Sunday, July 18, 2010

The Boiling Crab - Rowland Heights

Ah, The Boiling Crab. You and you alone have figured out how to do it. When others have faltered, you continue to dazzle, you continue to expand, onward and upwards from the humble store in a forgettable mall in Garden Grove, to the San Gabriel Valley, where tastes are finicky and discriminating.

Even here, at the newest outlet at Rowland Heights, wait times are routinely long and frustrating. But the rewards are great. Your minutes spent thumb-twiddling outside will eventually get you a table inside, draped in wax paper and you, with a bib tied around your neck.

You look damned silly with it. But you'll be glad you set aside your dignity for once. The best stuff here is steeped in a butter-y, furiously red-tinged sauce that will get all over the place. Anything not covered will be sprayed crimson like a CSI crime scene.

Once you don protection, dive into a pile of seafood that's simply prepared for reasonable rates. Mostly importantly, everything is as fresh as if the dock were right outside. This is how to do Cajun seafood boil. Drinks served in paper cups; rice scooped into to-go containers.

Catfish is fried into flaky strips as supple as custard. Fries are cloaked in a dangerous chili powder that makes you wince and reach for more.

But the thing to get is the shrimp ($8.99 a pound). The crustaceans, fat and plump, come out in a clear plastic sack and will be best bang for the buck, yielding the most meat pound-for-pound.

Do it Whole-Shabang, which is an ingenious and patentable concoction made from butter, lemon juice, Zatarain's and lots of garlic. Opting for mild is sufficient. Anything hotter and you should've probably brought goggles, lest you want that stuff to accidentally get into your eyes and cause blindness.

Strip each critter of its head, suck the goods from its skull, being careful not to let its sharp appendages poke you a new orifice. Dig into the underbelly, and disrobe it of its shell and tail. Eat the spindly legs and take the sweet meat for once last dip in that sauce before eating. Repeat.

And oh you'll need rice. Plenty of rice.

By the end you'll see the dozens of beady eyes looking up at you from a pile of spent casings. Survey the carnage you have wrought. Lick your fingers with satisfaction. Wipe your throbbing mouth and sweaty brow. You've done well here, my friend.

The Boiling Crab
(626) 964-9300
18902 E Gale Ave. Ste. A
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

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11 Comments:

At 7:46 AM, Blogger christoofat said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 7:48 AM, Blogger christoofat said...

After reading this, I felt like I needed a shower....in melted butter! YUMM!
One of these days I gotta man up & go for it!

 
At 10:34 AM, Blogger digkv said...

Mmm that looks so good. Wonderful post Edwin. I was wondering if you've tried any Boiling Crab knockoffs in Westminister? I've only had a bunch of random knock-offs but never Boiling Crab so I wonder how they compare.

 
At 10:51 AM, Blogger dumplings said...

Elmo!

Haven't commented on here for awhile. I see that you visited Pops! That's one of my regulars in OC. I just visited San Diego, and if you ever get the chance, try out Hash A Go Go. Their quality and quantity will blow your mind.

By the way, I don't think there should have been any baby eyes staring back at you. They should be nice and cozy with the rest of your carnage in your digestive system!

 
At 4:35 PM, Blogger Madison said...

Oh Boiling Crab! So very messy! Definitely not a first date kinda meal, unless you're into that sort of thing..lol. I thought the shrimp was just ok. I loved the crawlfish and king crab legs though. Oh and the sweet potato fries. Let's not forget that.

 
At 4:48 PM, Blogger elmomonster said...

chris,

If you even have an inkling of a craving for seafood, especially shrimp, think of no other. I would also strongly suggest coming on the off hours, like immediately as they open around 3 p.m. weekdays or noon on weekends.

They also do cheap, ice-ladened platters of oysters (not the best, but cheap).

digkv,

I've tried one knockoff in Westminster called Q Restaurant a while ago. I think it's kaputz now. I also tried a place called Crablicious in Cerritos once. That one's also gone. I have to say that nothing really compares to Boiling Crab. Q does a stir fry of their stuff. Crablicious was good. But Boiling Crab, they've got that sauce and it has so far, not been replicated.

dumplings,

I would've eaten the heads too, except that would've done a number on my digestive system! Now, if they were deep-fried, that's a different story! Hash A Go Go sounds interesting!

Madison,

I started out with the crawfish when I first got addicted to Boiling Crab, but moved to the shrimp because of my laziness and cheapness! ;-)

 
At 5:04 PM, Blogger Melissa said...

I've never been to Boiling Crab, only to Claws because my friends didn't want to wait in line at BC. I know I need to try the real deal one of these days!

 
At 9:04 AM, Blogger Bill said...

Have you tired the clams? I think its yummy and briny.
Not the ROI but its so tasty.

 
At 1:19 AM, Blogger mark said...

After so many entries, you ever going to do a top 10 best eateries list? You always pick the best places!

 
At 8:49 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Melissa,

This is it! Others need not apply! Do go on the less busy times though, or else the wait will put you off, where not even the most spectacular seafood can compensate.

I know you like spicy. So I know I can't convince you to stay away from the XXX option for their Whole Shabang, but I heard that it is so spicy that it has rendered tongues useless for days!

Bill,

No I haven't! Gotta try it next. I did a dungeness crab once and thought it was just okay. But the shrimp, oh the shrimp!

Mark,

So funny you said that! Past couple of days I was just thinking of doing a Top 10 if only because my sidebar list (though not updated) is getting pretty long for anyone to navigate. Stay tuned!

 
At 8:44 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

After I went to this restaurant many times in the past, I brought my friends to this place in Rowland Rowland, Ca Tuesday. I have got big surprises from them. The Shrimps were not fresh at all. The butter corns were so salty and the worst of all, the signature crabs were ice cold inside. I have complained to the store manager Julie and she said is was an accident from the video she just watched. I have complained to the local health department and they told me that the restaurant had cooked all the crabs and leave them in the frige ready to add the sauce from customer specified to be served. It was a violation of the health code. The department had instructed the restaurant to cook the crab from fresh live individually after the customer has ordered from now on to make sure that the accident will not happen in the future. Let's see the restaurant will follow the health department's guideline in the future.

 

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