http://www.shawscrabhouse.com/chicago/hours.shtml
The half price oysters are actually offered everyday 4-6 in the oyster bar according to the website.

Enjoyed a great dinner in the dining room last night. I had only been to the oyster bar. It exceeded my expectations for sure. We decided not to opt for the "Taste for Two" as we thought it might be too much food, but a great deal none the less. Oysters, shrimp cocktail, Alaskan Crab, lobster, dessert and champagne for 46.99 per/ person...

Loved our meal of crab, oysters, Nantucket cape scallops, and whitefish
Also saw the booth next to us receiving a perfect iceberg wedge blue cheese salad... yum.


I can't wait to try the Sunday buffet! It kind of sounds like heaven....

This is one of our favorite spots when we come to visit from Louisville. We have only ate in the Oyster bar, but service and the food is too good.
Lobster roll and a few bloody mary's with a couple of 1/2 off happy hour dozen of oysters platters is a great way to start off an evening.

Exactly what I plan on doing this Friday.

decided to be "good" last night and not shlep downtown and go to Big Star. Figured id save myself some $$$, and hit RD for a few meals worth of meat for the money I would have dropped there plus gas and time. Wasnt going to go without dinner so I took the quick trip up to Shaws from the lombard RD. The Oyster bar area was pretty crowded but I got a seat @ by the raw bar area.

Was reall disappointed to find Shaws out of stone crab claws at 5:30 on a Friday night, pretty pathetic actually, and I almost left. Decided t stick it out and had an expensive, and un filling batch of appetizers. The cup of lobster bisque was good, not the best I have had, and not the worst. The jumbo shrimp cocktail was ok, but the shrimp were slightly over cooked, and lacking much flavor from their boil. Lst item was a bad attempt at a blue crab and artichoke dip. For drinks I had a Jim Beam neat, a Patron neat, (2) Gumball Heads, and a Miller lite. Tab = $66....

I did get talking to some customers and I was discussing with one how I had never tried a raw oyster, and wanted to someday, and wanted to acquire the taste. When his 3 dozen oysters arrived he offered me 1 of each variety, i tried 2. One from Washington State, and the other from the east coast. The one from Washington State was really nice, large, meaty, and full of flavor. the smaller east coast oyster wasnt as good to my tastes.

Glad I got to try some oysters, not to happy with the small sampling of appetizers I had, and them being out of stone crab claws so early on a Friday night.

Stop one on the dinner tour tonight was some oysters @ Shaws in Schaumburg.

Got hooked on these a couple weeks ago, and havent sropped thinking about them. Happy hour starts @ 3:00. 1/2 price oysters... mercy..

as an oyster newbie, i only got 1/2 dozen, from Washington State.








slainte:



forgot the name of the oysters, but these were the same as a couple weeks ago, meaty, flavorfull, and like $6 for a 1/2 dozen, cant beat it with a cold bottle of Gumball Head.
good service, good food.

the only disapointment was no stone crab claws.... again..... kind of bad for a crab house to not have them.

Just a friendly heads up, Shaws is doing their Fathers Day Brunch tomorrow @ both locations. Looks to be the regular Shaws brunch menu from what i see, but the price is $49.99 per adult(kids under 12 eat free). The kicker each dad gets a $25 Shaws gift certificate.

Very tempting.

jimswside wrote:Just a friendly heads up, Shaws is doing their Fathers Day Brunch tomorrow @ both locations.

I'm planning on going. We did Mother's Day brunch there and it was exceptional. Up there as one of the best brunch buffets my wife and I have had. The quality of not just the seafood, but the breakfast selections was superb. Far better than the Ritz's offering (not sure if they're still doing that), and a lot less stuffy.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:
I'm planning on going. We did Mother's Day brunch there and it was exceptional. Up there as one of the best brunch buffets my wife and I have had. The quality of not just the seafood, but the breakfast selections was superb. Far better than the Ritz's offering (not sure if they're still doing that), and a lot less stuffy.

nice, I bet it is good, like I mentioned its very tempting to make the run up to Schaumburg.

Ahh. I can't vouch for the Schaumburg branch's brunch. I've only been to the the Hubbard location.

