NBC Chicago’s Food Guy Steve Dolinsky concluded his tour of classic Chicago restaurants on Thursday with a visit to a 40-year-old seafood house.
NBC Chicago's Food Guy Steve Dolinsky spent March visiting iconic restaurants across Chicago.
The establishments had to meet certain criteria, which include being at least 15 years old and being the kind of place you’d take out-of-towners for a great meal.
At one such spot, Shaw's Crab House, anything from the sea has been on the menu for the past four decades. Whether you go for the casual bar or the more formal dining room, a meal at Shaw's is an essential part of a Chicago dining experience.
The raw bar opened first, in the winter of 1984, and the more formal dining room came a few months later.
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There have been hits and misses in the Lettuce Entertain You portfolio over the years, but there’s no denying Shaw’s Crab House has become the city’s preeminent destination for seafood since it opened on East Hubbard Street.
“It’s quality, and staying true to your quality has a certain authenticity when you’re not chasing trends. You know there’s a virtue in being classic,” said Executive Partner and Divisional President Bill Nevruz.
That means a proper chowder and a more decadent lobster bisque. The crab cakes are made from lump crab, not backfin. Then there's the plump shrimp cocktail and fried calamari that’s both crisp and tender.
The Food Guy
It helps that everything is done in-house.
“Butchering the fish here or making everything from scratch…” he said.
That enormous tuna loin goes from raw hunks to seared and seasoned in about five minutes, served over a bed of crispy rice noodles with crunchy peanuts, scallion and chives, dressed in a tangy ginger soy sauce.
The Louie dressing on the seafood salad is homemade too, layered with shrimp, crab and lobster. Shaw's recently switched its king crab from Alaskan to Norwegian, but hasn't missed a beat.
“The switch happened out of some necessity when they closed the Alaskan market, and then we found a really fantastic product in Norway," Nevruz said. "It’s the same crab, but it’s fished a little bit differently, and we’re proud to be associated with a family fishery. We believe it’s a tremendous product."
The crab's market price dictates a more upscale environment to serve it in. The same goes for the Florida stone crabs, cracked to order, served with that incomparable mustard sauce.
“We wanted to be the steakhouse of seafood – white tablecloth, more formal – and the Oyster Bar is more casual. It's a more lively environment,” he said.
Think lobster rolls and beers. There’s always a dozen oysters on hand, too.
“We try to stay true to six East Coast and six West Coast,” said Nevruz.
But Shaw's sticks to cold-water oysters only.
“So in the summer months, we just go more north,” he said.
In recent years, the restaurant has added a full sushi program – both nigiri and maki – and continues to tweak the menu, adding a few new items while never forgetting the dishes that made Shaw's what it is.
“We’ve developed the reputation of not just being the place for crab, but being the place for seafood,” Nevruz said.
Here's where you can go:
21 E. Hubbard St., 312-527-2722
