This will undoubtedly be the last installment of anything to do with Washington State, ever. Over the course of 10 days, The Drive Through Starbucks was really the only experience I felt even remotely compelled to write about. That was, until my final night of vacation and my dining experience in Bellevue. My cousin's and I sat around on Monday evening contemplating for at least a half hour about where to go for dinner on my final night. "We" (i.e. they wanted it and I was too busy facebooking to disagree) had all agreed on seafood. Most of you who know me, will be shocked as I don't particularly like seafood. Including but not limited to, most kinds of cooked fish, lobster, crab, oyster, clams, mussels. With my moderate liking for shrimp and tuna, I was sure that I would be able to find something edible on the menu. Hey, I am who I am.
Once decided on seafood I tuned out the whole "where to go" conversation as I don't need to weigh in on anything about fish and I don't live there, labeling me useless. However, as I was busy facebook stalking somebody, I heard Jacob mention lets go to "crab, blah, blah." My ears perked up only because there was excitement in his voice. Excitement that I hadn't heard since our Yahtzee game four days earlier. He explained about this seafood "restaurant" in Bellevue that brought buckets of food to the table and you got to wear bibs. My interest was peaked, as I needed a new profile pic for Facebook and decided me wearing a bib, would be perfect. Also, any place that employs buckets as a way of serving food, I needed to see. As we drove from Kirkland to Bellevue, I envisioned loud crowds, lots of beer and lots of bibs. And of course, us, undoubtedly being the best looking people in the place.
However, as we pulled into into the parking lot I realized that it was not so much a "restaurant" as a "theme park." The Crab POT, yes POT, is located on the water in Bellevue. Instead, of taking the classy angle of landscaping the front with soft lighting and beautiful flowers, they actually built a moat, with a wooden draw bridge. It appears that in the off season, they may use this location to throw recreational pirate shows for the patrons...I don't know, I am just guessing? The fact that the Crab Pot was in fact a theme park was solidified when I realized they had a gift shop. Now not being one to ever turn down an opportunity to buy promotional gear of any kind, I was quickly disappointed as I realized that the Crab Pot had one slogan and one slogan alone on all of their gear. A slogan I might add that I would never, could never wear. Shirts, sweatshirts, hats, aprons, mugs - in every size, in every color, prominently displaying the words "Got Crabs."
After the shirts and hearing "Disco Duck" upon our entrance I began to get nervous. The beads of sweat came, when we were seated and I realized we were three of seven people visible. The other four, included the host/Waiter, an overweight couple and another man sweeping the floor. Cue the beads of sweat. We ordered beers and began deliberating over the menu and whether to order The Westport or the Pacific Clambake, under section "Seafood for Two or More." I immediately voted for the Pacific Clambake as it included salmon, something I could definitely eat. After ordering, we chatted, i.e. my cousins watched the game and I facebooked on my phone. I realized also at this point, the couple was gone and the man who was sweeping had now disappeared. Confirming my worst feat that he was, in fact, the janitor and the cook. Our host/Waiter brought two buckets, yes silver buckets to the table. He laid down a line of butcher paper on the table gave us bibs and MALLETS - no plates, no utensils, no napkins. He then proceeded to pour the contents of the buckets on the table. Contents that included:
Clams, Oysters, Mussels, Snow Crab, Dungeness Crab,Shrimp, Halibut, Salmon, potatoes, corn on the cob and sausage.
I looked around for pennies, shells, a message in a bottle and a boot but didn't see any, so I began to pick away at the "pile" (pictured above). I have to say, despite the janitor/cook, the "Got Crabs" t-shirt, the lack of patrons, it was actually pretty good. I recommend this place however not for the descent cuisine but for the fact that every person needs to witness/experience this eighth wonder of the world, with your own eyes. After we finished dinner and paid, I stalled quite a bit, hoping to see some actors getting ready for their nightly Pirate performance....but they didn't show. We drove home and I realized I actually smelled of mussels. Hence, we called it a night.
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