St. Louis’ Cajun seafood boil options continue to expand, with Crab N Go opening to the public in Overland this Saturday, August 28.
Restaurateur Stephanie Sun is also the co-owner of two novel dining concepts: Sushi Ai, the popular all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant (with a fourth location opening soon in Eureka), and Dollar Express, a cafeteria-style concept (the first in St. Louis) where an array of Chinese food was priced at $1 per scoop.
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After the pandemic took its toll on the latter, Dollar Express closed in March of this year. Still, Sun saw the potential in the neighborhood. “The [Overland] community liked Dollar, and we liked the community,” Sun explains, “so we thought, ‘What else can we do to see all those people again?’”
The answer came quickly. “Why not ride the wave of popular Cajun seafood restaurants, especially since there were none in the area and hardly any seafood at all on Page?” she thought. Sun then set out to make Crab N Go different enough to draw customers from Overland and beyond.
The signature items at Cajun seafood restaurants are typically a variety of seasoned seafood (shrimp, crab, crawfish, mussels, lobster, or a combination), as well as potatoes, corn on the cob, and sometimes sausage and hard-boiled eggs. The ingredients are cooked in sauce in a pan (in this case a wok) and then served in food-safe plastic bags or dumped directly onto the table, New Orleans-style.
The majority of the genre are franchise operations; Crab N Go is independently owned, on the other hand, allowing Sun the flexibility to add such options as broccoli and carrots to the mix, providing color and contrast. One of the protein options is a non-seafood item—beef—another departure from the norm.
Both Sushi Ai and Dollar Express were based on “high-volume and low-margin” price models. Crab N Go will follow suit. Guests will find price points to be extremely reasonable, especially the lunch specials, priced between $9–$11.
Crab N Go further distinguishes itself with its four distinctive sauces: garlic butter, lemon pepper, Cajun, and Let’s Go! (a mix of all three). All of the options are riffs on the sushi sauces used at Sushi Ai.
Other menu options include fried rice (including one with shrimp and crawfish), Cajun fries, Cajun edamame, and fried items including chicken wings, nuggets, tenders, plus oysters, calamari, and fish and chips.
Service is counter-style, and white butcher paper is provided in case things get messy (and they likely will). That’s part of the experiential appeal. Pickup and delivery are also available, especially since the bagged meals tend to travel well.
Says Sun, “We are really looking forward to bringing this popular and much-needed concept to Overland.”
