Did Frank's Seafood Close In Jessup?

Details are sparse, but Frank's Seafood in Jessup may have closed.

This would be a bummer.  Frank's was a retail store inside the wholesale seafood market.  They were an invaluable place for fish, seafood and crabs.  I got crabs there last month.

Again I don't know details.  But the phone want answered this afternoon, and the Twitter and Facebook pages seem to be deleted.  A friend of mine who knows that market says Frank's has closed.  (Update:  I have heard this from two other people as well, including Nicole who put a comment on the HowChow Facebook page saying a guard at the seafood market said they have been closed since Monday.)

Does anyone know details?  I would love to be wrong.  I assume that Frank's was hurt when Wegmans and Whole Foods opened big retail fish counters in Columbia.  I love both of those places, but I recognize that they are changing the landscaping and taking business from businesses that welcomed me when I moved to Howard County.

Oysters And The Tool That You Need To Buy, Then Bring To Frank's Seafood In Jessup

Oysters and Seafood Hardware's cast iron oyster knife

On a visit to a friend in Nashville, I discovered a cool new tool perfect for the oyster-lover in your life.

Oysters on the half shell are a huge treat, and I love Frank's Seafood at this time of year for their selection of top-notch oysters.  The Jessup market is inside the wholesale seafood market off Rte 175, but you can shop there for fish, crabs and shellfish.

Last week, they had five local varieties, ranging from a salty, salty Sewansescott variety to several Maryland sweets.  They pick you good oysters.  You can buy a handful or dozens by the bag.  The selection lets you make a plate -- even for one person -- that contrasts the different flavors from the sea.

Oysters at Frank's

And now all that can be so much easier to open.

Frank's taught me to shuck oysters, and they sold me a small knife that remains the best way to worm into an oyster shell if it's really tight.  But a Georgia company sells a cast iron oyster knife that makes all the difference.  Its tip forces between oyster shells -- with a slight start by my shucking knife in the crazy few where the shell has grown around the hinge.  Then, the Georgia knife pops open an oyster easier than a key in a lock.

Cast iron makes all the difference.  That knife will never snap, and you will never cut yourself.  It's forged so that you push with your palm and thumb.  I can press hard to get into the oyster, then separate the shells with a twist.  Once open, I slice the meat from the shell with the shucking knife.  In Nashville, I did a dozen oysters like clockwork.

The one problem is that we need a Chesapeake version.  You can buy the original oyster knife ($29 with shipping) with a plain metal bar connecting the two sides.  But the Georgia company Seafood Hardware makes personalized versions cut with the outlines of Georgia, Texas and other southern states.  At a minimum, we need a DelMarVa version with the outline of the bay.

Seriously, I recommend the Seafood Hardware knife.  They hand-forge them in Georgia.  They're a cool gift, and they made me much more confident that I could open any oyster.

This is a job for Steve Vilnit!!  A Chesapeake or a Maryland version of the oyster knife could be a fun partnership with some of our local oyster companies.  That's fishery marketing!

Crabs And Peaches - The Summer's Best Stuff With Short Drives Around Howard County

Crabs from Frank's Seafood

Summer makes for big food, and you can make short drives to get the best stuff.

The '34 Act Gourmet bought crabs to celebrate his birthday, and Frank's Seafood in Jessup steamed a spectacular bushel and a half.  I ate far more than my share.  Most people are such amateurs.  They knock off after two or three crabs.  The pros power through.

Peaches at Gorman

Frank's crabs were heavy and sweet.  Their spice mixture had flavor without being too salty.  I was super-impressed.

To continue on the summer flavors, drive down to Gorman Produce Farm in Laurel for peaches, basil, and vegetables.  Gorman farms most of the produce, and they sell boxes of tomatoes, herbs, onions, potatoes, beets, and more.  They also bring in peaches from Baugher Farm -- along with the first summer apples and other fruit.

WKitchen's summer cocktail

Gorman is a short drive from Columbia -- just east of Rte 29 on Gorman Road.  Like Frank's crabs, the Gorman produce is special and fresh.  You won't get these flavors from your mid-winter fruit.  I'm especially waiting until the tomatoes really arrive and Gorman sells crates of "seconds" to turn into sauce.

What other specialties of summer do you suggest? Any special shopping?  Special dishes at local restaurants?

It's a farther drive, but we went to Woodberry Kitchen that has the most-amazing summer items -- a like peach desserts and a warm cherry tomato salad with pancetta and rocket. But my absolute favorite was a non-alcoholic cocktail made from watermelon, cucumber juice, hot sauce, and sour mix. It alternatively sounds crazy and simple, but it tastes complex and delicious. I need to start experimenting with cocktails made with the blueberries that I preserved with wine.

