The Boiling Crab..........Another Spicy Crustation Adventure

I remember first hearing about The Boiling Crab when i was looking up information about Hot and Juicy Crawfish in Las Vegas.  Many people wrote a review on Yelp.com saying it was very good but not as good as The Boiling Crab.  So naturally I looked it up and discovered it was located in LA at 4 different locations.  As luck would have it, I was not far from one Last night.  The problem was I had to resist going for Korean Food instead.   But I stayed strong, that is after I walked in and out of a specialty Korean restaurant.

Ok, so I'll first say the reasons why you shouldn't go to The Boiling Crab.

Don't go to the Boiling Crab IF:

1) You don't like Shellfish
2) You don't like Garlic
3) You don't like to get messy
4) You don't like using your hands
5) You are on a first date (unless he or she really loves garlic so much that they don't care how it will make them reek.  if that is the case, never let them go.  that person is a keeper)

Now the reasons that you should go.

The menu is made up mostly of market priced shellfish.  Clams, 4 different types of Crab, Shrimp, Oysters and Crawfish.  Your first task is to choose which shellfish you want.  Then you choose the sauce.  There are 4 sauces to choose from.  Rajun Cajun, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Butter or The Whole She-Bang which is a combination of all three.  then you choose non-spicy, mild, medium or XXX spice level.    They also have baskets of fried versions of the shellfish as well as corn on the cob and french fries.  They also serve Gumbo which many of you know, I'm a sucker for.

So I decided the table next to me had a great idea with 1/2 a dozen oysters raw on the 1/2 shell.
They tasted as good as they looked.

As it was at the place in Las Vegas, the food comes in bags but delivered in tin buckets.  I ordered 2 lbs. of Crawfish and 1 lbs of clams.  The clams came in the butter garlic sauce medium temp and the crawfish came in the Whole She-bang sauce Medium also.  

The clams were great.  so great, I ordered another pound after.  Now before you all start calling me a pig after you have done the math and said I ate 4 lbs of shellfish, remember that the shells make up over 3/4 the weight in the shellfish.  The clams all sat in the silky buttery sauce and they all just popped right out of their shells.  I could have drank the liquid it was sitting in.

The crawfish came at the same time as the clams so after quickly eating the clams, I moved onto the Crawfish.   They were very tasty but I have to admit, they were a bit dry and the meat was difficult to pull out.  Normally when you eat crawfish, you rip the tail from the head and suck out the juice in the head. Yes, you're sucking out the guts.   But when they are filled with juice, it's really tasty.  These were all really dry.  either they sat to long in the cooker (which is what I think it did) or they didn't use enough sauce.  The tails required work to get them out of the shell.  When cooked properly, you squeeze the tip of the tail, and the meat pops out.  These required ripping the shells apart to get a small nibble of meat.  After doing that for 30 min, it does get a little old.  it was spicy which is what I like, but not juicy.  one of the best parts was that there was a 1/2 piece of corn that sat in the liquid in the bottom soaking up all that juice.  If I didn't have to see customers, or other people in general the next day, I would have taken a spoon to the garlic that was floating around in the sauce. They probably had 5 heads of chopped garlic in this bag.   Not 5 cloves, but 5 heads of garlic.  I probably ate a head of garlic myself, so I'm sure I had some stink floating around me when I left.  But it was good stink.  

After getting the additional pound of clams, I had to try the gumbo. I love Gumbo and have a hard time not ordering it when I see it being served.  I have to admit, I still like mine best.  Many of you have tried mine and have mentioned how good it is.  This place had a good batch.  It was crab, sausage and Okra Gumbo.  We don't get a lot of Okra by us, so it was a real treat to have this much. Plus I really love the stuff.  

All in all, the boiling crab is a fun place to eat.  Every table was filled with people and I left at 9:00 and there was still a line out the door.  I think the bigger the crowd you go with, the better.  

The Boiling Crab has 4 locations in LA and you can see where they are as well as the menu online at  www.theboilingcrab.com/index.php

Labor Day Seafood feast............And a mussels marinara recipe!!!!!

I know I am behind in my writing and I have about 6 other things to write about before this, but this weekend we had a meal that I had to share.  I hope that t inspires you to do the same one day.

