Crab Hut: A Revisit

I was depressed. You see, because of some scheduling conflicts, I was going to miss the LSU Alumni Crawfish Boil this year. And after seeing the wonderful Crawfish photos on Passionate Eater, well, talk about a double whammy! Which is why, I talked Mr S into grabbing some crawfish, and other stuff at Crab Hut on a recent Sunday. Not that it took much encouragement, mind you. And even though I grab a lunch now and then at Crab Hut, it's mostly for the french fries(don't ask). Eating Bugs is not something to do solo. Unfortunately, we both forgot that the Sunday we chose was Mother's Day(shame on us), and the place was packed. But somehow, we managed a table amongst the large parties. The menu at Crab Hut has come a long way from my first visit. Now there are fresh oysters, various soups, and in a homage to their roots as a Vietnamese Owned business, the addition of Crab Hut Rolls, a version of Cha Giò Cua. As much as I perused the placard and menu, Mr S had other plans, and moved straight to ordering without even a glance at the menu.

We started with a dozen Fanny Bays from Canada:

For $15.99, these were better than I thought they'd be. I'm not a cocktail sauce-tabasco-whatever  on your oyster kind of eater. I like mine with just a touch of lemon, in this case lime, which added a different, almost sweeter flavor to the oyster. I'm never looking for the "biggest, meatiest" oysters. I prefer a nice "liquor", and relish a great after-taste. These were decent, much fresher, and better in flavor than what I expected for the price.

Fried Okra($4.00):

Nice and crunchy on the exterior, creamy on the interior. Served along with some Cajun Aioli.

The one thing, I "had to order". The Cajun Fries($4.00).

Before you write me off as totally insane; yes, I know that "these are only crinkle cut fries with Cajun seasoning". But there's something about  this slightly spicy, crunchy(they've always been fried perfectly) fry, first dipped into a bit of malt vinegar, than ketchup, that I really enjoy. We all have our guilty pleasures, don't we? Call me "Kirk, the Carb King" is you must.

Mr S ordered 3 pounds of Crawfish ($8.99/lb). What freaked me out was that he ordered them "Hot". Now, in my previous experiences with Crab Hut the "Medium was yesterdays Hot". So I expected to have my lips burned off.

But I was wrong, it wasn't the burning hot I expected. So either Crab Hut is now showing some restraint, or my tolerance has gone up light years! These were cooked perfectly, the tail meat firm, but not hard or mushy. Because Mr S is fond of the "Full House" seasoning, which is basically everything but the kitchen sink, I never got the full flavor of the Crawfish. Next time, I'm getting them my way, with Old Bay...before Crawfish season is over.

Mr S also ordered 2 pounds of Little Neck Clams (7.50/lb):

Ordered with Garlic Butter, medium heat.

These were soft and tender. In fact, I enjoyed them more than the Crawfish. Garlic Butter sauce mixed with the juices from the clams, with bread......

We made a mess, and felt proud of it. I can't believe we ate the whole thing......

Crab Hut is not a traditional Louisiana Crawfish Boil. Like the Boiling Crab in Garden Grove, Crab Hut has each of its Cheliped gripped onto 2 worlds. A Cajun Seafood joint, with a Vietnamese flair, a pretty nice marriage if you ask me.

Service has always been very friendly. Do not wear your Sunday's best unless you have the best dry cleaner in the world. Bibs, towelettes, and a roll of paper towels are always provided. Nowadays, I don't even try to park in the lot, probably one of the worst in the area, I go directly to the side street. As you can tell, prices are reasonable.

Crab Hut
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
858-565-1678

Open Daily from 12noon - 10pm

More on Crab Hut from yummyfoodsandiego.com can be found here.

Comments

[foodhoe]

that looks like a super feast! I found a local crawfish festival here coming up that I'm going to try to get to. festivals can be such a zoo! sounds great.

[Kirk]

Hi FH - Sometimes those festivals are kinda crazy.

[jeff c]

Omar,
thanks for the followup. HMMM. I wonder how the swedes and norwegians do it with seasonings. I recall a lot of the traps were being sold by a swede here.

[Omar]

Hi Jeff C -

The recipe for Kräftor (Crawfish, Swedish-style) is pretty straightforward-

Per Person:

2 lbs of live crawfish
3 quarts of water
5 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of sugar
Handful of Fresh Dill (preferably the tops or "crowns")

Purge the crawfish by covering them - alive - in cold salted water for about 5-10 minutes, or until the water gets murky.

Meanwhile, boil salt, sugar and dill in the clean water.

Gently rinse crawfish, tossing out any dead soldiers, then boil them for 10 minutes or until the they turn red.

Cut the heat and leave the crawfish in the water until everything cools off. Some recipes call for overnight refrigeration.

Strain crawfish, remove the cooked dill, serve with:

Toast
Cheese
Garlic mayonnaise for dipping
Beer
Aquavit
Strawberry cake

But considering that Arizona law prohibits you from taking live crawfish away from their place of "capture", you'll either have to take your stuff - including a fridge - with you to the lake, or you'll have to cook dead mudbugs, something I can't imagine, even as I type the words. My other problem with doing it Swedish-style is this: did you see those side-dishes? Ugh. It's a meal planned by committee, I think, or one figured out AFTER the aquavit was gone.

Better go with Plan A, which you can do at the lake: purge crawfish; boil water with Zatarain's or some other Louisiana-style boil plus bay leaf, cayenne, margarine or olive oil, garlic and lemon; add live crawfish; when water boils again add corn and new potatoes; cook for 8-10 minutes; rest off heat for 10 minutes more; strain and eat crawfish, corn and 'taters.

Bring beer. Leave the aquavit for another time.

Cordially,

[Jeff C]

Omar, thanks for that wonderful followup. You are right I think I will go with the more tasty and convenient form with the Zatarain's. But if I'm ever in Norway or Sweden in the summer I'll know how to do it local style. Shaka bra.

[elmomonster]

Sorry I've been AWOL lately. Was in Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong for two weeks. Though I had to comment when I saw this post, because I actually drove by this place a month ago and wondered..."Hmm, I wonder if Kirk has tried this?!"

[Kirk]

Hi Elmo - I hope you had a great time, and look forward to reading about it.

[Rosa]

Coworkers n' I went here today for lunch.

Got the "Full House" @ medium and my lips were a little tingly after I was done with the pound of shrimp n' crawfish.

I agree, the crawfish are a little small (save for the two monsters my coworkers ended up with) and the Full House does overshadow the crawfish and shrimp but I liked the flavor so didn't mind.

Crinkle-cut cajon fries = love. :)

[Kirk]

Hi Rosa - Try the clams next time, it's my favorite right now. Also, check out the sweet potato fries.