Sambo's Tavern

This is one of those places that you find that is just overflowing with natural homegrown kitsch. Others try to emulate what Sambo's Tavern pulls off naturally. The walls are covered with a homage to the nearby race track with photos of the old-time drivers intertwined with pure Americana artwork. The long tables (think family style sharing) are covered with newspapers, just perfect for cracking those sweet crabs. The windows look out onto the water and marsh and this small little Delaware town.

But really, the decor is just a bonus to what you really come here for... the crabs and local seafood. We ordered the crab legs and they were the best we have ever had. The meat was fresh, sweet and flavored just right with their "secret" seasoning. The wait staff never stopped working hard, and were very welcoming to us being from out of town. Our waitress even offered to show us how to crack the crabs open.

If you find yourself in the downtown Dover area, take the extra drive to Sambo's. Skip the chain restaurants and head to this special little spot. We are losing our Americana ma and pop shops and Sambo's is one not to be missed.

Start with the good, the food was fresh, well prepared and served hot out of the fryer.  Had to sit at the bar because we did not have a reservation for the dinning room overlooking the water... Seriously you need a reservation at a place with tavern in its name?  Service at the bar was only fair as I watched half of the draft beer they poured go down the drain as foam because the lines are probably filthy also watched the bar tender pick up clean pitchers by the rim not the handle, yuck... hint order bottled beer or wine.  There was still open "reserved" tables in the main dinning room when we left, wtf?

You would think Dover's proximity to the water would open them up to a bevy of great seafood restaurants, but boy would you be wrong. So instead, you can drive to the two-block town of Leipsic where you can find the best crabs the city has to offer, though they're listed among a lot of other pitfalls on the menu.

The restaurant is located on the edge of a little marina, and they buy their crabs right off the pier there. Problem is it's not a very big river, so they presumably pay a good deal for them and pass the costs onto you. A dozen crabs, boiled and tossed with some salt, were $45. Still, it's about as good as you're going to find around here.

The freshness of the crabs extends to their other crabby products, most notably the crab cakes, which were so lacking in binder that it was a wonder it held together. The answer probably laid in their deep-fried preparation, which resulted in a nifty golden brown crust, though I prefer my cakes pan fried. This habit of deep frying extends to almost every other item on the menu - rockfish: fried; shrimp: fried; clams: fried; mussels:fried. All of these ingredients, along with a couple of crab cakes, were on the sampler platter I ordered. It was a shame to see so much fresh seafood taken to the easiest, unhealthiest, and most obstructing method of preparation. But then again, we're in a crab shack in the middle of nowhere - it's not like Escoffier is in the kitchen doing up this seafood. I guess I'd rather have well-fried seafood than poorly-executed other preparations. At $27, this wasn't cheap, either, but you got to try a lot of things. They even included the world's tiniest hushpuppies as an additional value.

I don't know why they have to classify themselves as a tavern, but if it means I don't have to put up with any screaming kids, I'm all for it. That dining room can get loud enough as it is.

It comes back to the crabs: if you want fresh crabs in Dover, this is the place, though don't think you're getting out of here paying less than $30.