*** Crawdaddy's has closed, and is now a Karaoke/Shoju joint.
It's kinda amazing how the mind works.......most days, I can't remember where I park my car...but at any given moment, I'll remember all kinds of stuff...like opportunity cost. Where the heck did that come from? Sheesh...opportunity cost is one of the 2 things I still remember from Econ class(the other being Elasticity...like you really wanted to know). Opportunity cost often hits home when trying out restaurants......every decision has a cost. In order to try 'A', you give up a chance at lunch at 'B'. When it comes down to it, this can be a pretty depressing way of looking at things....
On a Sunday a few weeks past "Mr S" called and asked if I'd like to check out CrawDaddy's the new Asian Owned Crab/Crawfish boil restaurant that recently opened in the spot formerly occupied by Jamillah Garden.
Mr S and I arrived at about noon, and found the restaurant to be empty.
The interior of CrawDaddy's is neat and clean, and in an interesting touch, the butcher paper covering the tables seem almost discreet.
The place has a sports bar kind of feel. Brown woods, high ceiling, but really cold A/C.
Mr S is a fairly big eater, and started ordering right away. Starting with a pound of Crawfish(market price - on this visit $8.99/lb) with Spicy Cajun seasoning:
Based on my previous experience with Crab Hut, I almost freaked when Mr S ordered this seasoned "spicy". When the bag of "bugs" arrived I was ready to have my lips burned off....but this was mild, very mild......that is not to say there was not flavor, we both thought the flavoring pretty good.... But Mr S ended up dumping half a bottle of Hot sauce on this. The Crawfish were not the best....the meat was watery and mushy. I asked if these were live or frozen, and was told these were "fresh"(not live or frozen, but "fresh"). I know that Crawfish aren't very big this time of the year, so I can understand that these were on the skimpy side...but it didn't seem to be cooked correctly.
Large Shrimp(1lb - $10.99/lb) seasoned with Garlic Butter:
Again ordered "spicy" these were also really mild. Not enough garlic flavor, and too much butter. The quality of the shrimp was good, and these were cooked to perfection; plump and juicy.
When Mr S ordered the Jambalaya($10.95), I had my doubts:
When the plate arrived, I perked up. This "red"(uses tomato) Jambalaya looked promising! This was a mixed bag...the seafood; shrimp, crawfish, et al, were tasty and cooked to perfection. I could actually make out the slightly smokey flavor of the sausage. On the down side...this was much too dry, there was not enough spice, and other than the seafood and sausage this was fairly bland. I expected the zip of some cayenne, the hint of some oregano and thyme, and some smokiness beyond the sausage.
The Seasoned Fries($3.50):
These fries were on the dry side, and also confirmed that the Cajun Spice used was much too mild. I did enjoy the Cajun Aioli.
Of course I had to have the Fried Okra($5.95):
Nice creamy okra in a crunchy cornmeal batter. This was by far my favorite of the day. My only complaint was that the okra were haphazardly battered, and some pieces had a huge coating of batter, while some pieces had barely any at all.
At the end of the meal, Mr S shook his head, and said, "maybe we should have gone to the other place." Yes, opportunity cost.... Still, I held on to this post for a while...because, well, the young men working here were very nice, and I really wanted to like the food. So I decided to give it another go. This time solo.
I ordered the Fried Catfish($7.95):
This was quite a generous portion of food, five large catfish fillets, crusted with a thick ground cornmeal batter, making for some major crunch. Again my major problem was with the execution, three of the fillets were decent, flaky, yet moist...two of the fillets tasted a bit off, slightly sour, and very muddy. Well....it was a bit too much food for me anyway...
This time the fries were seasoned a bit better, and were crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside:
In the end, I enjoyed the very laid back atmosphere at CrawDaddy's. The Guys working there do a good job. Perhaps the laid back attitude also reflects the inconsistencies I perceived with regards to the food. The portions are generous, and the prices very reasonable.
CrawDaddy's
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Oh yes...opportunity cost:
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