Cajun Crawfish

After work one day, Cherry and I had a fixin’ for some shrimp and some friends of ours just so happened to have the same craving. We decided on The Cajun Crawfish because of some positive recommendations we’ve heard. It is a smaller restaurant (seating around 25-30) located in an Asian strip mall off Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Upon entering, I noticed that the inside is really clean and well kept. There are little coastal decorations around such as a shrimp net hanging from the ceiling, some life rings and buoys.  There are also two flat screens on the walls which was nice (since I got to watch the playoff game.)

 

 

The Food:

cajun fries

pound ‘o  gulf shrimp

pound‘o blue prawns

The fries came in a generously sized basket with some cajun seasoning sprinkled all over and two dipping cups of ketchup. The seasoning had a good bold flavor and to me, didn’t need any extra sauce. Overall however, the fries were just okay. As an appetizer, they did the trick, but nothing to write home about.

I’m going to combine the review for the shrimp and prawns because  it’s similarities. The main difference, that I saw between the two were the heads being bigger on the prawns. Everything else (taste and texture) was virtually the same. The shrimps and prawns were all boiled and then soaked in boom-bang sauce which is a combination of their original cajun seasoning, garlic butter and lemon pepper. When our food came out, it was served in a large plastic bag and plopped on our table. As tempting as it was to dump everything out on the parchment paper atop our table and go to town, we chose not to because of all the sauce that was also in the bag – it would have been hot mess!  Now, some of you may know, I tend to shy away from shrimp due to my past experiences with how small they turn out to be. However I was pleasantly surprised with Cajun’s shrimp and prawns – they were hearty, juicy and fresh! Now, the seafood in and of themselves were good, however the star of the show was definitely the boom-bang sauce! If I could describe the sauce in one word it would be: amazing! If anyone knows what a graveyard is, it’s like that, but sauces instead of sodas… and it works! The taste buds are initially hit with the bold cajun spices and garlic and ends with a kick of the lemon pepper. We chose to get it hot which is their equivalent to a three-star out of four and it carried perfect heat through the meal. It left my lips with a subtle and satisfying burn. One thing that was recommended by our server was to order some French bread to soak up the sauce at the end and order French bread we did. Toasted and buttered, the mini loaves were perfect – they had a great crunch on the outside and super soft inside to soak all the yummy sauce. I’m actually thinking of the sauce as I write this blog and am seriously considering bringing some tupperware to bottle that stuff up next time!!

My Conclusion:

 The Cajun Crawfish is tucked away in the middle of a busy Asian strip mall in south Seattle– not exactly the most appealing location for some. However, if you ever have a hankering for some fresh seafood served with some finger-licking good sauce (trust me you will be licking your fingers) then definitely come in and dig in! I would advise against wearing your Sunday’s Best… because things get messy! They do provide bibs, a roll of paper towels on each table and gloves upon request… but come on; you don’t want to be the person at a seafood boil with plastic gloves on… do you?

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Sweet D’s Shrimp Shack

Cherry has had a craving for shrimp for the longest time and being the considerate husband that I am, I decided to help her fulfill her craving. But we’re not talking about the regular shrimp you can find at any supermarket or seafood restaurant… we’re talking the shrimp you find at Sweet D’s Shrimp Shack. I’ve only been here one other time in my life and that was many years ago… so this was a good refresher. If you’ve never heard of Sweet D’s, that’s not too surprising – it’s located in the middle of nowhere off Highway 20 in Anacortes. It’s literally a large white shack on the side of the road with a handful of parking spots and a large covered area with a few picnic style tables. They specialize in their local shrimp, but they have a surprisingly large menu offering adventurous items; from elk burgers and gator-wiches to blue crab sandwiches and oyster burgers. All the food they serve in is Washingtonian style – fresh and local!

sweet d’s shrimp shack 

daily specials

The Food:

pound ‘o shrimp

 beer-battered fish and chips

breaded humboldt squid steak strips & fried oysters

My Review:

The shrimp is served cold (cocktail style) with its head and shell on and scooped into a brown paper bag. I was a little surprised because the shrimp were so small, but that didn’t take away from experience – if anything, it added to it! Getting down and dirty peeling each and every shrimp before you devour them is somewhat barbaric – very gratifying. Each shrimp had great natural flavor – perfect combination of sweet and salty. No cocktail sauce or additional flavors were needed to finish the entire bag. We were definitely rookies buying 3-lbs… most everyone bought the 5-pounder and there were even several people with coolers buying 10+ lbs. of shrimp!

I’m a huge fan of fish and chips and these definitely filled the “greasy fried foods” hole in my stomach. Two adjectives I wouldn’t normally pair together when describing something I was to put in my mouth are; big and thick… however when it comes to fish and chips those two words are what you look for! Small and skinny fish and chips wouldn’t be very appetizing. I was a little torn on how I felt about these fish and chips. Some parts of the batter was fried perfectly – with the bites being very crunchy. But then there were some parts of that weren’t as crispy – almost like a thin layer of corn bread. The fish was cooked well but the inconsistent texture of the batter on the outside threw off the experience. The fries were good – nothing special or out of the ordinary.

The breading on the calamari strips had nice overall flavor, but slightly overpowered the natural flavor of the squid. They were fried a little too long for my liking as well – past the golden brown that you look for more into a clay-brown color. The two oysters were breaded nicely and did a good job accenting the flavor of the oysters. These local oysters are larger than your average oyster which makes them ideal for frying.

My Conclusion:

When I think of Anacortes, diversity isn’t the first thought that comes to mind, however I was very surprised to find the exact opposite when I ate there. It was like I stepped into the seafood isle of SeafoodCity! Nonetheless, the portions are generous and the prices are reasonable. Don’t come up expecting the best seafood in town because you’ll get the lowly sidekick. Anyone that makes the drive up here is definitely coming for the  main attraction, the superhero, the shrimp.

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