Crawfish Shack — Restaurant in Crosby

I've been meaning to write this review for a long time. I don't usually write many reviews, but I like to give credit where it's due.

This place is a real gem for many reasons, but the owner, his family, and their attitude are the most important.

Yes, the food is outstanding. The crawfish is excellent, the seasoning is best-in-class, and the rest of the menu is great too. I'm a huge fan of the gumbo and probably hit the to-go window for it eight or ten times per season.

I've seen Dan around the restaurant for about ten years now, but I only formally met him last night in the drive-through line. He was taking orders and ensuring things ran smoothly during what must be their busiest night of the year. He'll remember I ordered 8 bowls of gumbo to go. I asked him to stack them two to a bag to avoid a mess in my car. Not only did he do that, but he also jogged over to the restaurant and had them box it all up for me for a stable transport method.

If you've never dealt with crawfish, you might not understand the hard work involved. Crawfish sacks from suppliers are 30-35 pounds, and you have to handle hundreds of them in a day. The kitchen is always hot and humid due to all the boiling water, and the steam contains seasoning that can irritate your respiratory system. It's very hard work.

Why do I bring up the hard work? Because Dan and his entire staff always have an outstanding attitude. I've never been through those doors or that drive-through window without a cheerful smile and a traditional "howdy!" It takes a lot of good leadership to keep people upbeat and cheerful when there's so much miserable work to do. Everyone from the kitchen staff to the host or hostess is on point with their attitude. Given the sheer volume of customers, there isn't much time to spend with any individual customer, but they still manage to inject a little light into your day.

In any tiff with an unreasonable customer, Dan always supports his staff. He isn't rude, and I've overheard him dealing with some pretty absurd complaints over the years, but he knows his people, trusts their good intentions, and treats them with respect. As someone who bartended and waited tables in my youth, I can tell you with 100% certainty that "the customer is NOT always right." Dan walks the fine line between customer service and supporting his people, and that goes much further than the food for me. Personally, I've never had a problem. My wife and son once got a "small-ish" pound of crawfish, and someone just brought them an extra one. No problem.

I also like that there's often a police officer on duty, standing out in the heat. Country places and crawfish shacks can get rowdy, and that officer makes this feel like a safe place to bring your family any day, any time. It's a nice touch.

Another thing I really like is that this place employs a lot of young people from the area. Those kids are learning to work HARD and to "do what you should, when it ought to be done, with a good attitude, whether you like it or not." This is a critical life skill that will serve them well in whatever they pursue.

If I had to nitpick, I'd give you two points of feedback:

It can be VERY busy. The wait can be substantial, and they don't take reservations. But when you're this popular, first come, first served makes sense. I've never felt rushed, but they appreciate it if you order, have your fun, eat your food, and move on. They don't want you to wait longer than necessary. You got the benefit when you were in line, and the people in line now deserve the same benefit. I think Dan would agree with my assessment. Who knows, maybe he'll reply to this review :)

The prices are a little on the high side. They're in the upper third of crawfish joints for price. But the food is good, the staff is outstanding, and the experience never deteriorates regardless of how busy they are. For me, it's worth the extra money. If that bothers you, well, you're in south Texas. There are other great places nearby, and I don't think Dan would begrudge you for...

Today was my first time going to The Crawfish Shack, and after an encounter I had with a woman who said she was the owner, I can say that I will never go back. My party waited for an hour and a half to be seated, of no fault of the Crawfish Shack, because we had to wait on everyone to be there before we could be seated (a Crawfish Shack Policy). When our name was finally called and we were about to enter, they asked if everyone was there and I replied that the last three people were parking. They told us we had to wait until everyone was physically present, but that the tables were being held for us. When the hostess made that comment, I asked if the table was being held, why couldn’t we go ahead and be seated? It was at that moment that the woman claiming to be the owner stepped in and said that what the hostess told me is their policy. I then also pointed to another posted policy that states that there is a maximum of 18 people per party on Friday-Sunday due to long wait times, and reminded her that they just allowed a party of 22 to enter, on a Saturday. I guess she didn’t like that I was questioning how she was picking and choosing which policies to enforce, because then she said that allowing the party of 22 was done at her discretion. I asked why she couldn’t use the same discretion in our case, and she went back and forth with me, finally admitting that allowing the party of 22 to enter was a choice she made. At that point I thanked her for admitting that she made a choice for another group that she was unwilling to make for mine, and stopped talking with her (by this point she had accused me of having an attitude and being argumentative, yet, I never raised my voice with her, and was simply pointing her to her OWN policies). I continued talking with someone in my party and the lady came back and inserted herself in my conversation after my back was turned to her and I was no longer talking to her. I drove an hour to get to this place (which I told the owner) and had it not been that I was there to celebrate a birthday, I would have left and taken my business elsewhere. I have heard a lot about the Crawfish Shack and was very excited to be going today, but after what I experienced with the owner, needless to say I will not be going back. I will not spend my money with establishments where my demographic is blatantly treated differently...

Giving this place three stars overall. I have family members who Love/Worship this place, would patronize multiple times a week because they love it so much.

I had an opportunity to visit with family recently and noticed so many things with a fresh perspective as I am no longer local. The number of times I noticed or my table endured anti-blackness in practice was astonishing.

From their rules about party sizes, to how they engage with black people, to how they show respect of person for certain demographics, witnessing it happen while realizing the customers have allowed that behavior so it puts many people in an awkward position is telling.

Honestly, as long as customers can pay their tab, and tip their waitress - why the additional rules that could turn away customers or leave a negative impression. Also, why intentionally wait until orders are placed and food is coming out to present a large party with a “problem” which compromises them and can’t leave?!

I empathize and agree that every business has the right to create their business model and rules, but some things are beyond asinine. I mean the plethora of signs say it all and is rooted in many other things. Also, one of the owners has her customer service smile and facial expressions down to a science, which we saw right thru.

Additionally, I get the impression that the owners lack the cultural competence and impact black people have made on the crawfish industry from the power of the black dollar and the way seafood is boiled - it’s black ancestors who created the very cooking format and legacy the owners benefit from and what’s been stolen and repurposed by non-black people claiming creole/cajun heritage.

I hope management takes time to reflect on their business model and reconsider new plans. Don’t let the hatred leading this country influence business decisions. Target, Walmart and other businesses are feeling the impacts of wrong decisions. Do better and hire someone to come in to...