Ray's Crab Shack in Newark, CA

Imagine a Boiling Crab but bigger. That's what Ray's Crab Shack is like. Is it me or are these types of places popping up all over the place? Ray's does it right. Not that others do it wrong it just that Ray's does it right.

It's not small or divey. It's big, bright, roomy like a good family restaurant should be. Boiling Crab and other copycats like it feel like a college hangout which is fun and cool. But if you want the great tasting food and want a bigger, polished place to eat, the Ray's might do the trick. The restaurant is clean and the staff wear the same outfits. It feels like one of many Ray's Crab Shacks but to my surprise, it's the only one.

Ray's Crab Shack

My wife, two of our sons, and I came here after a movie and it was an excellent choice recommended by a friend. From the outside Ray's doesn't look like much but when you enter it's a different story.

Ray's Seagull

A BIG seagull sits at the entrance which is brightly decorated. Beyond the entry, the restaurant feels open and spacious - a nice departure from the smaller cajun seafood venues.

Ray's Seagull

The menu is familiar. One sheet with laminate. If you've eaten at The Boiling Crab or Hercules' Claws and Craws, you know what I'm talking about.

Menu

For appetizers my sons ordered the clam chowder in bread bowl. Much like what you can get at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco except there are clam shells! Kinda cool.

Clam Chowder with Clam Shells

Clam Chowder with Clam Shells

To keep your mitts clean and your clothes splatter free they hand out bibs and gloves. Yes! Disposable gloves! Awesome!

Bib and gloves

We ordered the shrimp with Ultimate Power sauce and it is really, really good. From the first bite to the last. There are some things you eat that make you go "Wow! That is good!" and this sauce did that to me. With rice and garlic fries you've got yourself a great meal.

Shrimp with Ultimate Power, Rice, and Garlic Fries

Garlic Fries

The food was excellent. The sauce was really good and the fries were really good. The service was really good and the experience was really good. Ray's Crab Shack is really good. You should try it.

Zuzu's Tapas and Paella's in Napa

 

Zuzu Tapas and Paellas in Napa

Downtown Napa is a beautiful place full of quaint shops and boutiques as well as restaurants with character and there's enough variety within walking distance that your chances of finding a nice place to eat at almost any price range is pretty good. 

My wife and I decided to come to Napa for one of our date nights to try someplace new. My Yelp search led me to Zuzu for tapas. I chose Zuzu because we hadn't eaten at a tapa bar in a while. The last time was in San Francisco at one of our long time favorites - Cha Cha Cha in the Mission. I thought this could be just a good. They do serve sangria after all!

Zuzu is a nice little restaurant with excellent ambiance. Music, close quarters, full tables with a cacophony of conversations that give the place a nice feel. We walked through the first floor dining area towards the back near the bar to ask the hostess for a table. A short 10 minutes later, we were lucky enough to get seated in the upstairs dining area. I recommended upstairs if you want it a little quieter and more intimate setting so you can have nice quiet conversation. Downstairs was louder but not annoyingly so.

Top of the stairs waiter station at Zuzu in Napa, CA

Sangra to start off the night!

My lady and I started off the night with sangria. Sangria is pretty tricky - it's good and so good sometimes that you may not stop consuming it until you're too drunk. That's why we split one because we're cheap dates and from my experience, one full glass would be more than plenty for us. I guess I was wrong. Either my alcohol tolerance level has increased or the sangria wasn't as potent as Cha Cha Cha's version. It tasted good but not even a buzz. Oh well...

John Gamboa with his wife at Zuzu

We were lucky to get a table for two against the window that faces Napa's Veteran's Memorial Park and the Napa river. The windows are tall as you can see in my picture with my wife above.

Zuzu - Menu with a glass of Sangria

The service was pretty good as one would expect in downtown Napa. We never ran out of water or bread throughout the dinner but we didn't make any special requests so that was to be expected.