Our friends Jim, Judy, Michelle and our kids all met at Bill and Rachel's house for a seafood feast that we had all dreamed about all summer long.  We originally talked about going to a place on the water in CT called "The Place" where you get to enjoy a real New England down and dirty lobster bake.  But it is close to an hour away and I said we can do it better.  We not just did it better, we knocked it out of the park.

While the kids were running all over the yard we nibbled on some chips and salsa and had a great selection of beers and probably one of the best bloody mary's I have had in a long time.  We also had a great drink made with lemonade, cucumber infused vodka and fresh mint and lime juice.  Very refreshing on a late summer night.

The meal started out with steamer clams.  For those of you outside of the New England area, steamer clams are a soft shell clam that has a stem sticking out that allows the clam to propel itself when it's in the water.  To cook the clams, you take any vessel you have that steams and add water, olive oil and lemon juice.  But in reality, you can add anything.  Even a little beer.

After steam starts to lift from the top of the pot, put the cleaned clams inside.  There is no science as to when the clams are done.  After all, many of us love raw clams on the 1/2 shell.  But I kept them in there for about 10 minutes.  many of them open up when they are done.  but there is a thin membrane that keeps many of them open but not widely open.  So after they are done, you take them out and then you take out the broth and place it in a bowl next to a bowl melted butter.  this night we added some sprigs of fresh herbs to flavor the butter.  As if butter needs more flavor, but it was a nice touch.  After opening the clams and peeling the membrane off the clam, clean them in the broth and dip it in the butter and enjoy.

We took a nice small break after the steamers and I heated up the mussels marinara.  This is a great dish that anyone can make.  You can even take jarred sauce and add mussels to it and you have the dish. But I like to make my own from scratch.

Start off with one cup finely chopped onion and 1/2 a cup each carrots and celery.  For my usually marinara sauce I don't add celery and carrots but for this I did.  At first I thought it was a mistake because the carrots added a lot of sweetness to the sauce but in the end it was ok.

Take a large pot and add olive oil to it and warm it up. when it's warm, add the onions, carrots and celery and saute till they are all soft.  I made a large batch so it took time.  When the veggies are all soft, add a table spoon of chopped garlic and saute till its very aromatic.

At this point, add in a 28 oz. can of either chopped tomatoes, puree, or sauce to the mix.  Now all of those ingredients are very acidy.  So you have to add some sort of sugar to balance it out. I usually add a 12 oz. can of diet cola.  Then add 1 Tablespoon of salt and 1 Tablespoon of Oregano.   Mix all together and let it cook for about an our uncovered so it reduces and thickens.   After about an hour, add the mussels and keep them simmering for about 15 minutes.  This will allow the mussels to open up and cook in the broth.

Now as you can see, I have a lot more than what I listed above.  We had 8 adults so I multiplied the recipe accordingly.  After 15-20 minutes, place the mussels in a dish and serve with crusty bread.  With any leftovers, take the mussels out of the shell and either freeze or put in a container for the next day to serve over pasta.

After we took a break from that, we boiled up some water and cooked up some Lobsters.  At that point, I didn't take any more photos because well it's just lobsters in water and I was getting busy cracking open shells.

We cleaned up and we enjoyed the meal we just had.  it was a great feast but it wasn't over yet.  Anita had made a cherry pie that was just teasing us from the kitchen inside.  Rachel made fresh whipped cream and brought out some ice cream.  Under candlelight and the stars, we finished our meal perfectly.

These are the meals that make summer great.  Great Friends, great food and great memories.  I hope you all get a chance to make great memories too on this Labor day.  Enjoy the last days of summer my friends.  Fall is right around the corner.  Soups, Short Ribs, Stew's are all on the Horizon.

Bob Chinn's Crabhouse..............Crab's in Chicago? I didn't know Lake Michigan had crustaceans

About 12 years ago I was introduced to Bob Chinn's.  Bob Chinn's is located in Wheeling Illinois about 20 minutes north of O'hare airport.  It's a huge place that seems to go on forever.  When you arrive, you are placed in one of three lines.  Parties of 4 or less, 5-8 people, 8 or more.  From there you are escorted to about a 1/3 of the way into the seating area where you are met by yet another hostess who then seats you at your table.

Years ago when I was first introduced, the menu was hand written on both sides everyday.  All fresh fish was flown in every day and posted on the top of the menu.  Obviously the main feature was crab.  All sorts were to be had there.  King, Dungeness, Jonah, Snow and even blue.  

