The Kickin' Crab (San Jose, CA)
8:30:00 AM
Angry Sea Gods Wreaking Havoc
I’m going to start this story off by saying that I was trapped on the light rail, stuck at the Civic Center Station, not that far away from the one I boarded.
What happened?
Disclaimer: If you read the Jastea blog post, this is simply a continuation of the same tale with more in depth bits for your reading pleasure. After all, it’s always fun reading about somebody else’s travel horror stories-- as long as it’s not happening to you.
I left the office early that afternoon because I was planning on meeting up with PC and YL at The Kickin’ Crab for an early dinner. If everything went according to plan, I would’ve gotten to The Kickin’ Crab before 6.
Instead, I boarded the train and was on my merry way when it stopped at the Civic Center Station and they said that there was a blockage near Brokaw, which meant that the light rail will be delayed until it was cleared.
This inevitably shifted my plans about an hour forward. The tracks were freed up around 5:50 and by then, the lack of ongoing trains meant a ridiculous pile up in terms of commuters. Not only was I now stuck on the train making my way to the Cropley station, I was stuck on the train full of smelly people.
I don’t mean to insult anybody, but this problem simply arise when you cram a lot of people in a tight space and they’re lifting their arms up to hold the handles.
After being on the train for close to 2 hours now, I got deposited at the Cropley station at about 6:40.
I understand these things happen, but why THAT DAY of all days?! Did I anger the sea gods somewhere and they decided to mess around with my sanity levels before dropping me off?
Because I was not a happy camper when I greeted PC and YL inside the restaurant.
[Cue angry Amy]
However, lets get down to the good bits. You’re here for the food, not for my pain and suffer-- or maybe a little of both.
Look Away Sebastian. Swim Away Flounder
Random Question: what do mermaids eat? Is Ariel vegetarian? Or does she eat… sea creatures?
When I arrived, it was already jam packed with people waiting outside and people eating inside. Thankfully PC and YL arrived earlier than me and already put our name on the list. We got seated quickly and were handed lobster bibs.
I knew things could potentially get messy, but really? Just for kicks, I tied it around my neck, but sure enough the bib was a life saver. After eating, I examined the “aftermath” and sure enough there was kickin’ style sauce on my bib and not my clothes-- thankfully.
For all those unfamiliar with The Kickin’ Crab, it’s essentially a continuous crawfish boil party. You take all the ingredients that make up a great crawfish boil, add in your sauce of choice and set it up in a restaurant catering to the younger food-obsessed generation. BAM! You have a successful franchise.
Much like Boiling Crab, Kickin’ Crab is known to have an insane wait during peak hours.
The menu is simple. You take your pick between crawfish, shrimp, mussels, clams, crab and etc., pick your sauce, pick your spice level and everything is brought to you in a plastic bag.
Seasoning wise, you can choose from the following:
- Lemon Pepper
- Cajun
- Louisiana
- Garlic Butter
- Kickin’ Style (all of the above)
After that, all you have to do is dig in. And keep the napkins close by because you’ll need it.
We started out with a pound of shrimp and a pound of clams with garlic noodles and 6 pieces of sausages. We ended up ordering another pound of clams and the fried oysters.
The shrimp come whole and you’ll need to take apart the head and the shells. They require a bit of work, but what’s the fun if you don’t get down and dirty with your food? The clams are easiest to eat, but you do get a fair amount of shells that are empty because the clams fall off the shells. The Kickin’ Sauce is fantastic and they don’t skimp on the garlic. We got everything mild, but if you’re a big fan of spicy food, you can definitely ramp it up to “spicy spicy.”
I love the garlic noodles. They’re a great way to fill up on carbs instead of just feasting on seafood.
Everything is MSG galore so your throat will be protesting after this. Just a heads-up for all those people out there with a sensitivity to MSG.
If you come in a large group, you might just opt for the combos that they have available.
And after you waited in line for god knows how long and finish wrangling the shrimps, crawfish, crab legs and etc., do you know what’s the worst thing of all?
It’s the parking. Parking will drive you nuts in this plaza.
The Kickin’ Crab or The Boiling Crab? What’s your favorite? Or do you have one that’s neither? If so, where?
2675 Cropley Ave.
San Jose, 95132
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