The Crab Pit

April 28, 2010

Inglewood, California – Here’s yet another place that’s been on my ‘must try’ list for several years. I’ve passed by it dozens of times and even been invited to this eatery for lunch. But I just never made it by – until today.

The restaurant fronts a tiny, and I do mean tiny strip mall. Parking is very limited. Stalls are shoehorned into a tight area and that includes negotiating a 90-degreee left turn inside the lot. Ok, now that you’re parked, let’s go inside.

You can enter from either the back entrance accessible from the parking lot, or from the front. If you come in through the front, you’ll notice a dining area on the patio with five concrete tables sitting on steel posts. Open the door and it looks like you’ve stepped into a different town. The eatery has a Southern vibe and fits in perfectly with the funk of the neighborhood.

Inside, enjoy the figurines, crab, and other objects d’art. Hanging from the ceiling you’ll find several signs touting TCP’s fare. Look for the pirate flag and the “Crab Crossing” signs. On the west wall hang the requisite autographed celebrity photographs. If you get there at the right time, you’ll find a table with jewelry for sale. There are two old analog televisions on opposing walls.

Make your way on back to the counter and place your order. The lady behind the counter was very friendly and explained some of the items offered on the menu. If it is not crowded, you can dine at one of the four tables inside. And if you do choose to dine in, you’ll be served your meal in boat-shaped dishes. (I got mine to go so I didn’t get to experience that part.)

One thing I like about going to restaurants at off hours is being able to speak to the owners and servers. Today we talked about the different types of crab they had available. They serve gumbo, too. I’ve come to love king crab. As you know, this species is very expensive so I have to be selective about when and where I order it. (A tip of the hat to the people up in Alaska who risk their lives to catch it for us.) What sealed the deal for me this time was the fact that TCP offers theirs barbecued. My server pointed out that barbecued, here at TCP, meant barbecue seasoning, not that it was cooked over a pit. (Ok, I’ll give you that one; the word ‘pit’ is in the name, but it’s a different kind of pit.) It is “done our way,” my server told me.

Today my order consisted of the aforementioned bbq king crab (are you drooling yet? I am). For sides, garlic bread and garlic herb rice. Rounding out my order today was a Killer Shrimp Taco, and a La Faja Honey Punch. I had never heard of this beverage but it sounded interesting. My server said it was good. Might be worth trying, so I ordered it.

It takes a little while to prepare your order so a dose of patience is required. Have a seat and visit with friends or watch the TV while you wait. If you’re going to be ordering to go, call ahead. While I waited, I browsed through the jewelry that was on the table and then watched a little TV. When my order came up, I thanked my server and headed off on my way.

When I arrived home, I couldn’t wait to dig in. Hold on; let me back up a bit. I ate the shrimp taco in the car right there in the parking lot. It never made it home; it never had a chance. It just smelled too good. The shell was a corn tortilla fried into a taco shell. Because it was fried, it was also greasy. No biggie. A couple of napkins took care of that problem. Plenty of shrimp inside the taco. The shrimp, too, was fried. But TCP didn’t ‘overfry’ the shrimp; it still kept its shrimp flavor. That flavor did get buried in the greasiness of the shell, though. On top you have lettuce, two types of grated cheese, chunks of tomato, green onion, and olives. The toppings also pummeled the shrimp taste. TCP gives you a packet of taco sauce but I didn’t use it. What I really wanted was some hot sauce. But since I had already left the eatery and was well into the taco, I just kept on eating. The whole thing was a bit salty and even though the taste of the shrimp got lost in the rest of the taco, it was still pretty darn good. In fact, after I polished it off, I regretted that I hadn’t ordered two of them.

Everything else was packed well, as you can see from the photo. Once I finally got everything unwrapped, I dug in. The French bread was toasted with garlic butter and I think a bit of parsley. It tasted buttery and salty. Yep, salty bread. A bit too salty for my taste. Did TCP use garlic salt on the bread? The rice, as you can see, was topped with herbs. Which infiltrated the taste of the rice. This would have been a good thing had the herbs not tasted old, as in not fresh. It tasted almost as if they had been sitting in a jar on a shelf somewhere for a long time. They had long since lost their savor and really negatively affected the taste of the rice. I had already mixed the herbs in so there was no way to separate them now. The corn was nicely buttered but was overcooked. Good, but still overcooked. Not much else to say about it.

For the main event I decided to take the shell off the legs first and then reward myself later with a plate full of shell-less meat. Forget about instant gratification because you’re gonna be working on these legs for a while. Anticipation will build but enjoying the fruits of your labor afterward will be worth it. TCP didn’t try to cheat on the portions; almost half a crab minus the body. The crab was cooked well so the shell was softened, making it easy to crack and remove the succulent meat inside. Be careful with the spines.

Now I’ve got all the prized meat out of the shell. The butter has been waiting patiently on the side for me to start dipping. But first, a taste of the crab. The bbq seasoning comes through immediately. The only thing that detracted from the taste was the very present ‘fishy’ flavor. A squeeze of lemon and a dip into the butter helped cut the taste of the ocean in my crab. Then it reminded me of a good old-fashioned crab boil. Working with the crab was a very messy affair but then again, aren’t most crab boils? The crab was thoroughly seasoned. You can taste the seasoning in every bite. I was really enjoying this part of the meal. The fact that there was a lot of crab made it even better.

To wash it down, I opened the honey punch. I really didn’t know what to expect here. The bottle says it contains apple, orange, lemon, strawberry, and pineapple juices, plus honey. I was thinking it would be some sort of health drink. I took a sip. It had the consistency of a smoothie. The different fruit juices mixed in the drink flashed across my taste buds too quickly to identify individually. Through the various fruit juices should’ve been ticketed for speeding in my mouth, fruit juice is definitely in the house. After swallowing, the honey flavor was last to cross my palate. And it lingered for a while. Not sweet at all but a definite honey flavor. I think I like this!

The Crab Pit has a selection of desserts but I didn’t even look into those. Maybe next time. Next time, though, I will have to try those Killer Turkey Tacos I keep hearing so much about. The way things have been going, it’ll probably be a spur-of-the-moment trip but I will be looking forward to it. Stop by if you’re in the area and are up for a different take on crab and shrimp.

The Crab Pit – 3 forks. Recommended. Note that they close kinda early; 6:30pm on weeknights. More photos of The Crab Pit can be found on LA Taco’s review.

Update: Sadly, The Crab Pit closed down not too long after this review was originally posted.