In the Mood for Seafood...The Maine Ave. Fish Market

The Maine Ave. Fish Market is a huge fish market filled with an abundance of seafood shops. My friend, Katherine, heard of it on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" show so we decided to give it a try. It was our second Bourdain success! (For the first, see my post on Song Que Vietnamese) We hopped off at the Smithsonian metro and followed the fish smell in the air to the Potomac River Port. I am a huge seafood lover so I was very excited. Of course seafood is ridiculously expensive and my college budget can not afford to get fish on a regular basis, so I was pleased to find out the inexpensive prices. The prices here were rock bottom- and there was no shortage on quality.
We approached the market where there were open stands with fresh fish, shrimp, oysters, lobster, and my favorite- crab. A few stores had cooked crabs and other prepared food like crab cakes, clam chowder, fried catfish, grilled tilapia, and other delectable bites.

One stand had crabs cooked with a special seasoning on top (my guess is paprika, a little cayenne, lots of salt)- and you have your choice of male or female crabs. The best part- the price. You get one sample crab (yes, as in a WHOLE crab for FREE!) then any additional crab is one dollar. Katherine and I cracked them open right there and scraped out all the meat!

Steamed Male Crabs with Secret Spicy/Salty Seasoning

The next place that caught our eye was Jimmy's seafood because a man (whom we believe is Jimmy) was standing in front handing out samples. In addition to the prepared seafood dishes that Jimmy offers, they have a plethora of baked goods- which did not look too shabby themselves. We had a sample of some delicious strawberry short cake. After pondering over the menu for a good 15 minutes, we decided to split a platter that included two crab cakes, yeast buns (we thought that was funny because of course the buns have yeast!), and two sides. For the side dishes, we decided to get corn pudding and mac and cheese.

Crab Cakes with Lemon

Left: Mac and Cheese, Right: Corn Pudding Side Dishes

The verdict: Delicious crab cakes. Very fresh and well prepared- I would definitely go back. The corn pudding was sweet and although it did not look that appetizing (photographed above) it was very good. Mac and cheese was like any other mac and cheese. This platter with all sides included cost $9.95. We quenched down the sea food with sweetened ice tea- which yes, I thought deserved a spot on this blog because it was not too bitter and not too sweet, which is a hard thing to accomplish in my opinion!

Katherine drinking the Ice Tea

Overall, the Maine Ave. Fish Market hit the spot. It's open 8am-9pm Mon.-Sun., and is a 5-10 minute walk from the L'Enfant or Smithsonian Metro (1100 Maine Ave SW). Be warned- for the crabs bring your own nut cracker or be prepared to dig and smash with your hands. Also we could not find many seating areas (we assume in the summer they put them out)- but seeing as it is February don't expect to have a table to eat off of.