Caplinger's -Revisit

You know how much I love soft shell crabs. The other day I saw this picture on Instagram and immediately texted hubby to say we were going for lunch. Sadly, by the time we got there, they were already out of the soft-shell crabs, which made me sad. However, since we were already there, we went ahead and ordered the “The platter” ($15.99) to share. This is a dinner that consist of one piece of fried basa, ¼ pound of fried shrimp and ¼ pound of fried clam strips. Also, you get two sides and two hushpuppies.  My son got the Caplinger’s special sandwich ($6.99) which comes with 1 side. 

They fry up some good  seafood at Caplinger’s, and even though I was sad about the soft-shell crab. The basa is actually even better than some of the more expensive fish I think—it has great flaky but moist texture. The shrimp might be my favorite though—their little fried shrimp are delicious. The clam strips were a mixed review—hubby didn’t love them, but I had several that were really soft and tender. A couple were chewy (why hubby didn’t like them). They give you cocktail sauce and remoulade sauce—I really like the remoulade. It is tangy and has some nicely seasoned. I like this on everything. The hush puppies are tasty too—a nice corn bread type flavor. We always get the fries which are heavily seasoned waffle fries. Love them in ketchup. I struggle with a second side—the weakness of Caplinger’s for me is the sides. We get mac and cheese, which is tasty, but not as good as the fried stuff. 

My son loved his sandwich, although he usually ends up eating it open faced because their pretzel rolls are really big. 

All in all, even though I was sad about the sift shells (always another day), we had a very tasty lunch. And we got a nice piece of fresh salmon for dinner on the way out. Caplinger’s is a great place to have in Indy and I hope you go if you haven’t already (they are closed Monday though, so don’t go today!).

Caplinger’s Fresh Seafood

7460 North Shadeland Ave

Indy. 46250

317/288-7263

www.caplingersfreshcatch.com 

Caplinger's Fresh Catch

Ok, quick little reminder/extra post about Caplinger’s, especially right now since they have fresh soft shell crabs you guys! I have been tortured by pictures of various restaurants’ soft-shell crabs and haven’t been able to get any. I informed hubby that we were going to lunch to make sure we got some before they go out of season. He was happy to oblige. So we were debating our strategy on the way there—maybe one dinner, one sandwich and share? Or should we even be distracted by bread? Well when we got there and found out the dinners usually have about four crabs, we just decided to go with that and split it. Oh, and add a quarter pound of fried oysters. Why not right?

So we ordered the dinner ($16.99). It also comes with two sides and a couple of hush puppies. Now, sides have been a struggle for me at Caplinger's. As much as I love their fried seafood and their fresh fish market, I have yet to find a side that I love. So I decided to just be uninteresting and go with fries. And hubby got red beans and rice. Oh yeah, and that order of oysters (around $6).

I love soft shell crabs. I loved these soft-shell crabs. And I loved that they gave me 5 of them because they were small (they were tiny for real!). They give you their remoulade sauce to dip them in, which is tasty for sure. The thing I realized was that I now love their fries! I was expecting some boring giant steak fries or something that I wouldn’t end up eating. What I got was heavily seasoned crinkle cut potatoes that were delicious in ketchup. I have finally found my side. Sadly, hubby didn’t think much of the red beans and rice, but he also loved the fries. And those hush puppies are moist and tasty too.

The fried oysters were very good too. Smoking hot out of the fryer and these oysters were huge. In a quarter pound, there were five. If I had any complaint, it might just be that they were SO big. But they were super juicy and fresh, and the breading was great. These people really know how to fry up some seafood. And I like that you know its fresh because, well, it’s a seafood market as well. They serve the oysters with cocktail sauce and it is very good. I was undecided if I preferred them dipped in it or the remoulade, so I just traded back and forth between bites.

Anyhow, if you like soft shell crab like I do, or if you haven’t tried it, here’s your chance. You can just go with the dinner like we did, or you can get them as a sandwich (right now there are two to a sandwich). And keep telling me if you have sides you are passionate about. I haven’t tried them all yet.

Caplinger’s Fresh Catch

7460 North Shadeland Ave

Indy. 46250

317/288-7263

www.caplingersfreshcatch.com 

Caplinger's Fresh Catch - Revisit

You guys, they have soft shell crab at Caplinger’s! Well, at least they did when I went last week! I had been in to pick up some fish for dinner the other day (one of my favorite fish markets in town) and saw them. I don’t personally like to cook soft shells myself because it involves deep frying (you know the best way to eat a soft shell crab is deep fried) and I don’t do that very often.

I told hubby we needed to go stat, and he was easily swayed. You can get it in sandwich form, which comes with one crab, or dinner form, which comes with two crabs and two sides ($19.99). Who needs to waste time and stomach space with bread? So we got the dinner and each had a crab. We had hush puppies and red beans and rice for our sides.

