Soft Shell Crab With Crabmeat Meuniere @ Clancy's
Although New Orleans is just about the only place where we routinely top soft-shell crabs with lump crabmeat, this version of the dish is made along classical French lines. Clancy's proprietor Brad Hollingsworth came to appreciate it when he worked as a waiter at LeRuth's. It's simple enough: the crabs are dusted in flour, fried in such a way that the legs and claws fan out, then served with brown butter. This is classic French meuniere. Chef Warren LeRuth added another touch, topping it with lump crabmeat. That's without doubt the most popular gambit for cooks and waiters in New Orleans restaurants, so much so that more fish is served with crabmeat on top in white-tablecloth restaurants than without. But LeRuth hatched the idea of doing that with a crab, which makes eminent sense. Clancy's turns this out as well as LeRuth's did, and when soft-shells are in season it's the best dish in the house.
