Brasserie Grille, Newark: Crab Bisque and Crab Cakes

At a place best known for steaks, crab has won the diners’ hearts. First, the crab bisque. Start with a traditional mirepoix of onions, carrots and celery and a seafood stock, stir in a roux, then simmer for two or three hours to remove the flavor of the flour. Add lots and lots of lump crab meat and—voila—a soup that sells 25 gallons a week, says executive chef Gary Callahan. Exhibit two: crab cakes. Callahan promises nothing but lump crab meat and imperial sauce. They are pan-seared until crisp and golden outside, then finished in the oven. You get two 3-ouncers per serving. Another impressive number: 250 servings sold each week. No wonder. 100 Continental Drive, Newark, 781-7000, brasseriegrille.com