Review: Crab Cake with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce from 54th Street Grill
Bottom Line: The Crab Cake with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce from 54th Street Grill delivers a good take on that East Coast classic and brings some heat.
There are plenty of casual sit-down restaurants out there to choose from, but when I decide to go out and enjoy a nice meal and a beer, 54th Street Grill is one of the places that usually tops my list. They got their start in Kansas City and are spreading across the country on the strength of their extensive “made from scratch” menu as well as their selection of beers on tap. They have quite a lot of food items to choose from, several of which bring some heat (like their Devil’s Den burger, which I previously reviewed here). And one that I get on a regular basis when I’m looking for lighter fare is the crab cake, which also delivers some heat.
That one is on their appetizer menu, and you get a sizeable crab cake with a generous portion of crab stuffed inside, along with either their roasted red pepper sauce or tartar sauce. You’ll want to go with the former because it’s the better of the sauce choices and it also adds a nice kick. On the side, it comes with a roasted corn salad, and it sells for $14 in my area.
The crab cake has a nice crust to it along with a decent ratio of breading to crab meat. It’s not quite as packed with crab as an authentic Maryland crab cake, but for a casual restaurant that doesn’t specialize in seafood, this is really quite good, and you definitely taste the meat. There is a touch of a spicy kick from the cake, either from Cajun seasoning or crab boil seasoning with some heat added. The roasted red pepper sauce has a bit of tang along with a touch of smokiness and sweetness and that nice, mellow roasted pepper taste. And it works perfectly with the crab cake—so much so that you’ll want some of that sauce with every bite. The roasted corn offers the perfect accompaniment with a nice sweetness and some smokiness, and it’s seasoned quite well so that it also delivers a kick.
The crab cake by itself I would put below Mild heat on my scale, but when combined with the roasted red pepper sauce, it gets close to Medium. It doesn’t set your mouth on fire, but there’s a good kick, and it leaves a nice tingle—especially when you supplement it with bites of that corn. This comes very close to that perfect juncture I seek where Fire Meets Flavor, and I find myself ordering it on a regular basis.
As a bonus, this won’t set you back too much as far as calories go. The crab cake itself is 360 cals, and the roasted red pepper sauce adds another 90 cals (if you get the tartar sauce, it adds 350 cals). They don’t give the calories for the corn, but I’m guessing 150 to 200 max, so overall that keeps you under 700 cals—which is not bad for a sit-down meal. And it is actually quite filling.
This is a permanent menu item at 54th Street Grill, and as mentioned, you’ll find it in the “Munchies” (appetizer) section of the menu. I do venture beyond the crab cake from time to time, with the wings, Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich, and Devil’s Den Burger all delivering some heat. And they have a nice selection of beers on tap to go with your food, so you really can’t go wrong at this place. If you happen to have one near you, I recommend giving them a try—and you can check for a location in your area at their website.
