Crustacean

May 13, 2006

Restaurant: Crustacean, 1475 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Price: $$$$

Review: With much anticipation, we arrived at the Crustacean hungry from a long day of walking and window shopping. Our reservation was at 9pm, we showed up at 9pm, and were seated at 9:01pm. We found ourselves in a dimly lit room with a romantic candle on the small, white cloth table. To the left of us was a couple finishing up their meal and to the right sat another couple. We were quite close to them and even engaged in conversation with the couple next to us about what to order, which was helpful, but also slightly deteriorated the romantic atmosphere we were hoping to have.

Service was excellent to a certain extent. Reid definitely felt like there was more attention paid to the couple next to us, probably since we were ordering less than they did. A hostess even brought an appetizer to them instead of us. Yea, Jenny felt the service could definitely have been better. They didn’t do anything wrong specifically, but the overall vibe was not comfortable. Half the dining experience is to not feel like the waiter is hawking you for how much you’re ordering so they’ll have a bigger tip. He definitely was laying on the pressure to order a lot more than we needed.

Another downside was the proximity of the tables. Way too close. This just isn’t exactly great when diners are trying to eat crab where it’s bound to be messy and no one wants to feel self-conscious in front of others by going down and dirty by digging in with their hands. Also, the close proximity did make us realize that we were being discriminated against by the waiter. Anyways, forget all that.

No complains about the food! We started off with a salad – fresh mangos, lettuce, and tomatoes, with a half of a lobster on top. The lobster was fresh and delicious and it was a great complement to all of the salad greens. Then came the main course. A huge, 2 and ½ lb. roasted crab, for each of us! We got bibs to make sure we didn’t dirty our nice clothes and abandoned all silverware once things got messy. The crab itself was delicious. Reid’s never had so much in his life! The roasted crab meant it was softer than normal steamed crab, and smothered with buttery, peppery sauce and spices. Reid admits that the crab was probably too much for him to eat, so perhaps splitting one of these huge things might be better. He could have eaten more, but the crab did get pretty salty by the end. Reid and Jenny also got a bowl of garlic noodles to complement the crab. The garlic noodles were really really good! It definitely paired well with the crab, perhaps the best harmony of Euro-Asian cuisine Reid has experienced to date (i.e. much better than that P.F. Chang’s ho-hum). To finish the night was orange-crème sorbet. It was an excellent choice, providing a sweet taste after the salty crab. The presentation was also very cute – it came in a hollowed out orange. So all in all an excellent meal, but one Reid would caution is one you wouldn’t have every weekend. Perhaps one a year is best. So if you get the craving for crab, come here! He’s unsure if there’s anything else worth coming for (perhaps the noodles, but is that worth the trip?)