Grub Crawl - Astor: Drifters and Essex Seafood House

I tried these spots yesterday at dinner. The first is on the river in the old Blackwater Inn location. The second is slightly east on 40.

Drifters Riverfront Bar & Grill - They spell it without punctuation. I just grabbed some potato skins for $8 because it didn't seem so different than the last spot. They (5) were good. Some pulp, cheese and bacon. Side of sour cream. Fresh. Warm. The waitress/bartender looked at the first batch and went back to the kitchen to chew them out. Not sure how I would have felt about those. Not sure how I feel about the kitchen's quality control after hearing that. They have the usual menu and prices. Fried seafood, burgers, sammies, snacks, etc. They redid the bay windows overlooking the river. Big improvement. The place looks nicer. There is a bar (McHenry's Pub) upstairs. Lots of servers. Parking. I think they switched ownership two years ago. I've driven by a few times since the switch.

Essex Seafood House - I've been meaning to try this forever. It's been there for a while. The issue was that I usually drove by on the wrong time or day. They aren't always open. Check the schedule before you go. They also only take cash, so, that usually doesn't help tempt me. I was surprised by their breadth of items. Not just fried clams. They had bellies and strips. But also: oysters, scallops, shrimp, haddock, catfish, grouper, salmon, flounder, gator, pork chops, chicken and lobster. You can get those grilled or baked as well. I tried a "boat" (with one side) of fried frog legs (5) for $12. Very good. Clean. Fresh. Tender. Great fry. I chose a baked potato. Fine. Came out quick. You can also get fries, onion rings, cole slaw, mac and cheese, applesauce or hush puppies. Boats are $12-$16. They do those main options along with ribs, strip steak, snow crab legs, mussels or mixed seafood (one more side) for $19-$25. I saw good looking snow crab plates and fried chicken fingers or fish. They also steam: Ipswich steamers, mussels and shrimp. $14.50 to $23. Their apps are: clam chowder, gator snack, buffalo catfish and chicken, onion hearts, cheese sticks, blooming onion, poppers, and fried mushrooms and pickles. $8-$10. They put some of those main items on sandwiches. And burgers, rolls and hot dogs. $7-$16. The lobster roll was $23. It's a little, untidy joint. Potholes galore in the parking lot. Good service. Full. I will have to make it a point to try them more often. I think I remember reading about them in the Sentinel ages ago.