Restaurant Review: Joe’s Crab Shack in Mission Valley

This review was the result of a completely unplanned night out.  After a horrible week at home, he offered to take her out on a real “date” last Saturday.  The only problem was, every place we wanted to go had an hour-long wait.  We stuck our heads into a couple of restaurants, only to find we’d be last in a long line, and he was getting frustrated.  Driving toward home, we passed Hazard Center.  With his trusty Entertainment Book in hand, he exclaimed that there was a coupon for Joe’s Crab Shack – would she like to go?

We’d been there once before, years ago, when we were first dating.  It’s certainly neither of our ideas of a romantic place.  However, we were hungry and tired, and there was no line.  So we decided it was worth a shot.

As a general rule, we wouldn’t write a review in a situation like that.  But when the meal was as amazing as ours, we can’t help ourselves.

We used his Entertainment Book coupon (more on those later) to get a free appetizer – a crab cake, full of large chunks of sweet crab meat.  It was only one cake, so at $8.50, it wasn’t precisely cheap.  But we don’t often come across cakes made from anything other than tiny shredded pieces of crab, so we had to try it.  We weren’t disappointed.  Our only complaint was that it seemed that someone dumped a little too much spicy seasoning on the top of the crab cake.  When paired with the spicy aioli only, it was far too hot for our taste.  However, as she pointed out, rarely does a dish come with a salad on its plate unless it is meant to be eaten together – and the accompanying slaw helped to balance out the heat.

We also ordered a cocktail – one of their signature ones made with coconut rum.  Our only very minor beef with it was that it was supposed to be made with cranberry juice and we think it was left out – it was incredibly sweet.  But of course, it too helped balance out the heat of the crabcake, and it was nearly gone by the time our meal came.

And what a meal it was!  We ordered a bucket-for-two steampot, with garlic herb flavor.  We could not believe how huge it was – the legs of one whole snow crab and at least a whole Dungeoness, twelve shrimp, two large links of sausage, four potatoes, and two pieces of corn on the cob, all with lots of melted butter.  And the food!  Both agreed that the crab was the single best crab meal we’d ever had – it was fresh-tasting and exceedingly well-cooked, not at all rubbery or fishy.  The shrimp was juicy and flavorful – and we’ve both eaten plenty of dessicated shrimp meals out in higher-priced restaurants than this.  The potatoes and corn were both overcooked, and the sausage was just okay (although he reccommends trying a piece of sausage with a piece of shrimp in the same bite).  But even two days later, when eaten as leftovers, the crab was so incredibly good that we couldn’t help but wonder if we could get their secret.

The moral of the story?  If you want a good meal, you might just be able to find one where you least expect it.  And if you’re feeling like a nice crab supper, stop by Joe’s Crab Shack.  It’s a funny name and it’s certainly no five-star environment (the resin-topped tables each are decorated with slightly off-color pictures, and the waitresses walk around in shirts saying things like “The waitress gave me crabs at Joe’s Crab Shack”, the music is turned up once each hour for the wait staff to do a dance for the crowd, and they tie plastic bibs on everyone before you’re given your meal).  But the bottom line is that the food is extremely good, plentiful, and inexpensive for what you get.  Enjoy!

Microwave Baking?

On a whim, she decided to check out “quick and easy cake” recipes.  She was looking for something interesting to do during the vacation.  She stumbled on some microwave cake recipes, an idea that had never crossed her mind.  Of course, she had to take the opportunity to try something new, especially since the website said that cakes baked in this way had a delicate texture.

Mixing together sugar, egg, and flavoring, and adding flour, was easy enough.  As was microwaving the cake for a few minutes (though she’ll admit to having cut the recipe and not the cooking time, so she burned the first cake).  The cake was soft, as though it were an English steamed pudding.  Then as it cooled, it became chewy.

But she figured she’d try it anyway.  And at least now she can say she’s tried it.  But since it was made with egg as the only leavening and the only wetting agent, it tasted far too eggy – almost custardy – and since there was almost as much sugar in the recipe as flour, it was quite sweet.

Still, the idea of baking cakes or breads in the microwave – which takes about a tenth of the time – is intriguing.  Perhaps she’ll experiment.

Mini-Review/Warning: Black Angus

For anyone who has ever gone out to dinner with family members, we offer this warning: Black Angus is not on the top of our list. They offer fabulous coupons (hello? four course dinner for two for $37?) and, as long as you stay away from their seafood, have quite decent food.

However…

We have now been to two separate locations with two different party sizes (ranging from four to eight) and have had the same result: a long wait for food that wasn’t worth it, in the end.

The first time, we ended up waiting over fifteen minutes for WATER. The second, the child in our group finished his entire plate (cheese pizza, carrots, and, inexplicably, french fries) before any of the adults received our entrees.

If you have a lot of extra time and don’t mind being completely ignored, certainly go ahead. But don’t say we didn’t warn you.