Final yutzy bar on Greenville Avenue makes way for crabby restaurant

The transformation of Lower Greenville is nearly complete as Kush, the Mediterranean restaurant and hookah lounge at 2100 Greenville Ave., is making way for a Cajun seafood restaurant called Ragin Crab, with a hoped-for opening by the end of December.

Kush was one of the last remnants of the old lower Greenville Avenue, which emphasized bar first, with food that was only so-so. But from hereon in, it's all restaurants first, with cocktails as a side note.

Ragin Crab is from Steven Sohn, who opened the cavernous Hibashi Teppan Grill Sushi Bar near Galleria Dallas in 2009. Sohn tells The Advocate he's always liked Cajun food. Manager Steven Whitear says that the signature dish will be crab because "everybody loves crab." Is that really true? I don't love crab, and Tom Hanks didn't end up liking it too much in the movie Castaway.

ADVERTISEMENT The focus is on boiled crab with three flavorings: lemon pepper; garlic butter; and "ragin Cajun," a Louisiana-inspired seasoning that's "a little sweet and a little heat."

Other seafood options include blue crab, Dungeness crab, crawfish, and clams. The Louisiana theme of the menu can be seen in dishes such as gumbo and "gator nuggets." Starters include fried calamari, fried oysters, shrimp cocktail, Buffalo shrimp, and wings.

There are fried baskets with catfish, shrimp, and chicken, ranging from $10.95 to $16.50. A "boiled" category offers lobster tail; shrimp; clams; scallops; green mussels; and four kinds of crab: king, Dungeness, soft-shell, and snow.

Steamed crab comes with sausage, corn, Cajun fries, and rice. Platters for two come with combinations of sausage and seafood, plus corn, fries and rice, for $19.95 to $31.95. A family special with crab, shrimp, sausage, potato, and corn is $69.95.

In addition to fries and rice, sides include hush puppies, cole slaw, and pickled radish.