***** If you don’t mind searching for parking, wearing an apron/bib and rubber gloves to dine, then you are ready to visit Logan Square’s The Crab Pad, a wonderful Viet Nam/Cajun fish restaurant that has been there for a while, but has recently been brought to the world’s attention. Theresa and Neyra and their staff make dining out fun, even when it feels sloppy. Tonight, Frank, Cary and I went there for dinner. Jane is out of town visiting some of our grandkids in Connecticut, so she missed out on this experience.
We began our evening with some beverages-BOBA. We had tea/lemonade- Peach and Mango flavored iced tea for Frank and I and Cary had lemonade, straight!. They do not offer alcohol, but if you “bring your own” they will help you with glasses and ice as needed. You all know me, so I brought my Tito’s. Our appetizer sampler was made up of Thai crab Rangoon ( very tasty and never spicy), garlic noodles ( a great flavor )Hush puppies ( a perfect flavor without the sauce- Frank dips everything, whereas, I like to taste the natural flavors), several chicken legs ( great skin with a slightly garlic flavor, but very juicy). They added some fries that were a little zingier than most, but easy on the palate. No ketchup needed on these. We also had some Mussels that were terrific ( I ate the ones that Jane would have loved). The Lovers Cove ( 1 lb of snow crab, 1 pound shrimp, 1 lobster tail and either one pound of craw fish /or clams was amazing.
Neyra was our server and assisted us with the complex “build your own bag” . Instead of each of us building one , as we saw others doing, we asked her to build the perfect bag for us, so that we could indeed sample the many flavors available and report to you, our readers. WOW! The plastic bag contained: headless shrimp, clams, snow crab legs, lobster tail, potatoes ( to die for), corn ( very different than most corn on the cob-flavorwise), crab pad style ( house Cajun), green beans, spicy dynamite mussels. All of these and their sauces were mixed in and together made for a wonderful experience, albeit, a little on the messy side, but we were covered and they have a place to wash up after 25 feet away.
If you see the pictures, you can see the plastic bag with all of the above items contained within. In the bag, the juices flow with each other adding uniqueness to the flavors, and in my opinion, every experience one that you will savor.
As we cleared up some of the mess that we had made, Neyra introduced us to the special treat available to The Crab Pad- a special popsicle. delicious and every one an original. FYI- they have a kids menu so the entire family can truly enjoy this experience. I saw one of the tables getting served some Mac N’ Cheese, and flaming mac n’ cheese balls, so I will be back to try those for sure.
While they have no bar service, they do have a happy hour, allowing one to try some of their amazing treats at special prices.
Happy Hour- Monday Thru Friday ( closed Wednesdays ) 5- 6:30 p.m. Saturday & Sunday 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
The restaurant, located at 2529 N. Milwaukee Avenue is open as follows:
Monday and Tuesday 5 p.m.- 10 p.m. They have some Tuesday specials as well!
Thursday thru Sunday NOON until 10 p.m.
The phone number is 773-360-8332
website www.thecrabpad.com
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