We've gone to the Schaumburg location for brunch 3 different times. The most recent was for my son's First Communion, when we brought 20 people (lots of free kids!). I have nothing but good things to say about both the food and service. I especially liked that the wide variety of offerings made it easy for even my diabetic relatives to feel as though they ate decadently, yet stayed within doc's orders.

The last Monday of every month is a 25¢ oyster special at Shaw's through the end of the year.
Silver anniversary flyer (pdf)
My dining companion and I visited the Schaumburg location for the first time and had quite an enjoyable time. I was expecting a massive crowd for the special but there were plenty of tables available.

We went today and polished off 4 dozen for a cool $12. The first batch of 24 were Massachusetts Island Creek which I found plump and juicy with liquor. These were among the most skillfully shucked and handled I've had as well with no shells and negligible grit. When we ordered the second batch, I was pleased when our server mentioned it was a different type of oyster. I missed the second variety but they were frankly disappointing. Certainly edible and not bad or spoiled in any way, these were dryer and lacked most of that deep complexity that accompanies saltiness that oysterhounds seek. The shucking was rough too with some shell chunks and attached meats. I'd have been quite annoyed if this plate of oysters cost upwards of $60. I also was missing the iced vinaigrette they served with our oyster sampler we got downtown earlier this summer. At the sale cost, however, these are a real steal and recommended.

We had an order of the fried calamari which was very nice except that they serve it with a cup of warmed cocktail sauce. I know the marinara isn't authentic italian or whatever but I've come to enjoy it as a dip for this dish and have no use for cocktail sauce, chilled, warm or otherwise. This item is plated on a triangle of disappointingly inedible texas toast. If they're gonna puff up their plate, please make it at least edible like shredded lettuce or saltines, even.

My post comes off more critical than favorable and this is not intended. Shaw's provides a reliably quality meal that is occasionally discounted. I like Shaw's.

Tried to attend yesterday on Hubbard St. Got there just before 4 with line out the door and an hr wait. Walked around the bar hoping for a single seat, not a chance in hell. Will get there @ 2 45 next month.

Jazzfood wrote:Tried to attend yesterday on Hubbard St. Got there just before 4 with line out the door and an hr wait. Walked around the bar hoping for a single seat, not a chance in hell. Will get there @ 2 45 next month.

Wish I'd seen you--managed to grab a seat on a corner at 3:45 then eventually got the seat next to it as well. Downed 10 doz. amongst the three of us--pretty sure it's an hour shorter now (think it went til 7:00 the last time I was there) but it was plenty! Had Huber Gruner Veltliner for $7.99/gl which was a decent wine with the oysters. And not a bad price for that 'hood.

Yesterday I had brunch at Shaw's Crab House in River North. Theirs is an all-you-can-eat buffet brunch. You can see the menu here.

CrazyC's praise, above, was right on target. Assuming you're in the mood for seafood for brunch, I thought their buffet was GREAT. Shaw's, of course, is one of our best seafood restaurants. One of the big problems with many buffets is the freshness of the food; the food needs to be replenished frequently to be eaten at its best, without having a chance to sit around and get soggy. The Shaw's buffet was excellent in this regard. All of the items were extremely fresh, and seemed about the same quality as when they are made to order.

I didn't try everything, but here are comments about the items I did try, starting with the breakfast items. Their bacon - brown sugar and pepper cured, and thick sliced - was terrific, one of the best I've had anywhere. The scrambled eggs were very good, albeit conventional. The French toast was rather dry until you put syrup or bananas Foster on it. I also liked the mini malted Belgian waffles. I didn't try the create-your-own omelet, but for those who are interested, this is one of the only breakfast buffets I've seen where there was no line of people waiting for their omelets to be custom made to order.

What makes this buffet, though, is the seafood dishes! Their Maryland-style crab cakes are among the best anywhere, and the mini versions on the buffet were up to their usual high standards. Their lobster bisque is outstanding. I loved the way they served the Alaskan king crab legs! They cut them into pieces about an inch and a half long, which made them really easy to eat - no worries about removing them from the shell, they just popped right out, and you only had to worry about removing the pieces of cartilege, which was easy. How good were they? I love Alaskan king crab, and these were terrific! The price of the buffet would be worth it even if it were only for the all-you-can-eat crab legs! I only had the hot ones, although they also had similar pieces but cold on the cold buffet. The French fried shrimp were very good, and they use the really really big shrimp. I tried the beef tenderloin and it was just okay (but I wasn't there for the beef).

