Boiling Crab vs. The Bucket Crabs and Crawfish

In California, there has been a rise in the Cajun Seafood arena. The funny thing is, they’re not run by Cajuns. Most in our area are Asian owned, but don’t let that stop you. The king of them all around here is “Boiling Crab”. Every time another a place opens it’s automatically compared to Boiling Crab. I believe they are 9 in the state of California, and a few in Texas.

I have been to few to also compare them to the king. So far the only thing the other places have are shorter lines. There was a couple that weren’t bad, but only one I really liked was “Dang Crab”.

I thought that Dang was a great name for the place, but I was informed that it was the families last name. All around I would go back to their place.

Now for the latest challenger to the crown.

The Bucket Crabs and Crawfish joint in Norwalk, Ca. was up next for the trial of worthiness.

When you walk in the place it looks like a mini BC. The writing on the walls, little yellow menus, and the I think we may be in New Orleans motif would make you think you were a county away. If you were there you’d still be line for another hour and a half.

We’re not here to judge by what we see, but what we taste. We started off with appetizers: calamari and chicken wings.

The appetizers were pretty good. The chicken had a good batter with a little sweetness. The calamari was more of a Italian seasoning flavor. The calamari was really tender and both were worth getting.

My girlfriend ordered the fried shrimp. Looked better than they were.

Almost looked like a tempura batter, but there was no flavor and nothing special. Save your $10.00…

A good thing here is, you can order bread. Little loafs brought hot to your table. Great for dipping or make yourself a poor boy.

I ordered the Duo which was a lb. of shrimp and a lb. of king crab. The first thing you notice is the sauce is thicker, where BC is a more oil base sauce. Looks and smells good when you open the bag with all the tidbits of garlic and herbs. Now for the first bite…

I must admit it was better than I thought. The big difference is TBCaC uses a tomato base sauce which makes it have a sweeter taste. That’s basically the only thing different, but it makes the difference enough to notice. So now it’s easier to choose who you like more.

As far as my taste goes, my vote is still with Boiling Crab. I think it was the tomato base that swayed my vote.

Does The Bucket fall under the category of “come her for the shorter lines”? I wouldn’t go that far. Others may like the tomato base sauce and you would probably love this place. I would come with friends, but overall considering the whole menu, I would go to Boiling Crab.