The Mighty Crab Seafood concept now ashore in former Red Robin | The Dish

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — First, it crab-tivated Mississippi. Now in its 15th location, The Mighty Crab restaurant chain has spawned in New York City at the Staten Island Mall.

On this episode of The Dish, we meet the man behind the crustacean sensation, Jason Zheng, co-owner of those operations sprinkled throughout the South. His sister, Jamie Li, is the familiar face at the door: she and her husband own New China Hibachi and Sushi Buffet in New Dorp. With this concept, they bring to the Island both a la carte fish selections such as oysters on the half shell and an all-in-one seafood boil — a bag of Cajun-seasoned shellfish of choice, corn and potatoes.

Landlubbers also will be pleased with chicken, beef and pork from the kitchen’s hibachi. Po’Boys feature a choice of fried proteins served with onion rings.

But crabs of the fun kind are there to celebrate with fried soft shells, steamed Alaskan king, Snow, blue and Dungeness.

Mighty Crab patrons are treated to a few surprises. Spoiler alert: buy more than three pounds of seafood in one shot and the kitchen staff will plate the creatures in a big trough. Hands-on eating earns a body a pair of plastic gloves, dandy bib and keepsake crab cracker that zips through shells like a box cutter. And a color-pulsing goblet serves as vehicle for shrimp cocktail.

In building out the former Red Robin space, Zheng invoked a nautical theme. He wrapped rope around faux pilings, hung boats from the ceiling and, as the name would suggest, decorated mightily with crabs. A projector casts an image of underwater scenes on one side of the restaurant so a diner can literally swim with the fishes.

The…