DiNardo’s

Every year around this time I get a hankering for hard shells and beer. Armed with a cocktail fork and nutcrackers, I am the only one in my family who really enjoys getting down and dirty digging out that sweet succulent crabmeat. Edward believes this practice is "too much effort for too little reward." He would rather eat soft-shells or my broiled crab cakes.

DiNardo’s seafood restaurant, famous for its hard-shell crabs, has been in business since 1938. I’ve only been there on one other occasion and wanted to see if things have changed. They haven’t. DiNardo’s still serves good old-fashioned seafood dishes in old-fashioned surroundings.

"We don’t have crabs because of the hurricane," advised the hostess, who greeted us with a smile. "We could not fly them in from the Gulf."

Mom and I waited at the bar for Edward, ordered martinis ($6) and learned DiNardo’s owners only use Gulf Coast crabs because they are available year-round.

We settled into a comfortable table, noshed on the requisite crisp oyster crackers with horseradish and made our selections from the menu.

Many restaurants say they serve cherrystone clams but they don’t. The only one that does is The Sansom Street Oyster House, which has the best raw bar in the city. DiNardo’s uses small top necks and sneaks a littleneck or two onto the platter. Still, my clams casino ($9) was as close to the authentic recipe as you can get. I received five clams of differing sizes topped with crisp bacon and a touch of bread crumbs, onions and sweet peppers. They arrived piping hot on a lettuce leaf, which I found a bit odd, with clarified butter for dipping.

Mom’s house salad ($4) was a small plate of iceberg and romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, a not-quite-ripe tomato and red cabbage. It was less than ordinary.

Edward’s New England clam chowder ($6) was well prepared. It was obviously homemade, chock-full of meaty clams enhanced by bits of sautéed onion and small chunks of potatoes. The broth was rich and served so hot I had to wait a while before I tasted it. It was a good-sized portion, too.

Baked stuffed shrimp is a dish plucked from my childhood. I enjoyed it at The Tavern on Montgomery Avenue in Merion many years ago. DiNardo’s version ($19.50) was a B-plus, except for the fact the menu states three jumbo – emphasis on jumbo here – shrimp are used. What I received were medium-size shrimp. Still, they were toothsome and stuffed with creamy, good-quality crabmeat, very little filler, and a hint of spices. The crabmeat was flavored just right, too. French fries dusted with a bit of Old Bay and homemade coleslaw came with the platter. The fries were good, but the slaw was warm and, although homemade, tasted like run-of-the-mill commercial coleslaw.

Mom’s flounder stuffed with crabmeat ($19.50) was nicely done. The plate contained two good-sized fillets filled with the same crabmeat mixture used in the shrimp dish. Mom prefers a baked potato, but it was wrapped in foil. This is a no-no because foil-wrapped potatoes steam instead of bake, resulting in a sometimes under-cooked spud. Coleslaw came with the flounder, as well.

Edward is the family fried-fish maven and grew up on the fried seafood combination platter at the now-shuttered Fisher’s on North Broad Street. The dinner is $24.50 at DiNardo’s and the platter was filled with a large fillet of flounder, a few shrimp and scallops and a plump crab cake. Seasoned breadcrumbs coated the fish and each piece was crisp.

Although the wine list (by the glass and bottle) is reasonably priced, we opted for a pitcher of Yuengling Lager ($11). Half-pitchers of beer are also available.

We noticed the bar was doing a good business and the dining rooms were busy, but not jam-packed. DiNardo’s is surrounded by upscale boutique restaurants, BYOBs and lounges that are patronized by young professionals who live in the neighborhood’s lofts and converted warehouses. But, the restaurant is frozen in culinary time and I suspect the owners want to keep it that way.

Two tips of the toque to DiNardo’s.

DiNardo’s
312 Race St.
215-925-5115
Credit cards accepted
Wheelchair-accessible
Open for lunch and dinner