Michael Bublé’s crab haunt


Thursday, October 30th, 2008

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Co-owner Desmone Gregorie shows off some of the fish and chips at The Crab Shop in North Vancouver. Photograph by : Glenn Baglo

THE CRAB SHOP

2464 Dollarton Highway, North Vancouver. 604-929-1616.

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Call me irresponsible, but if it’s good enough for Michael Bublé, it’s good enough for me. He’s a regular at The Crab Shop on Dollarton Highway in North Vancouver and pops in to buy crab for his grandfather.

The Crab Shop has been on my list of places to try forever. It’s been going for 17 years under the present owners (and longer if you count previous ones).

Bublé is just a great guy,” says Desmone Gregorie, who owns the shop/cafe with crab fisherman husband Marcel. “He tells us all about his career and he’s a normal person. He invited our manager to go play hockey.”

The shop, which is also a seafood cafe, moved to the present modern digs about a year ago. Before that, it was just down the road in a building so old, the film industry regularly rented it when they needed an old-timer scene and so old, that staff often saw ghosts. “One time, the tap turned on by itself. They saw ghostly people pass though,” says Gregorie. “I find it hard to believe but our manager and employees saw things.”

The new building is in the Kingswood Landing development and is all glass and tiles but the nearby woods makes me think I’m in Tofino.

I have to say the fish dishes are fresh. I’m not particularly a huge fan of fish and chips but polished off the halibut fish and chips, no problem, the fries included. The menu includes clam chowder (Boston), lobster bisque, halibut sausage (with a veal for added flavour), crabcakes, halibut cakes fried squid, fresh albacore melt on bagel and fish burgers.

Prices range from $5 to $9 and family packs of fish and chips (with six pieces of fish) costs $20 to $30, depending on the choice of fish.

One word of caution — be careful around the fish-shaped iron chair backs. They’re avenging salmon with pointy parts.

The Crab Shop is open daily for lunch and for a take-out dinner (closes at 6 p.m. every day except Friday, when it closes at 7 p.m.)

© The Vancouver Sun 2008



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