crustacean

by guest blogger bryan tsunoda @btsunoda crustacean in beverly hills has been around for quite some time. the roastedcraband their famous garlic noodles are crowd pleasers and what crustacean is best known for. despite its name, crustacean is so much more than that and i recently had the opportunity to sample some of their new offerings. crustacean is also known for its “secret kitchen.” a closed door kitchen within a kitchen, it’s where some of the restaurant’s most coveted dishes are prepared. since their opening in 1997, only six dishes have been created in the secret kitchen. now, there's a new secret kitchen item that we'll be tasting tonight. as i entered crustacean, a three piece jazz ensemble provided entertainment to the bar patrons. the walk on water entrance features a serpentine shaped aquarium that doubles as a floor. it was obvious that crustacean is still a place to be seen as everyone seated at the bar had the required ‘look’. our group was led outside through the sid

the epic dish of choice is thecrabgarlic noodles. if you are not doing this then you are not doing it big. thecrabis roasted nicely with garlic and spices. add the garlic noodles and we’re living nice life for that hour. the dish tops $60 or so dollars but you only live once. plus you’re in beverly hills and might run into meagan good. share this: twitter facebook google like this: like loading... january 4, 2014 in asian food , los angeles food . tags:crab, garlic noodles related posts

crab dish. it used to be a great place for vietnamese crab. but now it changed , maybe a new owner , do not ordercrabout of shell. they subcrabmeat with spydercrabinsted of more expencive dungeneese, but charge the same. i will not eat there again.

fabulous !. we came in from texas, staying at a nearby hotel that recommended this restaurant to us . we were so happy with the cracked version of the dungenesscraband garlic noodles that we came back 2 days later for the exact same thing.
the first night there we were seated upstairs . the second time we were seated downstairs.
we plan to go back next time we are in la .
eatingcrabcan be a mess obviously but they do give bibs and nice steamed hand towels .

best west coast food. flew in from new orleans, beverly hillls hilton staff recomended this as the "best" within walking distance. how to describe it? asian seafood with a heavy french influance? or maybe just the best dungonesscrabi have ever had....not just fantastic food, but the wine list is spectacular, sat on the second floor and had one of the best dinning experiences ever...top 10 of all time...do yourself a favor and go....

great food but.... if i could give this place zero stars i would. my boyfriend and i had been to crustacean once before and really enjoyed their garlic dungenesscraband garlic noodles. so when valentine's day rolled around i suggested we spend our first valentines day here. big mistake. the hostess sat us upstairs which at the time i thought was way cool since i'd never eaten upstairs before but this time the circumstances were different...i'll get to that later.

first the menu was a special valentines pre-fixe menu that was $95 each with an added on 18% gratuity. if i had known this we probably could have waited until monday to go but my boyfriend is so wonderful he didn't even blink at paying that price. the first course was an array of weird stuff i guess the kitchen just wanted to try out, ahi tuna on a tortilla chip, hamburger on a stick (was yummy), watermelon, and shrimp wrapped in some kind of seaweed. next came ourcraband garlic noodles which was just as yummy as i remembered, and then dessert, some cheesecake puff and chocolate pudding thing that they could have kept in the kitchen. but overall the meal was good, not $95 good, but good.

now let's go back to revisit that seating arrangement thing. after we were seated upstairs i looked around and noticed that there were quite a few african american couples seated around the dining room and as the night went on the tables around us filled up with more african american couples which struck me as odd since i remember the clientele during our previous visit had been very mixed. so when my boyfriend got up to go downstairs to the restroom i jokingly told him to see if there were any black people downstairs. much to my surprise and lament, when he returned he told me no.

dinner came and went and so we got ready to leave. i really thought my boyfriend was joking around when he said there were no black people downstairs until i got down to the last step to enter the downstairs dining room where there were nothing but white couples and a few asian people sprinkled in here and there. i was totally shocked and my boyfriend had to grab my hand and pull me towards the exit because i was just in awe at how different the dining room was. i mean we're on day 14 of black history month and this restaurant looks like woolworth's in 1962.

needless to say, the ceo is going to hear about this and i suggest that everyone on here rethink going to this restaurant that obviously doesn't believe in treating their customers equally.

lives up to its billing. we had the wonderful opportunity to eat at crustacean while visiting la from nc. located in an enticing area of beverly hills, the restaurant invites you in with an aquarium of large saltwater fish facing the corner at the street. inside, a three foot wide stream full of koi fish extends to the rear of the restaurant. it is covered with plexiglass so you literally walk over the stream to your seating. the menu has a beautiful history of the an family who left vietnam after the war and went from an aristocratic life to working 12 hours day at their first restaurant in sf. the dungenesscrabis prepared in accordance with a secret family recipe and it was phenomenal. sweet and succulent. the sea bass was perfectly prepared as were the vegetables sauteed with garlic. service was great and the maitre'd constanly made rounds to ensure that guests were treated properly. the place was packed on a wednesday night. i highly recommend this restaurant.

umm hmmm. i am a big fan of cultural restaurants unique to a particular city. just the familial background of this restaurant and the an family really inspires you to visit the beautiful place. once inside, you can't leave and are tempted to try the various items on their menu. the dungenesscraband their garlic noodles are their best entrees.