The Angry Crab
*This post is being published two years later due to the closing of The Angry Crab between when I visited and drafted this post. They are now open again, so I decided to post this anyway and definitely recommend visiting!*
November 1st, 2015: For Halloween weekend, we took a trip to Chicago and did the standard Halloween night festivities, bar crawl through River North. That night, our friend Nema recommended that we try this new up and coming restaurant called The Angry Crab. It has been mentioned in the Best Cheap Eats Chicago 2016 Michelin Guide so how could I pass up this opportunity?
When you first get to the restaurant, more often than not there is going to be a line. I liked how they use a nifty app for you to put your name down called “The List” where it tells you the place in line you are so you can always leave your name and then go wander around until your table is almost ready. If you really are not up for waiting and want to just get take out to bring back with you, keep in mind that has a 20 min wait.
After about a 15 to 20 min, our names were called and we were taken inside to get seated. The decor was beach themed and the walls were covered in graffiti by all the different customers that have come and gone. The atmosphere was hearty, warm, and loud.
The tables were very simple. A tablecloth that had a protective plastic layer on the bottom of it so it wouldn’t seep through and ruin your cloths and a napkin dispenser (trust me you’ll need this).
Their menu came as a laminated one sheeter with everything listed on it. They had catchy headlines and all the pricing that was market priced (the seafood) would be featured on their big chalkboard. You choose your seafood, and then you choose the type of seasoning that you want along with the level of spice. We opted for the “Bi-Polar” which combined their three main flavorings (lemon pepper, garlic butter, rajun cajun) with a level of “Fe’RoShes Bears” which is a Chicagoan complicated way of saying hot.
If you’re thirsty, make sure you bring your own booze! This place is BYOB but they do offer water and some variety of soft drinks.
To start off we went with the Cajun fries. They were amazing! Imagine garlic fries with a kick. They were fried to perfection with a crispy outer layer and a soft inner layer – perfect crunch bite ratio. This also helped us fend off our hunger while we waited for our other seafood to be prepared, we were STARVING.
Finally the entree was on it’s way! It really didn’t take that long but it always feels like forever when you’re dying from anticipation. We ordered the Shrimp and Snow Crab Legs with sides of Sausage, Corn, and Potato. They even give you a handy dandy crab meat picker to get make sure you get every last ounce.
Everything was exploding with flavor! Perfect balance of spice with savoriness. Don't forget to stay hydrated though, they use a good amount of sodium in the sauce they drown everything in, but boy did I love every moment of it. What can I say? I love saucy things.
Next time we come, we might go all the way and try the “Dan’Jeres Hawks” (Hella Hot) sauce. The "Fe’RoShes Bears” wasn’t as spicy as we hoped, but we do go a little crazy when it comes to spicy foods.
Until next time!
Liv
