german | Johnny Prime

Craft & Claw is this season’s eat-spot at the Hudson Hotel. They’re slinging craft beers in a German/Bavarian beer hall type setting for Oktoberfest, and serving up some tasty lobster and crab rolls.

As usual, my wife nabbed a sweet deal. For $40 we got two beers and two rolls. Below are the beers we selected. The hefeweizen was flavorful, and the Abita really did have a pecan taste to it.

We ordered the sri racha banh mi lobster roll, and the yuzu mayo crab roll. Both were served with a side of lightly seasoned old bay kettle-style potato chips.

The crab roll was a bit heavy on the mayo. I was hoping for more lump meat but the crab was highly shredded. It was still really good though, especially given the deal we had.

The big winner of the night was the lobster roll. The veggies added a good crunch to the texture, and the lobster meat was substantially chunky. Very satisfying.

I’m not sure this would all be worth it had it not been for the deal my wife scored though ($25 for each roll). Icing on the cake was a mug and t-shirt for each of us:

This place is a massive German / Bavarian beer hall in midtown that serves up massive brews in massive mugs (and boots).

I came here soon after it opened with a lot of excitement in my heart, because I absolutely LOVE German beer halls. There’s just something about the fun group atmosphere that makes it unique.

Anyway, it was here that I discovered a really amazing grapefruit beer (Schoffenhofer). After drinking it, I was on the hunt, and even found some at a local distributor on Long Island. Needless to say, the fridge remained stocked with them until we moved back to the city.