Alewife staple Summer Shack recently announced a winter wonder deal for crab fans like me: all-you-can-eat crab legs on Thursdays. I’m a fan of the Summer Shack’s seafood deals (loved its buy-one-get-one oysters deal). A downside is this one costs $69, which may not sound affordable for a family, but is not a bad deal relative to the $40 to $50 single serving price at other local places like The Boiling Crab and The Shaking Crab.
The legs are snow crab, not Alaskan king, tops on my crab dining slate. However, snow crab shells are easier to open, and the meat is very sweet and tender, close enough that in a blind taste test I might not be able to tell the difference.
You also get a starter of six generously-sized crab fritters that come out crispy on the outside and warm, moist, and chewy on the inside. After dipping one in the maple syrup side, I wished the fritters were bottomless, too. The first helping of the main course is a pound-and-a-half of legs, knuckles, and claws with a nicely al dente ear of corn served neatly in a hotdog tray. A side of drawn butter completes the scene. Of course, there’s a lobster bib to keep you tidy and clean. (I passed on that and wore some of my meal home.)
The leg segments are delicate and pliable enough to crack apart with your hands, then use the small cocktail fork to fish out the meat. The leg meat, lightly dipped in butter, was rich and satisfying, while the knuckle meat was the more succulent, tender, and flavorful. It did require a real pick-and-pull process to get to those white nuggets, but where there is toil, there are rewards. As I neared the end of my first round, a second round magically appeared. A smaller plate—one pound, I was told—and no corn. That’s how every follow-on serving will come until you say no more.
If I went back, my strategy would be to power through the rounds without being fussy about trying to get every little morsel. My mom, a true New England Yankee, instilled in me a leave-nothing-but-shells mentality as a kid — an approach I began with and quickly abandoned. I’d also insert a TV time-out between each round to wash my hands and imbibe some wine without crabby mitts.
The tools the Shack supplies you with — a cracker and a small cocktail fork — are serviceable, but a metal meat pick and shell cutter would definitely aid in the task. It’s a fun task too, because once you begin, you’re locked in, cracking, picking, extracting, and enjoying the rewards of those hard-earned morsels.
The experience reminded me why Summer Shack has remained an Alewife standard since the early 2000s, when seafood restauranteur Jasper White opened the place to create an affordable family-dining seafood experience. It’s been almost a decade since White sold the restaurant to the Lyons Group in 2017, but the restaurant continues to have its open, minimalist space, featuring a central bar and raw bar counter that create an ideal spot to watch sporting events while enjoying oysters and chowder. White, who unfortunately passed away in 2024, would likely be pleased to see his famous “Jasper’s pan roasted lobster” still on the menu.
Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
A stronger
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