I got down & dirty with the Asian Cajun

Glad I got your attention. Living in Lincoln Square, I've often thought about making the trek up Lincoln to visit the Angry Crab. But aside from not wanting to deal with the waits (so I've heard/read), I've wondered about the quality of the seafood offered, and whether this booming trend is more fad than substance.

But last night I was able to join another LTHer and others to try a relative newcomer to the Asian/Cajun seafood scene, that being . . . the Asian Cajun. I was slightly intimidated by the menu at first - snacks, fried fish, Asian specials, and of course fish, ten or so types to be exact, with several different sauces to choose from, and five levels of spice. My stress vanished though once we started barking out orders and the food started arriving.

The first item arrived, the Cajun crawfish fried rice. This was an excellent fried rice - andouille, crawfish, good wok char and even some spice heat. We couldn't stop eating this rice, one of the most flavorful versions I've had in some time.

I was even more impressed with the seafood. I suspected (incorrectly as it turned out) that the sauces and various levels of spice were intended to mask lesser quality seafood. But the Dungeness and King crab (I think both were around $25/lb) were about as good as any I've had in town. More importantly, they were cooked perfectly. The same can be said for the crawfish ($12/lb I think) - delicious, perfectly cooked, not a dud in the bunch. Baby clams - same story. I could not have asked for the seafood to have been cooked more perfectly.

And the sauces were also terrific. We tried the garlic butter, the lemon pepper and the trifecta (a combination of Cajun and the former two). I'm not sure I could pick a favorite of the bunch, but I most preferred the sauce served spicy (the second hottest level). I will definitely give extra spicy a try the next time. They also gave us a sample of a new sauce they'll be featuring soon, which featured lemongrass and other southeastAsian flavors.

We also had some fried soft shell crab that was also delicious, quite meaty and beautifully fried (not the least bit greasy). It was served with pretty decent, though relatively standard foodservice fries.

The only item I didn't love was their seafood pad see ew. The noodles were a bit on the flimsy side and none of the wok char that we found with the rice. It wasn't bad by any means (and I think others in our group enjoyed them more), but it was a letdown compared to all of the other excellent food.

The dining room was not packed at all so if you are considering the Angry Crab but would like to avoid the waits, you might want to consider the Asian Cajun. Service was fast and friendly, and the folks running the Asian Cajun could not have been nicer. So put on your bib, get down and dirty, and give them some love . . . you won't be sorry.

Asian Cajun
2428 N Ashland Ave.
773.831.5958 (reservations accepted 3-5 hours before desired time)
Winter Hours according to website (not sure if they change):
Mon: 3:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Tue-Thu: 12:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Fri-Sat: 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Sun: 12:00 pm - 9:00 pm

BYO!

Nice, I've been keeping an eye on this place. Thanks for taking the plunge! Jumped to the top of my shortlist!

I posted this over in the Guess the Restaurant thread, but I ate here with my family this week and had a great time. I would agree with everything BR said above. We ordered dungeness, snow crab, crawfish, shrimp, clams and mussels. The mussels were a little small, but everything else was terrific. My party was spice averse, so I had to order some extra spicy sauce on the side. I'd definitely recommend some white rice to soak up all the extra sauce that comes with the seafood boil.

Parking is a little tough on that stretch of Ashland, but there were some spots just north of the restaurant on Altgeld when we visited. Asian Cajun is a lot easier for us than Angry Crab coming from Bucktown, and they will take reservations if you call 3-4 hours in advance.

Went there this evening and left very pleased. I have to admit we were a little surprised and amused at the boil coming to the table in a plastic bag. I guess this is common in some parts of the world? I just haven't seen it before. It's a certain kind of ecstatic gluttony - bag after bag of seafood in a plastic bag, swimming in a tasty sauce. We will go back for sure, but won't wear any clothes we care about.

cleanplateclub wrote:Went there this evening and left very pleased. I have to admit we were a little surprised and amused at the boil coming to the table in a plastic bag. I guess this is common in some parts of the world? I just haven't seen it before. It's a certain kind of ecstatic gluttony - bag after bag of seafood in a plastic bag, swimming in a tasty sauce. We will go back for sure, but won't wear any clothes we care about.

i feel like i'd need a shower after eating at one of these places, looks fun

any recent intel? we are thinking of trying this tonight but would love encouragement!

report! dungeness grab with garlic butter truly excellent; (live) crawfish with cajun seasoning very good; cole slaw regrettably sweet and gloppy; lobster fried rice to die for, with legit wok hwei. a messy venture, and the menu could sorely use some vegetables as a counterpoint, like a crisp cucumber salad or something. but over all, delicious.