The only items I had on the cold buffet were both very good - the shrimp cocktail (again, really really big shrimp) and the Duck Trap salmon pastrami. The desserts were in small portion sizes, which was nice because you could try more of them that way. I had three. Shaw's is the first place I ever had crème brulee, and theirs is still one of the best you'll find anywhere. They also had chocolate pot de crème, which was excellent, denser and more intense than most others (although this is, by its nature, a dense and intense dessert); I found it benefited from extra whipped cream topping from the waffle station. I also tried a piece of their chocolate layer cake but thought it was a bit too sweet and gooey.

So all in all, a few of the items I tried were just okay, but many of them were hits - BIG hits. The bacon, the crab cakes, the king crab legs, and the crème brulee were all absolutely superb - so good that it's surprising to find that level of quality on an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The brunch buffet isn't cheap, at $40. But for an all-you-can-eat meal with some of the best seafood (and bacon, and crème brulee) you'll find anywhere, it was a bargain. And oh yeah, children 12 and under are free (limit two per adult).

Ralph Wiggum wrote:Ahh. I can't vouch for the Schaumburg branch's brunch. I've only been to the the Hubbard location.

I'm sure it's virtually identical to the one in Chicago; in fact, if you look up menus on their website, it shows the Chicago menu for the Sunday brunch in Schaumburg.

FYI - ROYSTER WITH THE OYSTER
October 11th to 15th, 2010

http://www.shawscrabhouse.com/events/royster.shtml - dets, including the music lineup.

The Royster event in Schaumburg only includes 25-cent oysters daily through Friday.

I tried to go to the downtown Shaw's for the year's last 25¢ oyster special last Monday. Hours of the special were 3-6 pm. I arrived at 3:48 to a very full entryway and was told they'd already stopped taking names for the wait. It was a big disappointment, especially since I couldn't go any previous month this year because I was out of work. Yeah, yeah, yeah, call first ... I just didn't think, reservations for an oyster bar? Were they taking reservations for the oyster special in previous months? Oh well, not to let my parking quarters go to waste, I went over to Fadó for a very nice snack of boxty wedges and Irish cheddar cheese dip.

FYI - ROYSTER WITH THE OYSTER
October 10th to 14th, 2011

http://www.shawscrabhouse.com/events/details/Shaws-Royster-2011.pdf - dets, including the music lineup.


Royster Week at Shaw's in Chicago
Monday 50¢ Oyster Party, October 10, 2011 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Royster Week at Shaw's in Schaumburg
Starting October 10, 2011 from 3 - 6 p.m. only, and continuing all through the week,
Shaw’s in Schaumburg will be serving 50¢ Oysters.

We went last night and had a very enjoyable meal. They have some really fine lobster bisque, and the grouper with asparagus and 'shrooms was nothing to sneeze at. Skip the overpriced drinks, though...we got a giant, 16oz Dark & Stormy each but it was more stormy than dark, and at $11, that's just nuts.

Attended the oysterfest last evening, apologies if this belongs in another thread. Tickets were 20 in advance or 25 at the gate. Venue was uncovered this year which i thought worked well with the weather and the beautiful skyline. Music and beausoleil oysters from New Brunswick were very good. The oysters were fresh, slightly sweet delicious. I don,t know a lt about oysters but aside from being great these were ideal for personse who may be new or typically averse to oysters. They were small, uniform and mild.

Other options were M burger burgers and lobster rolls 312 beers and a wine tent. We didn't think too much of the lobster roll, especially at 15 bucks. The burgers were way oversalted and reminiscent of a "big Mickey". Fries were pretty bad.

I would recommend that anyone attending get their early because the event really started to fill up around 6.

Does anyone know if the key lime pie at Shaw's is the same recipe as Joe's Stone Crab?

Mr. Maki & I have birthdays coming up this week and we're trying to decide where we're going to go with our LEYE gift cards. I don't want to drive all the way into the city, so I was thinking of doing Shaw's in Schaumburg. We've only been there once and we weren't super impressed with the place, but it was before we really appreciated good seafood. The key lime pie at Joe's is one of my favorites, so that could tip the scale.

