Crustacean Fare Inconsistent and Wildly Overpriced

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CRUSTACEAN

Where: 9646 Little Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, 90210. Cross Street: Bedford Drive

When: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday

What to Try: Seafood wonton soup, lobster salad, roasted Dungeness crab, coconut cake

Noise Level: Moderate

Meeting Room: Seating for 20; on-site catering

Parking: Valet, $8

Price Range: Appetizers, $9-$15; entrees, $15-$46

Reservations: (310) 205-8990

California is the capital of Asian fusion cuisine, and the An family has earned bragging rights as a pioneer of the culinary movement. But becoming the proprietors of Beverly Hills showpiece Crustacean was just another stop on a long family journey. Together, they have overcome adversity and now celebrate their memories of colonial Vietnam meanwhile managing to turn their misfortune to success. With two well-established ventures in San Francisco, eldest daughter Elizabeth took a gamble on a new location in the heart of Beverly Hills, built on a dazzling dining room and her mother’s famous garlic noodles.

The An mythology is an inextricable element of dining at Crustacean: The inside cover of the menu details the family’s exodus from its homeland. Helene An, born to the Vietnamese ruling class, fled Saigon the day it fell. With only her three girls and the memories of a life spent entertaining in luxury, she joined her husband in the Philippines to depart for San Francisco, the home of her in-laws. Thrust into relative poverty, An found redemption in her mother-in-law’s 20-seat diner. She developed a handful of signature dishes and sauces that would give birth to a family dynasty. The little diner soon became a San Francisco favorite and the springboard for the city’s first location of Crustacean. With the success of a second venture, Elizabeth began planning a move to Los Angeles and a new, flashier location in Beverly Hills.

Opening in early 1997, Crustacean wowed critics and scenesters with its lavish dining room, a sentimental homage to the family’s French colonial home in Vietnam. Woven-palm fans paddle lazily from the vaulted ceiling. Dining tables line a second-floor landing. Dark wood paneling and Indochina antiquities complete the luxe look, with servers in jewel-toned robes gliding over the Plexiglas-topped koi pond. Though the restaurant often draws in diners with live music at night, lunch is the best time to come and tuck into an out-of-the-way table for more privacy.

The An family has an entire menu of Asian fusion classics that you may have had elsewhere. But the real action takes place in the “Secret Kitchen” tended to by family members only. It is here the signature dishes and sauces are concocted under Helene’s direction. The roasted Dungeness crab is a favorite, cooked in the famous garlic sauce. Picking at the shellfish is a little tedious, not to mention hazardous to your dry-cleaning bill, but for $4 the kitchen will do the work for you, bringing your total to $46. And for a side of the famous garlic noodles? That will be an additional $12. I am not ashamed to say that this is outrageous. But the crab is pretty tasty. Doused in oil, garlic and black pepper, it is impossible to stop eating even though you know you will be sorry and broke later. Compromise and skip the noodles. Together they are just too much.

Of course, it is possible to eat a lot more reasonably at Crustacean, but it won’t be nearly as exciting. The spring rolls are tasty if not a bit bland (without their spicy bean dipping sauce), but the fried wontons tucked inside give crunch to the prawns and carrot rolls. The yellowtail sashimi fails to inspire with too-thick slices of fish in a too-sweet citrus ponzu. The diced bell pepper only adds to the sugar overload the requisite pairing of yellowtail with spicier peppers at nearly every sushi joint is no accident.

A welcome surprise is the seafood wonton soup, with its crisp, colorful vegetables and a delectable broth. The wontons themselves are exquisite. In the trio of dumplings, it is the shrimp that stands above the accompanying beef and chicken. The seafood salad gets a pass with its savory miso dressing and generous slices of scallops, but it’s not as good as the off-the-menu lobster salad, served with thick pieces of claw meat and mango adorning the frisee. True to theme here, anything that exciting is sure to cost a lot just try not to flinch when the bill comes.

Desserts are all right at Crustacean, but what really leaves an impression is the wonderful coffee. The strongly brewed Illy brand is served hotter than safety allows, giving time for its incredible aroma to drive a coffee lover to abstraction. Crustacean has recently begun to offer traditional Vietnamese coffee, hot or cold. As for the desserts, the selection is all over the place, seeming neither French nor traditionally Vietnamese. The chocolate molten cake is a ubiquitous favorite but seems staid and unimaginative. Choose the coconut cake moist and rich with a light, fluffy filling.

Crustacean’s spectacular scenery makes it an impressive choice for business dining. However, the lush, over-the-top d & #233;cor is the reason your entree costs $46. The food is good when it hits the mark, but unfortunately it fails to do so with consistency. Once named one of the hottest new restaurants in the country, Crustacean at times veers perilously close to mediocrity. Perhaps the kitchen needs a little jolt to get back to where it was in its heyday and to justify the seriously inflated prices.


Reviewer Lindsey Styrwoll can be reached at [email protected].

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