Crabs Take Over At Cafe B

Cafe B has established itself pretty well in the year since Ralph Brennan opened it. It didn't turn out to be a neighborhood restaurant after all, but a New Orleans bistro, after the customers came in expecting something more ambitious. This summer, as we head into the peak time for Lake Pontchartrain crabs, Cafe B has pulled its existing and new dishes involving crabmeat into a ten-dish selection. Half of them are appetizers between $8 and $10, and the others are entrees priced in the upper teens. You could make a full meal of nothing but crabmeat dishes from these: [caption id="attachment_39021" align="alignnone" width="480"] Creole tomatoes and jumbo lump crabmeat at Cafe B.[/caption]

Marinated Crab Claws
Jalapeño-thyme marinade, heirloom cherry tomatoes, avocado crema

Crab Beignets
Abita Amber beer batter, ravigote dipping sauce

Grilled Romaine and Crabmeat Salad
Marinated tomatoes, lemon-Parmesan dressing, brioche crumbles

Creole Crab Dip
Lump crabmeat, housemade Creole cream cheese, scallions, toasted chevre, brioche

Corn and Crab Bisque
Roasted corn, red peppers, sweet cream

Chef’s Soft-shelled Crab Special
Local, fresh soft-shelled crab, prepared with seasonal ingredients

Crab and Creoles
Jumbo lump crabmeat, preserved lemon, pickled mustard seeds, aged balsamic

Crabmeat Capresi With Linguine
House-pulled mozzarella, heirloom cherry tomatoes, basil pesto, jumbo lump crabmeat

In fact, I did that very thing when this menu ran last year, and found it to be lusty beyond all expectations. All this is available at lunch and dinner every day (except for no dinner Sunday).

Cafe B

Old Metairie: 2700 Metairie Road. 504-934-4700. www.cafeb.com.

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