Cray-zy for Cray Kitchen + Bar
Kev and Bill are back at it. This time with a dining pass to Cray Kitchen + Bar that includes a 1-pound Southern Boil with 1/2 pound of shrimp and a 1/2 pound of crawfish; 2 fried oysters; 3 cod nuggets; and a basket of fries. I was able to preview the deal on Monday night and I took my friend Emily of well fed, flat broke.
Despite my mother’s Southern roots, I’ve never had crawfish. Texas ≠ Louisiana and, apparently, there are some gaps in my knowledge and experience of Southern food. Having Emily with me filled those gaps. Also, she is very entertaining and I need to be constantly entertained.
We started with the Southern Boil. You choose your seasoning and spice level. I chose the Cray Mix at “Medium” spiciness. That was a very good choice in terms of flavour, although I will probably choose “Spicy” next time.
Cray Kitchen + Bar Southern Boil
The first thing I noticed was that 1 pound of shrimp and crawfish is a lot more food than I expected and I was suddenly re-thinking my decision to add an order of calamari and an order of yam fries. Oops.
Emily said the crawfish were cooked to perfection. I thought the shrimp just popped in my mouth. We both thought the sauce was addicting. Perhaps the secret secret ingredient is crack cocaine? Yeah, it is that good.
That’s a lot of seafood!
Next up were the yam fries and calamari. I thought these were two items I would like order if I came back, so I wanted to try them out. The yam fries were good and we received a well-sized portion for $4.99. The calamari was surprisingly good. I say “surprisingly” because I am a calamari snob and I’m always skeptical of non-Greeks doing calamari. This calamari was tender and delicious and not rubbery at all. The portion was well worth $9.99 and I would definitely order it again.
Battered + Fried Calamari
Last up was our oysters, cod, and fries. I am not a fan of fried oysters, but Emily said they were perfectly cooked: crispy on the outside; juicy on the inside. They were also freakin’ huge oysters! The cod was tasty, although one piece was a little cool on the inside. Not quite cold, but also not quite as cooked as I would have liked. The fries were also good.
The dining pass would have filled both of us and I think it is safe to say that it is a dinner for two, although if I would order anything extra, it would be something to soak up the extra sauce in the Southern Boil. My one suggestion for improvement for Cray Kitchen would be to add garlic bread to their menu just for this purpose. Nom nom nom nom.
Dining passes go on sale any day now at vaneats.ca.
Cray Kitchen + Bar
2470 Main Street
Vancouver, BC V5T 3E3
604.568.8588
Disclosure: I did not pay for the Dining Pass items. I paid for my own alcohol, the yam fries, and the calamari. Emily paid for her alcohol and an extra pound of crawfish to go. Our service was fantastic, but of course, they knew we were there for the review, so I didn’t mention that above. Will I be back with my own money to pay for another meal? Yes. I already know that I’m going to order 1 pound of shrimp. I just can’t stop thinking about the shrimp…
