The Good Grub
 
The Boiling Crab
1st word ... Shrimp.  2nd word ... Bag.  3rd word ... Holy-freaking-flavor-explosion.  Seriously ... how have I survived this long without throwing a pound of boiled shrimp in a bag, adding to it a couple of ears of corn and a few hot-links, and dousing it all with an amazing spicy-cajun-sauce?  So when my Grub buddy T told us about The Boiling Crab, it wasn't a matter of when I'd go there ... but more a question of how many people I'd knock down as I barreled through anyone in my path.  Let's just say this ... it was a pretty unique experience and it definitely lived up to the hype.  You get this bag ... loaded with goodies from the sea ... you get to dump it all onto a table covered in wax paper ... and then dig into it like a pack of wild dogs ... starving wild dogs.  And these aren't your average shrimp either ... they're the real deal ... heads and all.  Sure I was a little hesitant at first ... but after a couple of those burst-in-your-mouth taste bombs, I was ready to go Yao Ming on those little suckers.  We started the meal off with some moist, fire-cracker-hot-wings and super-cajun-battered fries ... amazing.  But hang on to a couple of of those fries to dip straight into the bag.  Oh yes ... the bag.  Filled with shrimp and bursting with flavor.  But equally amazing was the corn soaking up all the juices from the spicy cajun "gravy" as T likes to call it.  Forget corn on the cob ... it's all about corn in the bag ... bathed in spices.   The lunch was awe-inspiring ... but what could make this day any better?  Well queue up Mark F. and Linda D. and their suggestion for dinner that very night of an almost carbon copy of The Boiling Crab known as The Boat House ... So you know what I say? ...  Bring on the double decker shrimp-boil grub-fest.  The Lakers in 2010 ... Clinton in 1996 ... two people trying to figure out who's taller ... it's all about the back-to-back.  Still full from lunch, but tickled at the prospect of doing a Good Grub throw-down ... I loaded up my camera and headed back into the ring to do battle once again.  This round we brought in a secret weapon that The Boiling Crab didn't allow ... the bring your own French roll.  For me, this was the x-factor.  We stopped by a local Vietnamese bakery on the way ... and thank goodness for imperialism ... were delighted with some soft baked French bread, prefect to dip into the bag and make sure we left no juice behind.  There definitely were subtle differences between the flavors at the two places, with maybe a slight edge going to The Boiling Crab ... but truthfully, both were amazing.  I guess it just comes down to a lesson taught by a couple of African American orphans and a generous older white guy ... It takes different strokes to move the world. (I dare you to watch that video and not feel dirty ... How can a rich dude lure a couple of kids into his limo and not be up to something bad?)  But we digress back to the deliciousness ... and that's exactly what it was ... a day that shall live in Grub-infamy.  Sure The Boat House is probably ripping off the concept behind The Boiling Crab ... but who am I to get upset when it brings more belly-satisfying-GRUB into the world.  So pick a spot and hit it up, or pull off the back-to-back, whatever you do ... just go grab a bag of shrimp and bring on the happy.