From catfish and custom kettles to steaks and barbecue, Crabb & Company gives diners plenty to love
STORY by Sara Schafer
PHOTOS by Jim McCarty
Jason and Cindy Crabb’s story with Crabb & Company started long before their name was on the sign. Back when the restaurant was Fisherman’s Net, they were teenagers — Jason working in the kitchen and Cindy waiting tables.
During the 14 years they worked at Fisherman’s Net in Wappapello, the couple checked off many of life’s big milestones — high school and college graduations, marriage and the birth of their first child. The two moved on to other careers, but their connection to the restaurant remained.
“We were looking for some property for a possible campground,” Jason says. “We called John and Deb, who owned Fisherman’s Net. The next day Deb calls and says, ‘Hey, I know where there is a property for sale that would be really great for a campground, and it comes with the restaurant.’ So next thing you know, we’re buying a restaurant with some property for a campground.”
The opportunity brought Jason and Cindy, Ozark Border Electric Co-op members, back to where they had spent 14 years serving customers, building relationships and growing up together. In 2010, they renamed the restaurant Crabb & Company and began welcoming guests for steak, seafood and barbecue.
Signature Flavor
Jason and Cindy are foodies. They’ve taken their love for delicious dishes and applied it to the food of their childhoods and family traditions. “It’s easier to serve what you like,” Jason says. “A lot of the stuff on the menu is what we grew up eating.”
You’ll also find dishes inspired by family and time-honed recipes. “We have a mushroom recipe that’s from his Aunt Marsha,” Cindy says. “Our hush puppy recipe is basically the same hush puppies we made when we worked here as kids.”
The menu is large, so everyone in your group will find something to enjoy. Start your meal with one of the more than 20 appetizer options. For something special, go with the crabcakes. “Our crabcakes are more crab than cake,” Cindy says. The house-made cakes are pan-seared and served with a roasted red pepper sauce.
Another popular option is the fresh Gulf oysters. Try them raw on the half shell, deep fried or grilled.
Your toughest decision will be your entree. Start by narrowing it down to one of the three main categories — steak, seafood or barbecue. The steaks are aged choice Certified Angus Beef and hand cut daily. Try a ribeye or sirloin, go with a boneless pork chop or order one of Crabb & Company’s signature dirty dishes.
The Dirty Cajun Menu is not a name, Jason says. It’s a style. Steaks, chicken and pork chops are seasoned with Crabb & Company’s house Cajun seasoning, fried for just a bit and finished on the grill.
The idea for the special menu came when a regular customer asked Jason to surprise him. “I was just standing back there with a steak, trying to figure out, ‘Well, what am I going to do different this time?’ ” Jason says. “I was like, ‘I’ll just do kind of like a blackened steak. Then I thought, ‘I’m just going to fry this puppy.’ ”
The customer loved it, and so did Jason and Cindy. Now the dirty menu is one of the restaurant’s signature offerings. “Every time he adds a menu item, he’s thinking of how to take it to the next level — what is going to take this from being ordinary to really being one of our featured items here at Crabb & Company,” Cindy says.
The barbecue portion of the menu is a mashup of Texas and southeast Missouri. Ribs, pork steak, brisket and pulled pork are all seasoned with a signature rub and then smoked with hickory wood. If you’re really hungry, try the smoked pork steak, which weighs in at 2 pounds.
Catfish and Kettles
While customers love all the beef, pork and chicken options, what keeps them coming back is the seafood. “When you’re in southeast Missouri, you have to have catfish,” Jason says. The U.S. farm-raised catfish can be prepared fried, blackened or grilled.
“One of our most popular items is our custom kettles,” Jason says. “We have a huge selection from crab legs, lobster, crawfish, shrimp, clams, mussels, sausage, eggs — it goes on and on. This year we just started offering a choice of seasonings and seasoned butters to go with the kettles.”
From homemade bacon-berry jam that elevates the smoked pork chop to more than a dozen sides, rotating desserts and specialty margaritas, the Crabb & Company team wants your meal to be special. “If I’m selling what everybody else is selling, why come out? We want you to have as unique of an experience as you can,” Jason says. “We like the creative aspect you get with food — all the different ingredients and techniques. Everything is cooked to order, so it does take a lot of energy, but we love it.”
Lake Casual
Jason and Cindy describe their restaurant as “lake casual.” Everyone is greeted and welcomed as if they are family. “We want every customer that walks through the door to feel welcome and at home,” Cindy says.
Whether guests come in from the lake, gather around the table for a celebration or make the drive for one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, the Crabbs want the experience to feel worth the trip. “We’re not in a highly populated area,” Jason says. “So, we shifted a lot of our focus to be on things that aren’t just anywhere else.”
Email Sara Schafer at sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop.