Boiling Crab

       In recent years, Boiling Crab has become a popular restaurant destination in the Bay Area. Since my senior year of high school, I remember hearing my friends talk about a really good seafood place that was somewhere in San Jose. They would always tell me about how good the food was such as the shrimp, fries and crab. Sometimes, my friends would also talk about how they would have to wait in line for an hour or more just to eat there because it was just THAT good. This past year, a new Boiling Crab location had opened up at the Plant on 71 Curtner Avenue Suite 20. The first Boiling Crab that opened up in San Jose is located on 1631 East Capitol Expressway.  At both locations, the restaurant is open 7 days a week, Mon-Fri from 3pm to 10 pm and Sat-Sun from 12pm to 10pm. Although I have not been to the original Boiling Crab on Capitol, that my friends were talking about, I have been able to go to the one at the Plant a number of times since it has opened. For this review, I will only be basing my opinions and critiques on my experience at the Boiling Crab location at the Plant.

       The first time I went to Boiling Crab, my brother treated me and my parents out for dinner. Upon entering Boiling Crab, you will notice many decorations inside. The theme of the restaurant is based around a fishing boat. There were fishing nets, fake fish, boats and many other decorations on the walls and ceilings. The walls and floors of the restaurant were all made out of wood to make you feel like you were eating on a boat. One thing that is unique about the wooden walls is that customers can write on any part of any wall with a sharpie or pen. For me, when I first saw a bunch of scribbles all over the wall, I thought it was random graffiti or a wall design. But as I looked closer, I could see people’s names, random quotes, pictures, etc. that people had written and drawn. Not only was the place decorated with fishing decorations and such but there were also multiple flat screen TVs stationed around the restaurant which usually played sports programs. The restaurant is a good place to take your family, a group of friends, or a date to either dine-in or take out. Even though the place itself isn’t that big it can still seat around 100 to150 people. But since the restaurant isn’t able to seat a lot of people at once, it does affect the wait time. Luckily, when my family and I went, we got there 20 minutes before it opened so we didn’t have to wait in line.

       One of the things Boiling Crab is most known for is how they serve their food. Once your party is seated at a table or booth, the waiter gives you either limes or lemons and a couple plastic containers that have salt and pepper in them. With those ingredients you can choose to mix the lime/lemon into the container to make a dipping sauce for your food. Before you even order your food, there is only a white paper table cloth and napkins/paper towels on your table. Right before they serve you the food, they tie a plastic bib, with the  Boiling Crab logo, on each person at the table. At the Boiling Crab, they do not give you any utensils, plates, or bowls to eat your food with unless you ask the waiter for some. The reason behind not giving you any utensils or plates to eat with is because dun dun dun…. you get to eat with your hands!!! The whole table is basically your plate, so all of your dirty napkins and food that you are throwing away is left on the table and when you’re done eating the waiter/bus boy will make a sack out of the paper table cloth and throw it all out. Of course, I have seen some first-time customers who do not like eating with their hands so they end up asking for utensils because of sanitary reasons, table etiquette or any other explanation. For me, I think that eating the food with your hands gives you a whole different experience because there are not many, if ANY casual restaurants like Boiling Crab that give you the opportunity to do that. I like the feeling of being able to touch my food especially if I am eating seafood such as shrimp, crab or lobster. I find it to be sort of fun tearing everything apart trying to get all the meat inside. Like myself, my family had no problem eating without any plates or utensils.
       When you look through the menu, you will find a variety of seafood as well as other extras. They not only serve different types of crab, but they also serve other types of seafood like shrimp, clams, and crawfish. With every order, you can pick a certain type of seasoning to go with your food. There are four types of seasonings which are rajun cajun (original), lemon pepper, garlic butter, and the whole sha-bang (which is all the seasonings in one). With every seasoning, you can also choose how spicy you want it to taste. The different levels of spiciness are non spicy, milk, med, and xxx. That seasoning will be mixed with your food in a clear plastic bag. The various sauces that your food is prepared in is what makes Boiling Crab unique from any other seafood restaurants. Also featured in the menu is a selection of fried foods and side orders. Among the fried foods are dishes such as fried shrimp, chicken tenders, and hot wings. There are also many side orders to choose from such as gumbo, sausages, steamed rice, and extra condiments. In addition, Boiling Crab also provides its customers with one size free soda refills. They not only serve soda but also water and alcohol.

The night my brother took my family out for dinner, we ordered a couple pounds of shrimp, blue crab, an order of snow crab legs and crawfish, chicken tenders, cajun fries and sweet potato fries. With our seafood orders we picked a seasoning and how spicy we wanted it to taste. For the shrimp we chose the whole sha-bang mild, for the snow crabs we chose lemon pepper non spicy, and for the crawfish and blue crab we chose garlic butter mild and non spicy respectively. In my opinion, I thought everything was DELICIOUS. All of the seafood was cooked thoroughly, the two fries were very tasty, and the chicken tenders were crispy and appetizing. All in all, I would rate Boiling Crab a 4.5 out of 5 compared to Yelp’s 3.5 out of 5 star rating. The only reason why I wouldn’t give it a 5 out of 5 is because it is a bit on the pricey side. But considering the friendly and casual atmosphere of the restaurant, the unique dining experience, how good the food tastes, and the helpful staff it is worth the price. Even though it is pricey, I would highly recommend Boiling Crab to any seafood lovers out there and any people who have never tried seafood before. The dining experience and the food are well worth one’s time and money.