Those crabs? They were perfect. They were large, and not too hard, and the breading is spicy and crispy and perfectly delicious. You have to get the remoulade sauce and dip the crab in it. It is also spicy and delicious. I like that they don’t make everything bland to appeal to the masses. The sides were only okay, the hush puppies tasted like they had maybe been cooked earlier—they weren’t smokin’ hot like the crab.  But the crab, I could go back right now (I just ate them for lunch today) and eat more.

We also got the lobster roll ($13.99). Love the filling of the roll—it’s different from many I have had because they use claw and knuckle meat (there are some nice big hunks of claw and knuckle in there, which is my favorite part of the lobster). It’s very lightly dressed, and has a little bit of celery and green onion for just a tiny bit of crunch. Really though, this sandwich is mostly meat. And the bread is a pretty dense bun, so hubby and I pretty much just decided to eat the meat out of the bun. Particularly because we were eating those oh so healthy soft shell crabs. The only thing I would add here (besides maybe a slightly softer bun) would be a squeeze of lemon. But we both enjoyed it.

My advice to you is to get in there and get some crab if you like them—and if you have never tried them, you need to! If they don’t have them, get the fried fish, because that breading is delicious. Or try the lobster roll. And if you have a favorite side dish, clue me in, because I am still trying to figure that part out.

(Oh, and a great fish market too.)

Caplinger’s Fresh Catch Seafood Market

7460 North Shadeland, Suite 400

Indy  46250

317/288-7263

www.caplingersfreshcatch.com  

Caplinger's Fresh Catch

I was excited when Caplinger’s Fish Market reopened because I used to shop there frequently back when it was at 56^th and Emerson. The new location, at 71^st and Shadeland, is smaller, but very well done. They have a nice seating area for those who want to dine in. I had never eaten the prepared food at the old location, but was intrigued by the menu hanging over the fish counter at the new location.

Hubby and I stopped in on a Friday for lunch and wow, the place was jumping. Nearly every seat was full and people were still coming in. Hubby got the last table inside and I placed our order (you order at the register). We just wanted to try a couple of different things, and at the recommendation of the man behind the register (going to guess he was the owner) we shared the Caplinger’s special fish sandwich ($4.99) and the shrimp po boy ($7.99) with a side of mac and cheese ($1.79) (his mother’s recipe).

The man at the register told me the fish sandwich would be the best one I’ve ever eaten. Not sure if that is true, but it was definitely a tasty sandwich. They use basa fish in the sandwich—now normally I would have gone with one of the other fish choices (they have catfish, local perch, and many other options), but I went with the suggestion. And if they put their name on it, you figure it must be good (and it’s the cheapest of the fish sandwiches as well). We got ours with onions, lettuce and house tartar sauce on the side. The fish was fresh (and was smoking hot) and very crunchy. The tartar sauce was good, but had a hint of sweetness. I liked the remoulade from the po boy better (Next time I would just ask for that on my fish sandwich).

The shrimp po boy was good too—although overall I preferred the fish. The shrimp were small and lightly breaded—they tasted good but the breading kept falling off as we ate them in the sandwich. Hubby was also not impressed with the bread choice for a po boy—he’s very particular about po boys. The bread for all the sandwiches is locally made at Roll With It Bakery in Irvington. It’s a soft, but somewhat dense eggy tasting bread. Worked well with the fish, but wasn’t the right choice for a traditional po boy. They had the classic stuff—tomatoes, lettuce, and onion and like I said, I really enjoyed the remoulade that was drizzled across the sandwich, even if that’s not exactly traditional either. The pickles they serve are sweet pickles, so if you’re not into that taste (as I am not), I’d skip them (as I will in the future).  We shared small side of mac and cheese and it was quite tasty—not the creamy, processed cheese type—a real homemade version that you could tell was made with real cheese. A little salt and pepper and it was great. They have a lot of good sounding sides that I would like to try and the seafood is really fresh (the beauty of also running a fish market). Honestly, I would prefer the fried shrimp dinner to the sandwich—the shrimp was seasoned well and if you ate it with a fork, it would probably stay together better. Plus, you get sides included. I am looking forward to trying those hush puppies. And a friend told me she really enjoyed the lobster roll. 

The food is cooked to order and is not as fast as some places might be, and I am guessing it’s not a huge kitchen, but what they’re putting out is high quality. They have great online ratings—I’ve read very little negative. So who’s been there and what did you have?

Caplinger’s Fresh Catch Seafood Market

7460 North Shadeland, Suite 400

Indy  46250

317/288-7263
www.caplingersfreshcatch.com