Metompkin Seafood - Mappsville, VA

Posted By Michael Stern on March 5, 2010 11:42 PM

Metompkin Seafood is a ramshackle roadside market that sells terrific local seafood cooked to order. When I stopped by one Saturday in February, it had only just opened after a winter hiatus and spirits among customers standing inside were high. "Finally!" one woman called out, ordering a couple of pounds of steamed shrimp, a fried scallop platter and a crab cake sandwich. "I've been hungry since Christmas." A man in a camouflage hunting outfit said he'd driven forty-five minutes to Mappsville three times in the last week just to have plates of seaside (as opposed to bayside) oysters.

Dining here is about as far from corporate fast food as cheap eats can be. When owner Ellen Hudgins takes your order at the counter, she writes it on a slip of paper and carries it to the back room, where the fish is fried, oysters opened, and shrimp steamed. Ten to twenty minutes later, the cook brings forth Styrofoam containers and foil-wrapped sandwiches and Ellen announces, "I've got you some orders here." Hungry hopefuls listen to see if their time has come. Grab a can of soda from the cooler, then dine at a picnic table or in your car.

The dishes I want more of are fried oysters -- a perfect balance of crunchy crust and gooey insides -- and a flounder sandwich that was two large hunks of fish encased in a vividly seasoned crust, expertly fried so the meat within was moist and sweet. The fried crab cake is not the deluxe lump-style cake but it is unimpeachably crabby; and at $4.95 for a crab cake sandwich, it is a bargain meal.

Overall Rating

Fish Sandwich

Oyster Platter

Crab Cake Sandwich

Candy

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Posted By John Dederer on March 19, 2011 9:16 AM

Metompkin Seafood is on Route 113 northbound on the right, in Virginia close to the Maryland line. Don't blink or you'll miss it, and you'll be sorry. They are usually busy but, even so, there's not too long a wait. Lots of locals, which bodes well.

We had fried fish, with a moist interior and crisp outside, lightly crusted, very sweet fried shrimp, delicious fried oysters in a light batter, a seriously good fried soft-shell crab sandwich (with two small crabs; nice flavor and crunch but 86 the bun), and fried sweet sea scallops, which are not as big as those from Stonington, CT, but these have a light crust and are quick-fried.

The slaw is very good, chopped by hand, not finely chopped from a processor, and the dressing has a nice little mustard (?) backdrop. Hush puppies are good. I've had great hush puppies (with a crisp exterior and airy pockets, with onion and corn interiors), but these are worth eating.

Any trip north or south along the Delmarva Peninsula demands a stop here.

Overall Rating

Fish Sandwich

Oyster Platter

Crab Cake Sandwich

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Posted By William Woods on October 25, 2010 12:52 PM

The fish and seafood in the display cases are less than alluring, but the food is redemptive. The real winner here is the soft shell crab sandwich, simply a deep fried crab on a soft bun. What sets the sandwich apart is that the crab is seasoned with Old Bay, a salty spicy seafood seasoning indigenous to the area which is absolutely addictive, making the most tasty soft shell crab sandwich I have ever had. The prices are very reasonable. Definitely worth a stop if in the area.

Overall Rating

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