Miss Katie's Crab Shack

On the homebound leg of a road trip with Princess, Pasta and D we hit up Katie's crab shack after a doughnut binge at QVM. Katie's Crab Shack is something I've long wanted to visit. It's located right opposite QVM so it so close I couldn't say no to it.

We weren't very hungry so we just got a few things to share. First thing was Katie's Fried Chicken, as many of you know, I always have a soft spot for fried chicken. Katie's fried chicken came in a serving of 8 pieces with a side of fries and ranch dipping sauce. The outside was nice and crispy but it lacked  seasoning. Without the ranch dipping sauce it felt bland, I am use to fried chicken that has more 'oomph' in taste. It's not a bad fried chicken but more seasoning would have been preferred. The seasoning in the fries were good though. Their "Old Bay" seasoning was a good blend of salty goodness.

The crab burger was a blue swimmer crab patty, with slaw, herb mayo and a big pickle on the side. Patty was moist and had a lot of crab inside. This is more of a delicate burger and would be perfect with a big glass of cider.

Overall 13.5/20 I was blown away with what I ate but I do know, I didn't try their signature crab boil. With what I ate I was happy, I won't drive out there just to visit but if I was in the vicinity I won't mind dropping in again to try other things on the menu.

 

Auction Rooms

D always seems to hype about this place and says whenever he has his slumber parties' at MN's house, he loves to wake up and have breakfast here before he heads to work. So thought it was time I finally tried this place.

Stumbling in around 1.30ish on the weekend I was greeted with a urban and environmentally friendly layout. The waiters looked hipster to match the setting and there were plenty of people around happily having a lazy brunch with the company of friends. So this was a good sign for me. A good brunch place should always be filled with people chatting and having a lazy lunch on the weekend!

When I saw the menu I was greeted with a lot of choice but sadly the first the things that caught my attention, was sold out. After a few tries I finally decided on the Chilaquiles and the thick gammon steak with spinach pancakes.

Chiliaquiles came with pulled pork shoulders, black beans, fried eggs and corn tortilla. This came as a bit of a disappointment, I was expecting a variety of textures and flavours but it just tasted like a mess on the plate. I found that the runny egg and the pork didn't go together at all. 

The gammon steak came with small spinach pancakes which I found very interesting. The gravy and poached egg was an interesting but not quite right combination with this dish. I understand the need for the gravy with the steak and possibly the poached egg with the spinach pancakes but like the previous dish, it didn't belong together on the single dish. All components on their own were excellent, just not together.

Overall 11.5/20 I found auction rooms to be very disappointing. The poor demand management of popular menu choices on a weekend, highlights low level of customer satisfaction understanding. Of the two dishes I tried, nothing was poorly done but I personally did not find the combinations enticing. I am very sure that other people such as D may consider this place amazing but sadly I do not agree with that view.