Maryland Crab Meat Has Arrived At Frank's

Maryland crab season kicked off this week, and Frank's Seafood in Jessup has started to sell the year's first crab meat -- according to a private tweet.

Private tweet!  Private tweet with Frank's!  I'm a celebrity!  Oh, wait.  They put the same news -- and a $2 coupon -- on their public feed.

Oysters At Frank's Seafood In Jessup

My drive for better ingredients keep taking me to Jessup where I buy fish at Frank's Seafood in the wholesale seafood market.

Last weekend, I went for shrimp to flavor a pasta dish, but I also picked up a dozen oysters.  They had four varieties, and I picked the Maryland locals ($9/dozen) because I was just making a treat to surprise my father.

Crabs dominate my Frank's trips in summertime, but they still have terrific whole fish, wild shrimp and shell fish now.  Shucking raw oysters intimidates me, especially because I don't have the knives to do it.  But a Frank's customer ordered them, and, after I asked, he explained that he was going to grill them at home.

Two minutes or so on the grill, and the oysters pop open.  I pulled them all once I could see that two or three had separated.  They don't cook enough to interest Mrs. HowChow, but the gap made them easy to pry onto a half-shell with a screwdriver that I had sterilized in a gas flame. The meat was firmer than straight raw, but they still had the clean ocean taste, the slightly salty bite that makes them so unique.

Remember the oysters get really hot on the grill.  I wore an oven mitt and tried to keep them steady as I pulled them off the fire.  I lost a little oyster juice into the flame, but it was a pretty simple operation.


Does anyone else have suggestions for Frank's?  Supermarket shrimp disappoint me, and I won't buy farmed ones anymore because I saw one too many description of how that's done.  I go to Frank's for crabs, shrimp and now oysters, but I'd like to branch into whole fish.  Anyone suggest a cookbook that teaches those techniques?


(Update: I went back and bought a shucking knife at Frank's with a second batch of oysters.  They were "salts" cultivated in Virginia.   It was an easy skill to pick up, and they were delicious -- a touch saltier than the locals.)

Twitter and Snapper From Frank's Seafood

I'm getting new fangled news from Frank's Seafood -- even as I'm trying to learn some old-fashioned grilling techniques.

The Jessup fish market has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon and started offering specials.  The retail outlet inside the wholesale fish market has more than 60 years experience, but they're on the new trend with their own Twitter feed -- which you can follow.

I stopped at Frank's Saturday and picked up a whole snapper.  Grilling whole fish remains one of my quests.  Everyone says it keeps the fish moist, and I have all kinds of cookbooks with suggestions to effortlessly lift fillets right off the bone.

The Laotian snapper tasted delicious.  Steven Raichlen's Planet Barbecue has lived up to my early review -- everything is delicious.  But I basically shredded the meat taking it off the fish.  (Mrs. HowChoe doesn't relish the tail, the skin or the eye socket on her plate.)  Served up with beets, chard from my garden, and a sliced baguette from Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery in Columbia.

Frank's still has crabs.  For $30, you got two dozen #1 males.  Frank's sold me delicious crabs in August, and they were saying that they're even better at this time of year.  They also had oysters.  Several varieties, including a small wild Maryland variety and some farmed, larger bivalves from Virginia and beyond.

Are there any other Howard County restaurants using Twitter regularly?  DiamondbackTvrn, NottinghamsMD, Touche Touchet, GrilledCheeseCo, ChefKloby and VictoriaGPub come to mind.  Anyone else that you recommend?

They're Giving Away Crabs At Frank's Seafood

Think about Frank's Seafood on Sunday because they were giving away crabs on Saturday.

Not free crabs.  But the cold crabs -- steamed this morning and completely delicious -- were on special.  They were $1 each or buy-a-dozen-get-a-dozen-free depending on the size.  Those are some nice deals.  I got a half dozen of the $1 crabs and filled a bowl with picked meat.

Frank's in Jessup says its Sunday hours are 12-5.  They have crab meat and crab cakes to go with the hardshells.  They also have a wide variety of fish and seafood.  I considered a dozen oysters.  They were offering samples.  But fish and crab were more than enough for us tonight.

Crabs At Frank's Seafood - My Best Ever

Frank's Seafood delivered this weekend with some of the best crabs that I have ever eaten.