We're also considering Tokio Pub, the Japanese place that's attached to Shaw's...anyone been there?

abe_froeman wrote:Does anyone know if the key lime pie at Shaw's is the same recipe as Joe's Stone Crab?

It is not. Both places have been serving this dish for many years, from recipes developed independently from each other.

As noted in the book "Eat at Joe's", by Jo Ann Bass (daughter of the owner-founder of Joe's Stone Crab) and Richard Sax:

Eat at Joe's wrote:Jo Ann Bass has never given out this recipe; customers have been known to offer substantial sums for it, to no avail.
Paul Wilson Sr., who has been at Joe's since 1955, bakes eighty to one hundred key lime pies a day, six days a week.

Darn! Ok. That is a lot of key lime pies!

abe_froeman wrote:Darn! Ok.

Of course, you can go to Joe's for it. Or, you can try to create a similar recipe. That's what Sax did for that book, preceding the recipe with the note, "This is Richard's re-creation of Daddy's original, based on repeated tries."

I happen to think the desserts at Shaw's are pretty darn great too, though. I still think they have the best crème brulee in Chicagoland...

Reporting a change from the past on the Shaw's (Chicago) menu. Was there on Saturday night. Had been thinking of splurging on a 3 lb. lobster. That wasn't possible. The menu listed a 1 lb. lobster option, a differently prepared 1.5 lb. lobster option, and a double lobster tail option. All had specific prices attached to them. Gone were the "market price per pound" lobsters of larger size that were part of what defined Shaw's.

I considered the possibility that these were available but not listed on the menu, but that wasn't the case.

Anyway, don't know if this represents a policy change, a one-night-only change because their purveyor didn't supply enough bigger lobsters over New Year's weekend, a seasonal change, or what. I kind of hope it was an anomaly, because I don't want the Shaw's I know and love to go away.

Following up...I had lunch at Shaw's Oyster Bar today, and took the opportunity to look at the current dinner menu. Still the case that no large market-price-per-pound lobsters are on offer, unlike the way things used to be there.

So, definitely not the case that my experience there for dinner shortly after the New Year was a one-off. I wonder what's behind the change? (A message sent to the management through Open Table a couple of weeks ago has produced no response.)

riddlemay wrote:(A message sent to the management through Open Table a couple of weeks ago has produced no response.)

Although restaurants should respond to inquiries through all available channels, you might have a better chance of getting a faster response by contacting the restaurant directly, such as by filling out the form on their website by clicking on "CONTACT US". Just a suggestion...

nsxtasy wrote:

riddlemay wrote:(A message sent to the management through Open Table a couple of weeks ago has produced no response.)

Although restaurants should respond to inquiries through all available channels, you might have a better chance of getting a faster response by contacting the restaurant directly, such as by filling out the form on their website by clicking on "CONTACT US". Just a suggestion...

Will try that, and will post here regarding any response. Thanks.

It's not like I eat 3-lb. lobsters with drawn butter every week. (Neither my arteries nor wallet could afford it.) But every now and then (like maybe once or twice a year) I enjoy it, and Shaw's was one of my go-to places for this. So I hope they aren't dropping out of contention permanently.

riddlemay wrote:It's not like I eat 3-lb. lobsters with drawn butter every week. (Neither my arteries nor wallet could afford it.) But every now and then (like maybe once or twice a year) I enjoy it, and Shaw's was one of my go-to places for this.

That's exactly how I feel about their Sunday brunch. I really enjoy it, and some of the dishes are terrific, but I can only take so much. Once or twice a year is very satisfying, any more would be too much, and I would really miss it if I didn't go at all.

Hope you get a satisfactory response!

nsxtasy wrote:

abe_froeman wrote:Darn! Ok.

Of course, you can go to Joe's for it. Or, you can try to create a similar recipe. That's what Sax did for that book, preceding the recipe with the note, "This is Richard's re-creation of Daddy's original, based on repeated tries."

I happen to think the desserts at Shaw's are pretty darn great too, though. I still think they have the best crème brulee in Chicagoland...

I believe that Gale Gand developed both of those recipes for Shaw's. (About a million years ago I was her pastry assistant at Bella Luna and Bice and I seem to remember her saying that.)