It’s said that bad news comes in threes, so in light of two unfavorable occurrences, I tend to wait for the inevitable. Right now I’m waiting for my third parking ticket in a month.
Maybe more things go wrong than right, or maybe we just take more note of the bad, those obstacles that assert themselves in a way that interferes with our already hectic, overbooked daily lives.
But in the case of a recent spate of crab restaurant openings, I’m open to the possibility that good things come in threes, too.
Back in May I ventured to Kickin’ Kajun at 1518 Makaloa St., elated that we finally had a hands-dirty, paper-lined-table kind of crab boil joint. I reviewed it like it was the only game in town and we were so lucky to have it.
I didn’t suspect that the next two months would bring two more similar entries to our dining scene, and neither did their owners, who thought they were alone in bringing a West Coast phenomenon back home.
They are all so close in format and quality, you’ll just have to try them all and pick your favorite.
Meanwhile, I’m putting in my request for Northeast- and Southern-style entries if anyone else cares to dive into the crab tank.
RAGING CRAB
J.C. "Moto" Muramoto is a food lover open to all experiences in her travels to Las Vegas and California, but it was the hands-on experience at places like The Boiling Crab — a fairly recent phenomenon born in 2004 — that had her and her Raging Crab partner Sean Saiki wondering why no such place existed here.
"Everywhere we went, we knew Hawaii people were going to the same restaurants, so I thought, why not bring it here?"
She said she’s surprised that Raging Crab is now one of three restaurants to open in early summer, but not surprised that each is finding fans having fun casting manners aside, getting messy and eating off the table.
At Raging Crab you’re not only given a bib, but plastic gloves to help keep your hands clean. As if. Not five minutes into the task of peeling apart a Dungeness crab, I had to remove the gloves, which simply got in the way. Even so, other people, like a very tidy couple from Japan seated next to us, were perfectly capable of using the gloves, with only a minimal amount of grease at the fingertips to show for it.
The menu is similar to neighboring Kickin’ Kajun. What’s missing is KK’s impressive oyster selection. Otherwise, you’ll find the expected assortment of Dungeness and blue crabs, king crab and snow crab legs, plus lobster and crawfish, at market prices, served with your choice of Raging Cajun, lemon pepper or garlic butter, or "The Works," a combination of all three.
I happen to think good crab doesn’t need much tampering, so opted for the Dungeness with the works, knowing the shell-protected meat would be fairly pristine and I could use as much or as little of the seasoning as I wanted.
They were out of blue crab, so I also got king crab legs with the appropriately spicy Raging Cajun seasoning, and snow crab legs with lemon butter, the best for those who want to taste the crab. It turns out I should have gotten the Dungeness crab this way, reserving "The Works" for the bland, flavorless snow crab instead.
If you’re picking one fried basket, I really liked the oysters ($10), though only four pieces are offered with the Cajun-spiced fries. And when you’re ordering sausages and see choices of "three or six sausages" on the menu, note that’s per slice, not a whole sausage.
When you’re done, a sink is provided to wash hands, and arms, too.
CRAB CITY
In trying to duplicate the success of JJs Bistro and French Pastry, restaurateur Praseuth Luangkhot tried fusion cuisine by opening J2 Asian Fusion near his original restaurant. It gave way to Le Cacao Bistro, and Luangkhot learned in the process that Hawaii doesn’t need another fusion restaurant or high-end bistro (low-end bistro is another story).
The third time may be the charm with the opening of Crab City, inspired by food trips to San Francisco. "I have a daughter studying there, and she always went to eat crab. I felt like, OK, it’s something different after having a bistro for many years," Luangkhot said.
The formula seems to be working. On a recent visit it was full by 5 p.m. with a line out the door. If you don’t mind the cramped quarters at the oyster bar, you’ll be seated faster.
Crab City makes do with less oil than the other two crab shacks, but that’s all relative for those who just want a little butter with shellfish. In that case you could probably ask for the lemon garlic butter, Cajun and garlic butter on the side as we did when trying to decide whether the "Volcanic" heat level would be too much to handle when drenching our entire order. Our server offered to bring us a small bowl on the side, which worked out well. With its Thai chilies, it was fiery and proved addicting, and I could control the heat.
Otherwise, you’ll find the same offerings of market-price lobster, Dungeness, snow crab and king crab legs. This was the only place that actually had the blue crabs (recently $12.99 per pound) in stock, but because of their small size, there’s not much meat there and are mainly for those who enjoy the viscera.
The king crab legs (recently $23.99 per pound) offer the most meat.
Oysters on the half shell ($15 half dozen) are typically meal starters, but because of a backlog, the Pacific oysters (from San Jose) offered when I was there arrived toward the end of our meal, which turned out well. The taste of ponzu and lime with tobiko and green onions was refreshing after the heaviness of crab, butter, oil and garlic.
Not to mention fry baskets of french fries and salt-pepper calamari ($10.99), the latter too plain and flavorless to match its Chinese restaurant counterparts. Try the hot wings ($8.99) instead, which are none too hot but are served up home style, simply dredged in flour with a little salt, pepper and mild Cajun spices for golden goodness.
I don’t think you’ll leave hungry, but if you want dessert you can just walk over to JJ’s for his wonderful tarts, single-serve cakes and famous chocolate pyramid.
———
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
