July 20, 2010

Joe’s Crab Shack

joes crab shack

After driving twenty seven miles from North Miami Beach heading north to Lauderhill, we arrived at Joe’s Crab Shack. As I sat my friends knew exactly what they wanted to eat; I was busy looking at all of their interior decorations; I noticed every wall had hundreds of pictures, frames, sayings, items, anything and everything you can possibly mount on a wall. I bet children would love to see this place; there is so much going on, from the life-size great white shark to the twilights to the employees dancing, and for adults a chance to sit back and wait for the feast. The place feels a bit quirky. As we ate, a staff member announced something we couldn’t understand, then all servers stopped what they were doing and gathered together. For a moment we looked at each other waiting to distinguish what was happening. Next, they started dancing. I beg your pardon?? Any refill, any melted butter or fork you may need had to wait until the Car Wash song finished. It made our dining experience highly hilarious and thrilling. The best part, all the staff had big smiles and were laughing as they danced. I asked the server if it was a requirement to learn the steps in order to work here and she replied with a bright smile. Quirky! Let’s begin with the Seafood Feast!!!

As the server removed the lids from the pots, the first fishy catches you see are these orange spiky pointy legs, a scary movie for a small child, but a delight for adults. Joe’s Classic Streampot has Dungeness crab, snow crab, shrimp, sausages corn, and potatoes at $21.49 and with additional cost, a lobster. Every item in these pots, was incredibly juicy to my surprise. The Dungeness crab is a West Coast Crab weighing 1 ½ to 4 Ib. The snow crab is smaller than the king crab, and has sweeter meat.

The Ragin’ Cajun has Dungeness crab, shrimp, sausage, corn potatoes at $24.49. I sat back and watched my friends eat in silence, searching for a hidden piece of meat. They were so concentrated, their eyes and fingers searching for treasures undisclosed in the pot, a sight I have never seen. Their backs arched, their fingers penetrating, discovering, dipping every white gold meat in melted butter. I enjoyed watching them working in silence devouring their meals, and while building their trash bucket. I adore watching people eat with pleasure.

The restaurant also has a gift shop with eccentric shirts featuring slogans like “Crabby like Daddy” or “Don’t Be A Shellfish”. Today, Joe’s Crab Shack is in 28 states and over 100 restaurants. We don’t mind driving to Lauderhill for a fresh catch. I really enjoyed the staffs spark, smiles, and entertaining acts that can lighten anyone’s today. If you are feeling crabby, have a crab and crab a beer.