Alligator tastes like chicken with hints of beef and fish

When Elvis Hoang, one of the owners of the Arena 808 Sports Lounge, heard they would have alligator on the pupu menu, he was skeptical.

“It was crazy. At first it was like, alligator meat? Really?” Hoang said.

His first taste of the meat didn’t go well.

“I tried the boiled one first,” Hoang said. “When you boil it, it’s a little more chewy, the meat, and more strong, the flavor. … It was actually, ho man, this flavor is very, very strong. So I was like, I don’t know.”

Then he tried it battered in cornmeal, deep-fried and tossed in Cajun seasonings.

Now it’s a best-seller at the bar and restaurant on Keeaumoku Street, which features an eclectic menu of Vietnamese, Korean and local items. The dish is a leftover from the bar’s previous incarnation as Crab Bucket, a Cajun seafood restaurant.

“Everybody wants to try alligator,” he said.

The fried alligator, shipped in from a farm in Louisiana, looks a little like chicken karaage with specks of red peppers. The Cajun seasoning is mildly spicy. If you want it really spicy, ask for it to be tossed in cayenne pepper.

It may sound cliche, but fried alligator tastes like chicken, although the texture and chewiness is more like pork or beef. There’s also a slight fishy aftertaste.

A plate costs $15 and is served with ranch dressing. I tried it with and without the dressing, which cuts its oiliness. I liked it better without the dressing.

If you didn’t know it was alligator, you might think you were eating spicy chicken nuggets.

Throw in some beer and a football game (University of Florida, perhaps?) on one of the big-screen television sets, and a plate of alligator won’t last past halftime.

Web producer Craig Gima tries out new foods in a video and print series every other Wednesday. Dare him to try a really scary food: cgima@staradvertiser.com.