123658 Mon Jan 17 16:04:25 -0800 2005 3 8 Midwest 0 671739 Does anyone think opening a small neighborhood Crabshack / Oyster Bar in Minneapolis is a good idea? I'm a Minnesotan. We tend to like hamburger hotdish. Mon Jan 17 16:04:25 -0800 2005 0 Beef 1 671742 Depends, which neighborhood? Who are your clientele, and what do they want? For Minnesota, crabshack seems a little downscale while oyster bar seems a little upscale. It's hard to picture the combination. More to the point, it's hard to picture the clientele. A seafood place that focuses entirely on a coast-oriented menu and doesn't offer a local fish (walleye, trout) might be handicapping itself. The Tavern on Grand keeps people coming in for fish twelve months a year, but it's walleye. And darned good walleye, in the right setting to meet pals for a beer or bring the family for lunch. One neighborhood place serving oysters that seems to do well is Cafe Barbette. Not a chain, not downtown. For an idea of what it would take to make the notion float, check 'em out. Oysters work well with their overall concept, and they're in a neighborhood that offers up a clientele to match. Then go up Hennepin Ave to the Green Mill in Uptown to see what else it would take to keep oysters on a menu. My take? Lots of customers ordering lots of other things. I can think of only a couple of places that serve crab, and only one that's not a chain. The Cherokee Sirloin Room used to have crab legs one night a week. (Do they still?) All-you-can-eat for the budget-minded folks, in a neighborhood setting that appeals to the meat and potato lovers. All these places have one thing in common -- they depend on more than fish to keep the doors open. For places that are staking their success on seafood, I think about McCormick & Schmick, Oceanaire, Red Fish Blue and the Tin Fish. Each of those places seem to have a clear idea of their neighborhood and their clientele, which brings us full circle to the start of this post. Mon Jan 17 18:05:06 -0800 2005 671739 0 KTFoley 1 671919 I prefer to satisfy my regular longing for crab legs at Chinese dinner buffets. Great prices and great food varieties. I can recommend the Panda Buffet on Minnetonka Blvd. and Texas Ave. in St. Louis Park Wed Jan 26 19:15:26 -0800 2005 671739 0 Joan 1 672461 From the Taste section of the Star Tribune on Thursday Febrary 24th, Rick Nelson reports on the next incarnation of Tonic in Uptown Minneapolis: "The menu will start with fish and chips, fritters, catfish, red beans and rice and po' boys and move up to an oyster bar and live lobster." Either you've found the answer to the neighborhood question, or the Parasole folks have been following you with interest. Wed Feb 23 22:31:01 -0800 2005 671739 0 KTFoley