, and she laughed.

“We get our crabs from the Chester River, and have been working with the same local crabbers for two years,” he said. “Things are looking good for a great crab season this year.”

“I’ve been here nine-and-a-half years, so I guess I’m used to it,” she said.

The first thing we tried was a special appetizer, Shrimp and Crab Martini. Lovely to look at, and even more fun to eat, it consisted of a large martini glass layered with all kinds of goodies—shredded rhubarb chard in the bottom, then a layer of big lumps of sweet back fin drizzled with horseradish sauce, and three “monjo” shrimp hanging over the sides of the glass. Almost before we could finish the appetizer, our soups arrived. Ken had the Maryland crab soup, and I had the bisque (both are Uncle Buddy’s Special Recipe). Ken’s red soup had lots of veggies; crunchy carrots, peppers, peas, potatoes and celery in a spicy tomato base with lots and lots of crab. It had a peppery kick to it, but he told me his favorite was the creamy bisque, which was also thick with crab chunks.

“I’m a sucker for the fattening stuff,” he said.

You can get entrees from $12.95 to $39.95, depending on your appetite, and the portions are very generous. We shared two entrees: a Crab Sampler and Stuffed Shrimp with New York Steak, plus a side of shrimp steamed Chesapeake style, and both entrees came with twice-baked potatoes and steamed broccoli.

The Crab Sampler had three big mounds of Crab Cake, Crab Au Gratin, and Crab Imperial, all nicely browned. It was hard to tell which was best—they were all good, with lots of chunks of crab and hardly any filler. It went down perfectly with cold beer, but you can take your pick of wines as well, from Zinfandel to Pinot Grigio, Cabernet or Merlot.

The stuffed shrimp were smothered in Crab Imperial, and the tender New York Strip was grilled medium-rare (just the way I like it). The portions were so big I couldn’t finish it all, but Ken’s plate was empty.

“Unfortunately, my stomach seems to have more room than yours,” he said, as he reached for the bag of steamed shrimp. Watching him peel the jumbo shrimp was entertainment all by itself! Lucky for us, each table had a handy roll of paper towels available.

Desert was big, too. I picked the house special, Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Ice Cream, and Ken chose the popular Carrot Cake. Both were scrumptious, and perfect with a hot cup of decaf coffee.

We found that the specials change at Woody’s on a weekly basis, and that crabs are always available. You have to check the prices, as they change subject to harvest, but crabs come steamed by the dozen in small, medium, large and jumbo. Don’t worry about making a mess—it all gets wrapped up in the brown paper table cover, and the staff is very efficient!
For the middle of the week and not even June yet, Woody’s was hopping with a steady stream of customers. Judging from the piles of corncobs, crab shells and other paraphernalia, folks have a good time here, and the crowd ranges from very young to very old. We certainly enjoyed ourselves, and recommend it highly.

Our hats are off to chefs John Sweeney and Jamie Fox, floor manager Jonathan Goldstein and our server, Marie Testa. They all looked out for us and were very generous with smiles and great service.

We also found out that there is someone new in the family; Chip and his wife Rachel just had a baby girl, Lilly, who is now three months old. I asked if she would be a “restaurant baby” and join her parents at work, and Chip just smiled and said; “I’ll teach her to cook, but not to be a chef.”