Grilled Asian chili Branzino
Lobster Mozza
Cajun seafood platter
More Cajun seafood platter
More lobster Mozza.
Crawfish fettuccine.
It’s been quite the hectic week already. DineLA Week restaurants seem to just get better and better, the more of them we visit.
Tuesday brought us to Beer & Claw, which, for Cajun seafood lovers, could just be a dream come true. Allow us to set the stage:
We had previously visited Yuzu Shabu, owned by brothers Edward and David Liu, where the table groaned with ingredients to drop into a steaming hot pot of miso broth and ramen broth. That was a bridge too far. As delicious as it was, there was no way I was going to finish everything that was brought to the table.
Now, Beer & Claw inadvertently just did them one better.
Arriving promptly at our appointed time, the waitress seated us, brought water, and vanished. We occupied ourselves with our electronic devices for about ten minutes. As I looked up and around, I began to wonder why, as the only customers in the place, (it was early), we were still not served.
And then the onslaught began.
The waitress arrived with something called LobstaMozz. This is a whole Maine lobster, halved and served over hand-cut Kennebec fries. And then the entire love affair is smothered in Mozzarella cheese. Yes, it is as fantastic and scary and beautiful as it sounds.
While we grappled with the various tools and equipment to lead our lobster expedition, a Cajun seafood platter “for one” arrived.
I think “one” is relative.
The platter was piled high with Dungeness crab, shrimp, mussels, crawfish and clams all Wok-ed out in their signature cajun sauce. I had barely begun the lobster affair.
Kitchen scissors and lobster tools in hand, I managed to begin the process of securing the lobster meat from the oversized claws, while reaching for the occasional mussel and shrimp from the Cajun platter.
As I began to make purchase from the claws, another dish was arriving. This would be the Crawfish Fettucine—fresh shucked crawfish tail meat, sauteed in a Cajun alfredo sauce, over a bed of fettuccine noodles.
Anyone of these meals would be an achievement, for the server and the diner, but yes, there was more. A grilled Asian Chili Branzino was then delivered.
“Um, stop,” I laughed. “This is more than enough.”
“Yes, don’t worry, “ she said. “That’s all of it.”
What I came to realize was that the $55 DineLA dinner I was just served comes with a choice of the four entrees just outlined. They had served me one of each. The amount of food was astonishing, and all of it great.
Any one of the entrees would have been more than enough. But by then I had managed to excavate the lobster, drawing out a huge section of lobster meat, which I enjoyed very, very slowly.
Two of the entrees were simply boxed up to be transported by personal vehicle to my modest home, but as the waitress explained, there was still dessert to come. I passed.
Should you not pass on dessert, the DineLA meal comes with a choice of three desserts—Tiramisu, Bananas Foster cheesecake, and a chocolate lava cake. While I was simply too comatose to have another bite, I’m quite sure, had I asked, they would have brought one of each to the table.
Let’s review, eaters: Four choices. Pick one, and an appetizer. And as impossible as it sounds, each of the DineLA meals in each of the participating restaurants are for one, not for sharing.
Be hungry. Be very hungry.
Beer & Claw is at 61 South Fair Oaks Avenue, Suite 130, Pasadena (626) 460-8511. www.beerandclaw.com.
