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Rosemead's hotspot for crab By Cynthia Dea, LA
Times Staff Writer
THE latest eating habit taking over Orange County's Little Saigon has been
quietly creeping its way into L.A.'s own Asian enclaves: Call it the Cajun
crab crawl.
When Crabulous opened in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley in late December,
crowds soon flocked. The nautical-themed Rosemead crab shack gives its
original Louisiana-style recipe a slight Vietnamese spin, serving the spicy
mudbugs, cooked by the pound, in 3-gallon plastic bags. The tunes of Elliott
Smith, Joy Division, Master Ace and Queen play in the background.
The people scene is an only-in-L.A. mix as well. Assorted local foodies rub
elbows with the Asian youths whose souped-up import cars fill the parking lot.
Families with young children who are allowed and even encouraged to eat with
their hands fill the tables alongside transplanted Deep South natives
hankering for a taste of home.
No one's afraid to put their elbows on the tables, and wearing a giant white
plastic bib around one's neck is considered OK even among the 16-to-35
demographic.
--Cynthia Dea |