John and his wife at Zuzu in Napa, CA

View of Veteran's Memorial Park from the Second Floor of Zuzu in Napa, CA

On to the food. We ordered the Gambas Al Ajillo, a shrimp dish, the Croquetas, a chicken dish, and the Paella Del Dia - a paella with clams and sausage.  Being a tapas and paellas restaurant you expect to get appetizer sized servings and Zuzu lives up to that aspect. The great thing is that you can order several dishes and not get to full when the night is over.

Gambas Al Ajillo at Zuzu in Napa, CA

Gambas Al Ajillo

We love shrimp. And just like Bubba said, it can be prepared so many ways. So why not try this one, right? It wasn't a little of a let down but nothing to write home about. This dish was a little bland but the sauce was good enough to keep to dip our bread into.

Croquetas at Zuzu

Croquetas

This chicken dish was't what I expected. The presentation was excellent and it has great texture. Unfortunately, just like the Gambas Al Ajillo it was too bland. 

Paella Del Dia at Zuzu in Napa, CA

Paella Del Dia - a little redemption

This was the best dish of the night. Again, good presentation. And this time good flavor. 

Conclusion

Will we come back. Maybe. Ambiance and location, yes, we'll be back for those and maybe try some other dishes. The ones we had just didn't make us go "Wow!" I wish they put more flavor into their food. Maybe it was an off night for the kitchen.

Just like people, I believe this deserves a second chance. After all, they do server sangria!

Claws And Craws in Hercules, California - Cajun and Creole style dining

Finger linkin' good. And I'm not talking Kentucky Fried Chicken. I'm talking about Claws N Craws in Hercules, CA. The kids, my beautiful wife, and I have eaten here several times and the food their is excellent.

Claws And Craws | Hercules, CA

If you're in the East Bay of Northern California it's not going to be too much of a drive. If you come from Napa or Vallejo, Concord/Walnut Creek, or Oakland/Berkeley, you're only looking at a 20 to 30 minute drive. For those of us with a Boiling Crab affinity, Claws And Craws offers us a local experience thankfully.

The restaurant is modern looking with a bar in the middle between 2 dining areas and ample flat screens throughout the establishment. There are even three booths with their own flat screens! That's a pretty cool feature. I really like the way they designed the interior. It's simple but not plain.

With several patrons and TVs, there's a nice lively feel about the place. Almost like a family get together.

Claws And Craws Bar

Booths with their own flat screen TVs!

The Claws And Craws menu is full of southern style seafood but I've had the pleasure of trying out only a few of their delicious items. They consider themselves a cajun and creole restaurant. (I don't know if that's true or not, but it works!) For the appetizers, we had fried oysters on one of our visits which are pretty good. The kids tried their chicken wings and they seemed to enjoy them. The fried calamari is another fine choice as well.

Fried Oysters

For main dishes we get the peel and eat shrimp with either rice or garlic noodles. My wife also gets fries for the kids and sweet potato fries which are pretty good considering I'm not really into sweet potato fries. When all of us are really hungry we can share and finish 2 to 3 pounds of peel and eat shrimp with the CC sauce in the medium spice after having some appetizers. Medium has enough spice to give it a nice kick while not being too spicy so everyone can enjoy the meal. We tried the crab once but it wasn't as good as we had hoped so lately we've stuck to the shrimp which hasn't disappointed us the every time we've eaten here.

Peel And Eat Shrimp With CC Sauce

Now I can't not talk about the desserts that Claws And Craws offers. The first is their fried banana and ice cream. It's really good. Frankly, I don't of a place where I didn't like fried banana and ice cream and this place is no exception. The other dessert is one I've never had anywhere. It's their fried Oreos and Ice Cream. Yes, you read it right! That was amazing and I would say on par with the fried banana. What I'm saying is you can't go wrong with either one.

Fried Oreos and Ice Cream

Our family enjoys coming to the Claws And Craws restaurant and I'm sure yours will too. If you're craving some good southern style seafood then prepare yourself for some finger lickin' goodness and go to Claws And Craws in Hercules, CA. To learn more about them, check them out on Facebook and Yelp - or you can just go there!

-John Gamboa

Claws And Craws