The Boiling Crab

The Boiling Crab is really a no-nonsense place; there are no dishes or utensils. You get a bag filled with your seafood of choice, sauce, and various add-ins. Everything you order, except fries, goes into the bag so it's all drenched in that wonderful, flavorful sauce.

Since seafood is charged by weight, I recommend getting shrimp--you get more meat for the price because the shell is lighter than that of crab or lobster. You have a choice between four sauces: cajun, garlic, lemon butter, or all three mixed together ("The Whole Sha-Bang"). We all got the latter, because why pick between three great things when you can get all of them? I highly recommend getting the sausage and corn, which come in the bag. The sausage seems like an odd addition, but it's moist and not too salty, and goes really great with the sauce. The corn, on the other hand, I wish I got more of. It's just the best corn on the cob you'll have, soaked in cajun butter garlic sauce.

Sorry I didn't take more pictures; once you get your hands
dirty, there's no going back.

The key to being dignified here is to realize that this is not the time nor place to be pretty. You have to wear machine-washable, dark-colored clothes. You must tie your hair into a tight bun--use as many bobby pins as you need; it should not be able to move. And you should probably not wear makeup, because juices and sauce will most definitely fly into your face. I made the mistake of wearing a full face of makeup and a red sundress, and I walked out with sauce on my arms and cheeks.

I love that this place doesn't just have great food, but is also an eating experience; there's nothing more memorable than eating with your hands and getting shrimp juice in your eye. The Boiling Crab is best when you go with a small-ish group of people with a good sense of humor; do not go with high-maintenance girls. Guys should only bring a girl who will peel her own shrimp.

The Boiling Crab
http://www.theboilingcrab.com/
Various locations