By Michael Jones
There are a lot of seafood restaurants in Wildwood, New Jersey, but not all of them are worthy of your patronage. When you're looking for exceptional seafood and a comfortable dining atmosphere, check out Urie's Waterfront Restaurant, The Crab House or The Boathouse. Each restaurant offers something special to its visitors, like all-you-can-eat crab menus, eye-catching views of the ocean or live music.
Urie's Waterfront Restaurant
This restaurant has been serving tourists and Wildwood locals for over 50 years. Stopping by their waterfront deck for some crab cakes and live music is almost a tradition. You'll save money with all-you-can-eat crabs from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. everyday. Urie's has healthy choices of steak and seafood, specializing in broiled and fried options. Here you'll find fresh Alaskan snow crab legs and Dungeness crab clusters; crabs are served with salad, rolls and pasta. Start your meal with some batter-fried calamari, indulge in a plate of Maryland blue crabs or reward your taste buds with some stuffed flounder or jumbo fried shrimp. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., guests can enjoy live entertainment from acts like the Island-style trio Rolly Gray Reggae Band.
588 West Rio Grande Avenue
Wildwood, NJ 08260
(609) 522-4189
http://www.uries.net/
The Crab House
This restaurant is known for serving thousands of crabs to satisfied customers for years. It only serves Maryland crabs caught from the Chesapeake Bay. The Crab House claims its crabs are so good because they're caught on trout lines, one crab at a time, instead of with crab pots. So the crabs remain clean instead of sitting in a pot for 24 hours and absorbing the flavor of what they're eating (like a chicken foot, one perhaps rotten).
All of The Crab House's crabs are at least five inches long, and they're steamed alive with the restaurant's secret Baltimore spice. Larger crabs can measure up to eight inches in length and go for higher prices. Medium crabs average $2.25 while jumbo crabs average $5 to $6 a piece. Stop by and enjoy the atmosphere or order some take-out, but you can't order by phone.
You can also take advantage of crab discount nights, when you'll find a 25 percent discount on crabs every summer Monday at 4:30 p.m. And restaurant, bar, local and county government uniformed employees and lifeguards receive 50 percent off crabs and $5 pitchers of beer on Employee Discount Nights.
Ocean Drive & Fish Dock Road
Wildwood Crest, NJ 08260
(609) 522-1341
http://www.thecrabhouse.com/
The Boathouse
The Boathouse has such a nice outdoor seating area that if you don't go there for the food, you can at least find pleasure watching the sunset. The restaurant is almost entirely built over water and offers inside or outside seating with a panoramic view. Lunch and dinner menus offer a wide variety of seafood. Appetizers range from $5 to $10 and include fried calamari tossed with sizzled jalapenos and onions or steamed mussels. Most patrons love the homemade soups, like corn crab chowder. Of the entrees, try the macadamia and coconut-crusted mahi-mahi or a fisherman's stew with shrimp, king crab, clams, mussels and scallops.
506 West Rio Grande Avenue
Wildwood, NJ 08260
(609) 729-5301
http://boathouseonline.net/
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