Project365, #27: Crawfish Shack Review

Last February, on Fat Tuesday, was the last time I had a crawfish boil. As anyone who has had one knows, a year is far too long between sucking on some heads. (Pause for "that's what she said") My friend Annie, a fellow lovers of all thing from the sea, had heard of Crawfish Shack. It was fairly new and featured on Scoutmob, which is quite an endorsement if you ask me. Busy schedules and such kept us from going in February, but the fateful day came. Oh yes it did.

There a few "truisms" I have found with good food. First, if it is in an unexpected place, it is going to be good. Sketchy looking buildings in the industrial part of town. The lone restaurant in a strip mall. Typically not a place one imagines to have good food, but that is wrong. The best chefs are often going out on a limb and cannot find the financial backers needed. So a locale that is cheap and/or off the beaten path will suffice. The second is simple: if there is Sriracha, better known as "cock sauce," on the table, start getting excited. As you can tell, Crawfish Shack fit both.

The four of us ordered: one pound of crawfish, a soft-shell crab po'boy, a fried oyster po'boy, and a combo order of catfish fillets and fried shrimp. Even better, all the prices were good. Even better better: the food was out of this world. I am a sucker for a po'boy. If it is on a menu chances are it will be my choice. The fried oysters were anything but gummy (as many can be when prepared poorly), the soft-shell crab made me want to eat spiders, and the crawfish were as tasty as they were pretty.

Anyhow, I'm not 100% but I think the place is BYOB. And be prepared, the line was steady the entire time and at typical peaks times I would prepare for quite a wait, both to order and to recieve your food. Such is the price for greatness.

You may notice that I only have a picture of the crawfish. The second I saw the po'boys there was no stopping me. The remoulade on them.... no words. I would drink it.

(4337 Buford Hwy, Suite 170 Atlanta, GA 30341)

Project365, #6: Birthday Rango Munchkin

So today was my birthday. Big whoop. I rarely do anything special because, well, it is not special to me. However, I felt the need to parlay the day of birth into a chance to hang out with friends.

First stop, Hankook Taquiera for some wonderful Korean tacos: (DISCLAIMER: Lazy 365 pictures today because fuck you it is my birthday)

So good. I am a sucker for a fried Calamari taco. Also had their Tong Dak taco, which is essential chicken fingers with a chipotle mayo sauce. The new choice for tonight was their Bulgogi taco. I've had almost ten different items now and not a one has been less than amazing.


Anyhow, I was stressed over my birthday because, in general, I'm pretty easy to please. If I had my choice, outings with friends would consist of dinner followed by a movie or game night at someone's place. Therefore I had little else planned. I suggest seeing the movie Rango partly out of a mild interest but also because I had the feeling my friends, all artists themselves, would be interested. Three decided not to go and I absolutely understood. Movies, despite my obsession with them, are, especially in the theater, a poor excuse for a social event. Anyhow, Rango. I am going to post a brief review later, but it was amazing. Truly. Made all the better by the fact that I was with amazing people, some I have know for nearly a decade, a couple I am starting to feel very close with, and another who I can see becoming a buddy.

Since I unfortunately do not have a place of my own and live far from my friends, I kind of imposed myself on a few of them, volunteering their apartment for cake and fun after the movie.Despite their insistence that it was all welcome, I still feel a little jerky. Either way, it was a blast. We played Star Munchkin, the in-space version of the silliest and nerdiest card game ever made:

In the end, it was everything I could have hoped for. Good food, lots of laughs, and beautiful people that make every day worth celebrating.