Portsmouth, NH

Approximately eleven months ago I uprooted my life in Boston for a change of pace and a new adventure. I’m a New England native, born and raised. A boater’s daughter from Norwalk, CT, we moved to Portsmouth, NH, a fantastic little seacoast town situated on the thirteen miles of seacoast New Hampshire has to claim, when I was only three. From there on I was hooked on the ocean. I spent five summers through high school and college working at the local yacht club, learning how to drive boats and receiving tips from fishermen in lobster. The yacht club was next to a lobsterman’s house where his wife sold fresh lobster rolls daily. Salt water ran through my veins.

I went off to college in the suburbs of Boston to learn about business. After I graduated, I moved closer to the city to get a “real” job and become a “real” contributing person to society. By the time I was twenty-five, I had had it with New England winters. These are winters that start as early as October and last as late as April. We don’t get spring; sometimes we barely get a fall. We have summer and winter essentially, and since I didn’t ski or snowboard, summer was way too short for me.

So one especially chilly, snowy morning in March of 2009 while I was getting ready for work, I caught a glimpse of the cherry blossoms in bloom in D.C. on the TV. That was enough for me. A few months later I had quit my job, started working for the family firm and moved to Annapolis to embark on a fresh start.

Upon my arrival I knew I had to sample some of the famous crab cakes that Maryland was known for. I had some friends in the area so I asked them their opinions. Well, wouldn’t you know it, every person I asked had a different idea of where I could find the best crab cake. Eventually I gave up asking people and tried to find a review site that had a list of local restaurants known for their crab dishes and reviews on them. I couldn’t find one site that did this consistently either. Becoming frustrated, I ventured out on my own.

While in pursuit of that perfect crab cake, I’ve decided to create Four Claws Reviews. This is my answer to the lack of resources there appear to be for tourists, locals and newbies, like me, to find out where they can get a decent crab cake. Four Claws Reviews is more than just the name of this site. It’s the standards by which we judge the crab dishes we try and the highest rating a restaurant’s dish can receive. We look for quality crab meat, a good value, a pleasant taste and texture in our dishes. Our reviews cannot be bought. Eventually, advertising may pop up on this site for restaurants, but please know that even though a restaurant may have an advertisement here; it does not mean that this will influence our evaluation of their dish.

I’m looking forward to eating my way through the Chesapeake Bay region, sampling the various ways crabs can be prepared. If you think you know where I can find the best crab cake, the best dip, soup, steamed crab, imperial, etc – let me know! You never know, perhaps your favorite joint could end up in my blog!