We hosted family and ate a half bushel of #1s with some corn and watermelon.  It's a once-a-year event for us, so we want delicious crabs.  Frank's delivered -- metaphorically.  We called ahead for the $84 mix of mediums and larges, and I picked up a box filled to the brim and then covered with a newspaper from the Eastern Shore.

The crabs were an absolute feast.  Heavy.  Sweet.  We ate for hours, and every hardshell came out tasting perfect.  It was a great bookend to the Frank's purchase that started off my summer with crabcakes.  Go grab a few dozen to end your summer right.

Frank's Seafood is the retail operation inside the Jessup wholesale seafood market.  They sell Tuesday to Sunday.  You need to check in at the entry gate, but retail buyers don't pay an entrance fee.

If you are going to Frank's, keep your eyes out for the scallops.  I bought them again -- $9 for a half pound -- and they cooked up perfectly last night with just butter.  And grab all the crab supplies if you need.  We got mallets and hard plastic knives for $1 a head.

Maryland Crab at Frank's Seafood

I go to Frank's Seafood in Jessup for delicious seafood and straight answers.

The hardshells at Frank's are still coming from warmer Carolina, but I bought a pound of Maryland backfin last week and made wonderful crabcakes and weird sushi.  I also got a half pound of scallops -- the kind where no one has injected salt water to inflate the price and ruin the flavor.

Frank's isn't cheap.  I paid $20 for the crab and $9 for the scallops.  But I got real answers when I asked where they were getting everything and what they thought of the difference.  The Frank's clerk described each crab option -- Venezuelan crab had good texture but little flavor, Carolina was good, and the Maryland was the sweetest of all.  Such a contrast to earlier last week when I stood at a supermarket counter and watched a really nice teenaged clerk unable to say anything except what was written on the label.  The guy in front of me couldn't get an answer to anything.  I walked away with no fish.

With answers and past success, I blew all my cash at Frank's and will do it again.  The Maryland backfin tasted like summer.  I added egg, mayo, and breadcrumbs just to hold the cakes together, and I'll add even less next time.  I used the leftovers to make sushi rolls with thin-sliced tomatillo and crab.  Thumbs up, although I was just screwing around.  The sweetness of crab and scallop should be a luxury, and I'd rather eat Frank's on special occasions than load up on the tasteless shrimp pushed on me by almost everyone else.

(Update:  Since this post, I have gone back to Frank's for shrimp, oysters and whole fish.  The oysters are a terrific treat, especially once I learned that I could grill them for a few minutes so that they would pop open.  The shrimp were firm and sweet, and they're wild, which has become my requirement after learning too much about how they farm shrimp in southeast Asia.)

Frank's is right down the road from Mom's Organic Market, which makes it a great pairing to get vegetables and bread and then stop for fish.  If you head south from Rt 175, then consider rolling down Snowden River too.  For the crab cake dinner, I grabbed a takeout loaf of ciabatta at Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery.


By driving to Jessup, you enter the wonderland around Rte 175 and U.S. 1. The finds near that intersection include great empanadas at El Patio, a Chinese buffet at Fortune Star, and several taco options including the R&R Deli and Pupuseria Lorenita's. Check out the entire post about the wonders along U.S. 1.

Frank's Seafood
7901 Oceano Ave # B
Jessup, MD 20794
(410) 799-5960

NEAR: This is in the wholesale seafood market in Jessup. You take Rte 175 east from I-95. You turn right on Oceano Avenue after passing the prison. You turn left into the market. You need to show a driver's license, but Frank's is open to the public.  The market charges truck drivers to deliver or pick up, but it's free to the public after 10 am.

Kelchner's Cocktail Sauce at Frank's Seafood

If you check out Frank's Seafood in Jessup, pick up a bottle of Kelchner's Cocktail Sauce and some shrimp to dip.

My sister-in-law reintroduced me to shrimp cocktail because she often puts out a plate when we arrive to visit. It's so simple. It's so delicious -- if you get good cocktail sauce. Frank's sells bottle of Kelchner's, which has a fiery horseradish flavor a cut above most cocktail sauce.

This is a nice pick-up -- either to put on shrimp that you buy at Frank's or to store for a quick meal. Peel and steam some shrimp. Pour some Kelchner's in a bowl. You have a perfectly nice dinner or a classy way to welcome guests.

(Update: Lotsabogeys comments below that Kelchner's is available at Giant.  And Alison C says it is available at Weis.  So look at any seafood counter that you visit.)

If you go to Frank's, there are several other great food stops along the U.S. 1 corridor. Check out everything from organic groceries and empanadas to a kitchen supply store and the county's best Middle Eastern grocery.