Today, similar handwritten typeset is on one side of the menu only but it does change everyday.  Insuring that all the items on the menu were delivered fresh that day.  

I'm a sucker for Dungeness Crab because it's pretty much native to the waters of the San Francisco Bay area.  Its getting more and more popular and you see it more on menus so if you do see it, get it.  Aside from King Crab, it's real easy to eat.  Big meaty knuckles allow large chunks of flesh to come out easily.  So when I saw that on the menu this time, I knew what I'd be having that night,  But what to start with .

I saw they had Gumbo on the menu so I started with a cup of the soup.  It was very good with large chunks of green pepper and Okra.  It had a little spice to it which was nice but not too spicy for those who are sensitive to it.

I also had some Oysters on the 1/2 shell which were real nice.  Only argument was the fact that they really weren't shucked well.  the oyster was still connected to the shell so if you were to just try to scoop it into your mouth, you would rip the mollusk in 1/2.  Since this happens more times than not, I always get into a habit of checking this first before I don them with horseradish and cocktail sauce.

One of the great things that I forgot about Bob Chinn's are the rolls.  Ordinary rolls are served in a basket topped with a garlic parsley oil mixture.   You see people licking their fingers all over the dining room eating these.   I broke my rule and took a photo:

Now for my main dish of Dungeness Crab, I had the choice of having them served cold, steamed, with garlic and oil or Ginger and onion.  The ginger and onion sounded good but in reality, I should have gone with one of the other three.  One large crab was cooked and covered in a syrupy sauce that I guess had ginger flavoring.  It lacked the flavor.  

But when you got through the sauce, the meat was tender and delicious.  The only negative with a meal like this is that it is work.  You can't just dive in with silverware and eat.  you have to crack, and poke and scoop to get the meat out.  You do risk a slight cut when handle the crabs but that is a risk I just love to take.  

When you eat like this, you are bound to get a bit dirty.  At many places, you get a nice little wet nap.  At Bob Chinn's, you can go to any sink that is strategically located throughout the restaurant.  They are shaped like old wooden barrels and they are constantly being used.

So if your in the Chicago area and are close to O'hare airport, give Bob Chinn's a try.  Everyone knows the place there and you'll have a great meal.  

For more information about Bob Chinn's Crabhouse, go to:http://bobchinns.com/

Hot and Juicy Crawfish……..Get Ready To Get Down and Dirty Naw’lins Style

In a fairly tone down strip mall a few miles west of the strip, lies a restaurant whose bold flavors should make the roof blow from the top.  Hot and Juicy Crawfish is located on the edge of Las Vegas’ Chinatown.  It’s spaces is decorated very mildly with a few beer posters hanging on the walls.  Tables in rows are all covered in White plastic and each table has a paper towel roll and holder on each of them.  I had read this is a place you don’t go for the décor.  You go for what goes on the table.

I had heard about this place also from the show Man V. Food on the Travel Channel episode of Las Vegas where I learned about a place called Hash House A Go-Go.  I had written about that earlier in a previous entry you should see below.  The show talked about how with an eclectic mix of herbs and spices they make a sauce that tops the boiled up Crawfish that is so full of flavor that your mouth will thank you for months.

I had done some reading on other blogs that had said, in addition to the crawfish, we should try the shrimp and the Dungeness Crab.   I love Dungeness crab and it’s not common for me to see it on menus other than locations on the west coast.  Native to the San Francisco bay area, Dungeness crabs stay mostly on the west coast unless you find a few other places with an appreciation for it.  When we inquired about it, we were told they were out of the Dungeness for the day.  Bummer, but I’m sure I’d find something else to replace it.  We decided to get the Crawfish, the Shrimp, and the King Crab.  We asked about sauces that can be put on the seafood.   You had a choice of Louisiana style, Juicy Cajun, Garlic Butter, Lemon Pepper, or the most popular Hot and Juicy Special.  We were told that the Hot and Juicy Special is basically all the others combined.  

You also had to select a level of spice for each of the sauces you picked.  You had Mild, Medium, Spicy and Extra Spicy.  My cousin Mike who was with me is more human than I am when it comes to spice.  It is very rare that I say that something is too spicy.  For me, the more heat the better.  But not everyone is like that.  Our Server Noemy, who was on the show, told us that their spices are hotter than most and to order one level down from what you would normally order.  So we ordered Mild for the shrimp, Medium for the Crawfish and because Mike doesn't like crab, I got them Extra Spicy.

