Although it's been a while since I last posted, we have definitely been eating! With back to back deadlines I am just now able to catch up on our posts!
During our recent travels up the east coast we stopped at a little spot called THE CRAB DUMP, located at 4412 W. Hundred Road in Chester, Virginia. Finding The Crab Dump was purely accidental. We had gone searching for Mr. B's, a soul food restaurant just a few blocks from The Crab Dump, but Mr. B's was unexpectedly closed, a note of apology on the door. Hungry, and ready for a car break, our Google Map search led us to The Crab Dump.
First impression - it was a cute little spot. There was nothing overly fancy about the space but it was exceptionally clean with a little country flair. It was early evening and there wasn't a large crowd but it seemed that everyone there was thoroughly enjoying their meals.
The menu is located on an oversized chalk board on the wall behind the counter. It was a cute touch but you need to be sure to have your glasses if distance reading is an issue! Their specialties are crab boils which they affectionately call dumps.
I was disappointed a second time because they were out of the crabs I wanted and the assortment they advertised was very lengthy: blue crabs, Alaskan king crab, snow crab legs, dungeness crabs. Instead, I ordered bacon-wrapped oysters, sweet potato pudding, onion rings, and lobster mac & cheese. The sweet potato and mac & cheese were really, really good. The pudding was just the perfect blend of sweet potato with a hint of vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar. The texture was exceptionally creamy and absolutely divine! The mac and cheese had nice chunks of lobster meat mixed in but I thought it would have been even better with a mild white cheddar and Gruyere cheese mix. The sharp yellow cheddar made it look a little like Kraft macaroni. With lobster tossed in I wanted it to be a bit more elegant, but that was me being me!
The big guy ordered the fried fish plate with catfish, sweet potato pudding, French fries and hushpuppies. The catfish was fried to perfection but the seasoning wasn't anything special. The fries were fries, much like the onion rings were onion rings. Nothing at all special about either. He also enjoyed the hushpuppies. They were fine but I really like my cornbread and hushpuppies with a touch of sugar and these had none. 
We had family with us this trip and she ordered the crab leg dump. Her crab legs came with corn on the cob and boiled potatos. The seasoning was good, the crab legs meaty and she had no complaints about her meal. Crazy enough, I love a good crab boil but this one was served on a pretty platter which just made it feel a little too formal to me, especially since they were calling it a dump. I thought brown or wax paper would have been far more suitable!
Overall, on a scale of 1 - 10, I would rate them a 7. Big Daddy gave them an 8. I'd give the sweet potato pudding a 10 all on its own! We would eat here again. We wouldn't go out of our way to go back but if we're ever driving through and Mr. B's is closed, we'd definitely find our way back.
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