Frank's Seafood

7901 Oceano Ave # B
Jessup, MD 20794
(410) 799-5960

NEAR: This is in the wholesale seafood market in Jessup. You take Rte 175 east from I-95. You turn right on Oceano Avenue after passing the prison. You turn left into the market. You need to show a driver's license, but Frank's is open to the public.

Link: Go Buy A Huge Lobster At Frank's Seafood

Frank's Seafood is a Howard County treasure, selling crabs, lobsters and other fish to the public from the wholesale seafood market in Jessup.

The clever cooks at Black Coffee and a Donut posted in late October about special-ordering "super jumbo" lobsters from Frank's -- an eight-pound monster and a four-pound "lightweight." They created a fabulous-looking dinner for their father's birthday. (It's a formerly HoCo family whose youngsters have fled for the city and whose parents have retired to the country.) They also have prior posts about how to cook a super jumbo lobster, which involves cooking the crustacean and then disassembling it so that you serve it in pieces.

(The photo is brazenly copied from the Black Coffee and A Donut blog.)

For seafood, the other great options are Today's Catch in Columbia and the H Mart in Catonsville.

By driving to Frank's in Jessup, you enter the wonderland around Rte 175 and U.S. 1. The finds near that intersection include great empanadas at El Patio, a Chinese buffet at Fortune Star, and several taco trucks, including Pupuseria Lorenita's. Check out the Google Maps here.

Frank's Seafood
7901 Oceano Ave # B
Jessup, MD 20794
(410) 799-5960

NEAR: This is in the wholesale seafood market in Jessup. You take Rte 175 east from I-95. You turn right on Oceano Avenue after passing the prison. You turn left into the market. You need to show a driver's license, but Frank's is open to the public.

Frank's Seafood in Jessup

Nothing is more local than hard shell crabs, and nowhere sells you better crabs than Frank's Seafood in Jessup.

Frank's is an storied part of the wholesale seafood market across from the prison, and it sells to the public Tuesday to Sunday. The crabs come live or steamed. The steamed are coated in spices, and they made a spectacular summer dinner laid out on a bed of newspaper and battered with wooden mallets.

Mrs. HowChow and I got a deal on Sunday night (or as much as you can get at modern crab prices). A mix of large and #1 crabs were $29 for a dozen, and the "cold" ones were buy-one-dozen-get-one-free. The "hot" crabs are the ones fresh from the steamer. They sit in what look like giant trash cans on wheels, which I assume carry them in and out of some giant hot room. The "cold" crabs were steamed the day before and are displayed on ice. They were delicious and filled us up, although I did throw away two of the leftover eight on Monday night because they weren't sweet anymore. The other six were still great two days after steaming.

Frank's crabs were as delicious as any I remember, but then I'm a sucker for a warm night, a few beers and any meal that you eat with a knife and a hammer. My new discovery about crabs is that they're different when you eat with a doctor. Mrs. HowChow (that's Dr. HowChow to you) opened her first body and announced, "I forgot that it looks so recognizable." She then identified the various internal organs that I prefer to dispose with a single sweep. After that, I opened her crabs for her. Everyone benefitted.

Call ahead to reserve your crabs. Frank's takes orders, and it offers up to jumbos, although they were too rich for my blood. And check out the other seafood while you're there. Frank's is a full-scale market with nice-looking crab cakes along with raw fish on ice.  They also have oysters.  They were cleaning up as I came through on Sunday, but they seemd to have a dozen species in a mix of fillets and whole fish. This rivals Today's Catch in Columbia. You can buy the basic spices to steam crabs or to fry fish. You can also buy 75-cent wooden mallets for your crab feast. They're in a little room off the main retail area.

To get into the seafood market, you need to show a driver's license and go through a gate. It's no big deal. Odd, but don't let it keep you away.

For seafood, the other great options are Today's Catch in Columbia and the H Mart in Catonsville.   Click here for a post about seafood markets in Howard County.

By driving to Jessup, you enter the wonderland around Rte 175 and U.S. 1. The finds near that intersection include great empanadas at El Patio, a Chinese buffet at Fortune Star, and several taco trucks, including Pupuseria Lorenita's. Check out the Google Maps here or an entire post about the wonders along U.S. 1.

Frank's Seafood
7901 Oceano Ave # B
Jessup, MD 20794
(410) 799-5960

NEAR: This is in the wholesale seafood market in Jessup. You take Rte 175 east from I-95. You turn right on Oceano Avenue after passing the prison. You turn left into the market. You need to show a driver's license, but Frank's is open to the public.