Cowbell Seafood & Oyster

It’s Seafood Time at Union Market’s Incoming Cowbell | Eater DC

"Dockside nostalgia animates this nautical, sit-down raw bar sliding into Union Market’s central bar, set to open at the end of the month with a motto of “Always Ask for More!” Freshly shucked oysters on ice, Baltimore-style crab cakes, “chowder” fries (a coastal poutine drizzled with clam chowder and topped with smoked bacon and chives), and crispy fried chicken tenders anchor the menu. Order the Bell Ringer seafood tower—16 oysters, six shrimp, a four-ounce portion of crab, scallop crudo, and a whole lobster—and an actual cowbell rings. Chef Reid Shilling, a Baltimore native, channels Maryland comfort foods and years of family crab feasts into breading-free crab cakes made from jumbo lump and lump (the lump binding the cake) and a lineup of house sauces, from spicy aji verde, crab aioli, Virginia gold barbecue, honey mustard, and remoulade to a signature “Kent Island” twist on Thousand Island; hush puppies pair with crab aioli. The raw bar returns with peel-and-eat shrimp, scallop crudo, Maryland crab cakes, chilled Baltimore Canyon lobster, and Kaviari caviar bumps served with potato chips. Sourcing is local and meticulous: he drives the Eastern Shore for the freshest catch and partners with Scott Budden of Orchard Point Oysters for frequent deliveries of bivalves raised on surface floats for deep shells and a buttery-sweet, meaty taste with a soft brine finish free of grit; other varieties include Crowes Pasture from Massachusetts and two Canadian types, Beau Soliel from Miramichi Bay, New Brunswick, and Kusshi from British Columbia. Locally caught invasive blue catfish comes beer-battered as a sandwich or on a platter with fries and an aji verde potato salad brightened with basil from Shilling’s garden alongside cilantro, parsley, and green onion. Even salads go seafood-forward, like the Louie, which loads crab, shrimp, lobster, or all three over tomatoes, avocados, and iceberg in a light lemon vinaigrette. With young families in mind, Japanese karaage-style Green Circle chicken tenders are dry-brined and double-dipped in a tempura beer batter for a seasoned tender with a lacy-crispy exterior—about as good as chicken tenders as you’re gonna find anywhere in D.C., he says." - Claudia Rosenbaum