McDonald's Actually Made An Attempt At A Shellfish Sandwich Years Ago

McDonald's is the first name that pops up every time someone mentions burgers and fries. Its tendency to stick with what it knows has worked in its favor so far, but once in a while it does set out to experiment, like it did with the recent launch of the Big Arch burger.

When it comes to seafood, McDonald's tends to fall short — the subtle and beloved Filet-O-Fish is its only offering. It's difficult to blame the popular fast food chain for not trying to step up its seafood game. McDonald's has tried to get creative with crustaceans in the past and it didn't end well. Its shellfish sandwich, for example, has made the list of McDonald's fails.

A revamp of the 2003 McCrab — which was basically a revamp of the 1992 Crab Cake Sandwich (criticized for containing more cake than crab) — was the 2017 iteration called the Crab Meat Sandwich. It was made available under the golden arches of just four restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area with the aim of launching it in 250 McDonald's restaurants across the region later that year.

The fast-food chain came up with the McCrab in 2003 to cater to the needs of the crab cake-loving population of the U.S. To avoid the more-cake-than-crab criticism of '92, McDonald's McCrabs were handmade to increase the visibility of crab meat, though they were lacking in fresh ingredients.

The McCrab was eventually pulled from the market after failing to compete with the markedly better crab cakes sold elsewhere. Though this crab dream failed to take off, it did have a few takers. Perhaps that is what gave the chain the confidence to make another attempt with the Crab Meat Sandwich more than a decade later.

The chain called in San Francisco chef Ryan Scott from "Top Chef" and "The Rachael Ray Show" to create the Crab Meat Sandwich and give it a regional flavor. It was made with snow crab meat, celery, seasoned mayo, clarified butter, tomato, and romaine lettuce atop a sourdough bun. Given that it was gradually moved out of menus, it is safe to assume the crabby sandwich tanked yet again.

McDonald's fabled lobster rolls were also reintroduced in certain New England locations the same year as the Crab Meat Sandwich (2017). The originals — the Crab Cake Sandwich and McLobster — were also launched almost simultaneously between 1992 and 1993 as an alternative option for McDonald's offerings during Lent. Unlike the Crab Cake Sandwich, the McLobster, which was essentially lobster meat with McLobster sauce and shredded lettuce placed in a hot dog bun like a mini-sub, kept making guest appearances on menus across New England over the years.

It could be said that 2017 was the year McDonald's finally gave up on this lopsided dream and realized (hopefully) fans do not go to Micky D's for its crabs or lobsters, as the two weren't seen again on the food joint's menu. McDonald's maintained it was taking lobster rolls off of the menu because of the growing cost of lobsters in Atlantic Canada, but subpar demand for fast seafood likely played a part. 

McDonald's still gets a seafood itch every once in a while. It tried to introduce deep-fried shrimp nuggets and shrimp burgers in certain international markets like Japan (which seem to be doing way better than the McCrab or McLobster ever did). We just hope the next time this itch resurfaces, the Filet-O-Fish gets a noteworthy competitor in the U.S.