Few things make a food lover happier than discovering a little gem in an unexpected place. A Cajun restaurant in the heart of San Jose’s Saigon Business District (Little Saigon, if you prefer) would qualify.
An extension of a trend that started in Louisiana then spread to Southern California, Vietnamese-owned crawfish joints are creeping into the South Bay. One could credit the cultural cross-pollination to the tradition of Vietnamese fishermen working the Gulf Coast, but Tom Nguyen has an easier explanation: Asians like their seafood, and if it’s spicy, all the better.
In the family of crustaceans, crawfish are a poor, backwoods cousin. They’re often seen as too swampy-tasting, too much work for too little payoff. Forget all that.
Granted, a good deal of cracking and peeling is involved, but once the succulent morsel of tail meat is eaten, the labor tends to be forgiven.
At Crawdaddy, owned by Nguyen’s son Thai, crawfish, crab and shrimp are sold by the pound, and brought to the table in a steamy plastic bag. The wafting aroma made the freshness of the crawfish ($10.88 per pound) obvious – Nguyen says he’ll close the doors before resorting to frozen. The accompanying sauce, deeply flavorful with cayenne, butter and whole cloves of garlic, exponentially boosted the flavor of the seafood, and made sucking out the heads wholly necessary. The only nods to the Nguyens’ heritage were the optional lime wedges and salt-pepper mix, which brought a nice sharpness to the party.
Delectable as the crawfish are, heartier appetites will probably need a bit more substance. A hot link or two, tossed into the bag for 50 cents each, is a good choice. Corn on the cob (also 50 cents) didn’t fare as well, being out-of-season.
Mudbugs not your thing? Nearly as good was the fried catfish ($9.88), four hearty, grease-free portions encased in a crunchy cornmeal crust. Though a tad salty, the mild filets were moist and flaky, and the exterior remained crisp, even after sitting in a take-out container for an hour.
Crawdaddy
779 Story Road, #1 (between Roberts and Lucretia avenues), San Jose. (408) 286-2729
Hours: 3-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Types of food: Crawfish, crab, shrimp, catfish and oysters, boiled and/or fried
Average meal price: About $14
Good choices: Shellfish boils, crawfish (medium spiciness was enough to get a good sweat going), fried catfish
Not recommended: Wearing fine white garments
Attitude: Welcoming, helpful to newcomers
Amenities: Plastic bibs, roll of paper towels (you’ll need both)
Credit cards: Yes.
Parking: Huge Wal-Mart lot
Restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously. The Mercury News pays for all meals.
Contact Steven Chae at schae@mercurynews.com
