Lakara B.
Yelp
They have me in a mental conundrum, so I'ma split the difference and give them a three.
I went in for lunch on a Friday - they open at noon on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'm writing this from the parking lot.
The greeting was awkward. I walked in alone, and although the restaurant was completely empty except for two servers, no one offered to seat me. I had to ask if I could have a seat.
That gave me time to notice a sign advertising their special of the day - Dungeness crabs for $14 a pound. Dungeness crabs are exactly what I was there to eat. I don't mess with blue crabs because they're too much work for too little reward. And snow crabs are just not as delicious.
The menu is pretty simple: Seafood, with a variety of flavors and customizeable spiciness. Seafood combos that include corn or potatoes and there are some fried food options including wings.
I ordered half a pound of Dungeness crabs with their signature Shake Sauce (a delectable combination of Cajun, garlic butter, and lemon pepper), mild with corn, and a fried shrimp basket with sweet potato fries. And an unsweetened iced tea with lemon. The tea was fresh brewed and just right, except I needed more ice.
Unique, my server, was absolutely adorable. Helpful and attentive. She gave me the standard setup of a plate, gloves, bib (hell yes I put it on), wet wipes, shell cracker, and that tiny fork.
My shrimp came out first. 8 fried shrimp and sweet potato fries for $12. They were huge and piping hot, served with garlic sauce and cocktail sauce, and I got honey mustard for my sweet potato fries. I ate one shrimp with the garlic sauce, and a couple fries and it was perrrrfect. I would have eaten more, but I wanted to dig into my crabs.
The crabs came out a little later... There was a steam bag which she placed on my plate. When I opened it, I had to call her back over. They gave me two regular blue crabs split in half. Those tiny things that I refuse to be bothered with. What? Why? Unique took the bag back to the kitchen and I ate another shrimp. Freaking glorious.
She returned a few minutes later explaining that they are Dungeness, but they're small. She was immediately followed by who I assume was a manager repeating the same words that they are Dungeness, but they're small. Why the hell would I order Dungeness if I wanted regular sized crabs? Most of the appeal is that they're huge, so it's easy to get at those huge chunks of sweet, sweet meat.
Anyway, the idea of sending them back and asking for snow crab legs or king crab legs never crossed my mind, and my heart was set on Dungeness crabs, so I decided to relax and eat my baby crabs. It took me almost twenty minutes to get through one half of a crab. I ate the corn - a little overdone - and had the rest packed up to go home. I'll give them to my niece and nephew.
The food is absolutely delicious, and I was thoroughly disappointed. Also turns out they gave me a full pound, so my lunch ran me $37 including the tip.