Cajun restaurant boast delicious dining, reasonable prices

Nestled just two miles from campus in Woodward Village lies Angry Asian’s Crackin’ Crab Claw, a small restaurant specializing in Louisiana style dishes, especially Cajun and Creole cooking. Crackin’ Claw takes traditional southern recipes and brings them to fruition thousands of miles away from New Orleans.

Sandwiched between Fresno Bagel Co. and Vons, Crackin’ Claw is not a large restaurant. Inside, there is enough seating for no more than 30 people, but it is difficult to move around the room.

The room is half decorated like an authentic New Orleans restaurant with crab shells lining the room. A platform in the far corner acts as a TV stage, but the room, without people, is fairly quiet. Initially, seemed awkwardly still, but after awhile a Bruno Mars playlist echoed through the room. I think this steals from the authenticity and they should consider playing jazz or folk music.

What makes this place so special is their rule of having no rules. There are no plates, no forks and no rules for eating. Their menu offers single dishes like jambalaya and gumbo and large combo meals to share. I, along with three other people, ordered the ‘Crackin’s Big Easy combo’.

For $65, they dump two pounds of snow crab, one pound of shrimp, one pound of mussels, one pound of crawfish, four hot links, four corn cobs and four potatoes on the table. This proved a perfect amount of food for four people to share. For $10, we split a recommendable calamari appetizer as well.

Not only was the amount of food spot on, the entire plate tasted delicious. The mussels and crawfish were my surprise favorites, but I was not a fan of the difficulty of pinching the shrimp out of their shells. However, everything was so rich in flavor and the mess makes it enjoyable.

The restaurant staff was interactive and very helpful. Our server spent plenty of time at the table to ensure we knew our options and what to order.

Our final bill ended at approximately $20 per person. For the amount and quality of food, we collectively agreed this was an exceptional place to dine for that price. If you are in a hurry, you might want to eat elsewhere. Expect to wait for your meal and take the time to crack and poke the meat out of your shellfish. Come prepared!

For more on Crackin’ Claw, check out their website and Facebook page.

For more food reviews read The Annex Kitchen offers carefully prepared food, dedicated service and Shila Korean BBQ boasts interactive dining experience.

Alexander Rurik can be reached via Twitter @alexrurik23 and via email: Alexander Rurik.

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