Corpus Christi Caller Times Restaurant Review The Crazy Cajun

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Friday, November 12, 1999

The Crazy Cajun
Gumbo, shrimp Creole, dirty rice-a-a-i-i-e-e-e!

Prepare to feast with your hands.
   Rip the beady-eyed heads off boiled shrimp, slam a wooden mallet onto a hard crab leg and shove a tender corn cob to your mouth. It's messy, it's primitive and it's downright good fun and good eatin' - all at the Crazy Cajun.
   The restaurant's interior sets the mood for a casual good time with dark wood-paneled walls covered with memorabilia ranging from a Three Stooges poster to a stuffed bear playing a trumpet. On one wall are flags from colleges such as Baylor and the University of Texas; on another, an open alligator mouth.
   At the far end of the restaurant is a mural depicting a Louisiana swamp, with a man outfitted with thigh-high waders on the prowl for crawfish.
   Butcher paper covers the tables with white plastic utensils and paper napkins tossed on top. A roll of brown paper towels sits on each table, and you'll be grateful to have the extra wipes.
   Our waiter quickly delivered a hot loaf of bread (on a paper towel) and a dollop of butter to spread with the plastic fork. We quickly divided it among us and looked for a main course.
   The menu is a brief sampling of on-the-bayou favorites with seafood gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp Creole and etouffee. The dirty rice here is pretty authentic, with chicken livers, gizzards and fresh ground pork.
   The red beans and rice is one of our favorites with three kinds of beans, smoked sausage, onions, celery, bell peppers and 11 spices giving this dish a smoky, fiery flavor.
   But most popular on the menu is the Hungry Cajun - a $10.95 boiled bonanza that is brought to your table in a stainless steel bowl and dumped on the butcher paper in front of you. Sliding across the paper were a generous number of boiled shrimp (with the heads on), chunks of smoked sausage, two corn cobs, new potatoes and crab legs. When in season, crawfish join the boiling pot party.
   It's hard for boiled food to hang on to much of the added spices, and unfortunately, we only tasted the spicy Cajun salt on the new potatoes. That bit was good and made us wish we had more of it on all of the food.
   The Hungry Cajun was plenty for one person and easily shared with a couple of kids. We noticed a few crumbs around some of the tables and soon added to the mess. Before long, we hardly noticed the shrimp head dangling near the end of the table or that piece of bread on a chair.
   Draft beer is available by the glass or pitcher, with this eatery also offering a number of bottled imported and domestic (including non-alcoholic) beer.
   Dessert doesn't really seem necessary after such a mammoth meal, but the French Silk pie here is delicious. Smooth, dark chocolate topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate didn't last long on our table.
   In fact, nothing lasted too long on our table, a sure sign that we'd thoroughly enjoyed the hands-on feast.

   The Crazy Cajun Seafood Restaurant
   Corner of Beach and Station, Port Aransas
   (361) 749-5069
   Hours: 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Thursday; 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday; noon-10 p.m., Saturday; noon-9 p.m., Sunday.
   Entrees: $4.95-$15.95
   Beer and wine
   Checks: Local only (Port Aransas)
   Food: **
   Service: **
   Atmosphere: **

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