Crawdaddy's Creole — Restaurant in Ypsilanti

We came in last Friday at just the right time before a bunch of other people came in; it looked like there was one employee doing everything, and while he was doing a great job it did slow everything down a bit. I can appreciate as a small business that finding the right amount of staffing to meet an uncertain demand could be tricky, and I also don't know if this is common or maybe someone called off that night, but I hope that more people come in regularly to support a local restaurant and the staffing gets sorted out. (Support Ypsilanti businesses, everyone!!!!!)

That said, we didn't have to wait terribly long and the food was great! I had the ½lb fried shrimp basket with fries; the breading on the shrimp was excellent, very tasty (maybe a cornmeal breading of some sort?) without being oily or heavy at all. The remoulade sauce tasted great, and everything was right out of the fryer, nothing sitting under a heat lamp here. The whole menu looked great, and I can imagine that the various types of seafood boils would make a great meal.

They obviously put a lot of effort into transforming the old Beezy's space, too. Beezy's always had that shabby charm to it, but Crawdaddy's has made enough updates that you recognize the space but it's been improved to fit the new business. I'm glad the storefront didn't sit empty too long (there was a restaurant in between these for a short period of time), because it's a vibrant area that's had some turnover recently but has always had cool local businesses instead of turning into big corporate shops that lose the Ypsi flavor.

I hope everyone thinking about eating here gives it a try, the food was really good and Crawdaddy's is a great addition to the local...

My husband and I had never had any type of seafood boil before -- I had never even eaten crab before. We decided to come here because we heard good things about it, and we wanted our first seafood boil experience to be positive. Behind the counter was the owner and sole worker, Mitchel(?). He was taking food orders and cooking food as fast as he could. He was amazing to watch and super kind. I ordered a half pound of snow crab and my husband ordered a half pound of crawfish. Both orders came with corn, potato, and sausage, with lots of cajun butter. We were also given wet wipes, bibs, gloves, and utensils to help us crack into the shells. I was a little nervous because normally I avoid seafood but today was the day I'd go all in and I have to say that it was amazing. The owner is a fantastic cook, our meal was perfect and I can't stop thinking about wanting to go back already! The crab was so tender and flavorful and all the sides were delicious too, especially smothered with the butter. I ranted and raved about this place when we left. We will be back, hopefully...

I wanna start off this review highly commending the owner, and recognizing that he wears all hats in his restaurant. He is the cashier, waiter and the cook.

However with that being said the food me and my family had was subpar.

I ordered the chicken and andouille sausage jambalaya. The rice was mushy chicken was rubbery, and the sausage was greasy and flavorless. I also ordered the greens as a side the greens taste like they were frozen. The fried okra was very good. My husband ordered the hush puppies, those were good. He also ordered the catfish Poboy, which was also very good. The macaroni and cheese had no flavor and was watery. My son had grilled cheese and french fries, which is difficult for just about anyone to mess up.

All that being said I think that the owner should condense the menu and focus on food items that he is proficient in and that work for his style of restaurant. I think he should keep it basic with just the boils and Poboys and take off the foods that require more time preparation, and focus like the jambalaya. Mac mac & cheese...