The Crawfish came out first.  All the food is served in a plastic bag that holds the seafood with the sauce.

The crawfish comes with two pieces of Corn and two red bliss potatoes which are also in the bag.  When you look inside, you see the crawfish swimming in this rich bold sauce and they are speckled with fresh garlic.  When you open the bag up, your table is overwhelmed with the scent. 

 We then reached in and grabbed our first of many crustation.  Now for those you not fortunate to have seen a Crawfish, it’s basically a small lobster.  But the only thing worth working to eat for are the tails.  Yes there are some where the claws are big but the shells are so thick that its difficult to break it open to get the corn kernel size piece of meat.  So as you know, the shell is not edible but the entire is covered in the incredible sauce.  So watching others in the place found me putting the entire head into my mouth  to suck off all the garlic and juice that was layered in it’s legs.  (sounds really barbaric doesn’t it).  As you remember, we ordered this dish with medium spice.  It was hot but not to the point that you were reaching for your beer.  The rich flavor was enhanced with the heat and the heat didn’t over power at all.  But I was thinking if this was Medium, I might be in trouble with the King Crab ordered Extra Spicy.  Then keeping in “Conan the Barbarian” form, you tear the tail from the body.  You suck out the juices from the head portion, (yes, you’re sucking on all it’s guts at this point. But it’s so good!!!!!  Then you squeeze the tip of the tail so the meat pops out of the top of the tail.  With your teeth, you pull the meat from it’s shell.  How much meat do you get?  Well its probably equivalent to a piece of meat a little larger than a cashew nut.  Yes that is right, all that work for that size meat.  But that is why you get lots of them and you get other things.

Like Shrimp which came out next.  So when you finish a crawfish, you have the body and the tail shell left over.  We asked Noemy what we do with the shells, she said that is why the tables are covered in plastic.  Just put them on the table.  So we did.

The shrimp were ordered in Mild spice.  It too came in a plastic bag. The shrimps were cooked whole meaning, they had the heads on them as well.  The sauce was much thinner than the Crawfish and because the shell on a shrimp is much smoother than a crawfish, the sauce didn’t stay on the shrimp so well.   You take the shrimp and obviously remove the head.  The inside of the Shrimp isn’t filled with the juice as well as the crawfish so you don’t suck the heads of this one.  But you peel the shrimp as you would in any peel and eat shrimp and dip the shrimp back into the sauce.  I found without the heat it was more buttery tasting but had a nice mild flavor.  And was a good change from the medium heat. 

Then comes the king crab.  Noemy said that she was worried for me because not many people order the extra spicy because of it’s mega heat.  So I opened the bag and sauce was much deeper in color than the crawfish.  Plus the chunks of garlic were much darker as they absorbed all the sauce into them.

I grabbed some meat from the Knuckle which had a good amount of sauce in it.  Here goes, I said to my cousin as he watched and waited for the burning reaction to my stupidity.   The flavor of the sauce was much much richer than the medium.  The heat was there like the medium and we both waited for my hair to melt from my head.  I made sure to identify where the beer was incase I was suddenly blinded from overwhelming heat that was going to put a hole in my tongue.  We waited.  Hair remained on my head, no hole in my tongue, lips were not on fire and of course there was no sweat on my brow.  So I dove in.  Noemy can over to see how I was coping and she said, you’re not sweating.  I think she was disappointed that she didn’t see a sweaty blubbering mess at the table. 

By the end of the meal, it looked like the aftermath of a Viking meal with carcasses thrown astray on the table.  It was really a funny sight.  Now you look at the photo and you think, well Al is officially a disgusting pig and we should question what he things is good or not.

But when you look around at the other tables, you see the same pile of shells everywhere.  But the best is watching them clean up.  Lift the plastic from the corners and ball it all up for the trash.  Wha-la. 

If you like seafood and you like with bold flavors, you will love Hot and Juicy Crawfish.  It’s worth the 15 min. taxi ride from the strip. 

Hot and Juicy Crawfish can be found at 4810 Spring Mountain Rd in Las Vegas.  702-891-8889. You can also see them online at www.myspace.com/hotnjuicy_crawfish