Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.
May is not a good month for Nancy, especially May of 2021. As you may know, she is President of the Bocce Ball Club with over 700 members. Due to COVID, play was suspended last year and as a result, getting back in the groove was chaotic. This whirlwind of confusion started the beginning of May and continued through the first week in June. In spite of her sunshine personality, she was getting a bit crabby. There are only two things that can get her out of this mood, crab and garlic. So to save my own sanity and the lives of others, I whisked her off to the Storming Crab in Rockford (don’t whine, it takes just as long to get to Woodfield as it does to Rockford).
Storming Crab
6779 E. State Street
Rockford 61108
(815)977-5050
rockford.stormingcrab.us
Directions: Take Rte. 47 South to I-90 West to State Street/US20 Business, West to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 36 minutes
This restaurant took over the old Perkin’s Restaurant on State Street and completely revamped it. When you walk in, there is a giant shark head behind the hostess stand, and a huge crab that covers a full wall to your left. The hostess gives you a Magic Marker and asks if you want to sign anything in the restaurant. Everything, including the crab, the shark, and the walls are covered with patrons’ names. See if you can find ours if you go. The place was decked out with everything nautical, sort of like Red Lobster on steroids.
After we were seated, our waitress brought over a basket of seafood bread (two slices). This consisted of butter, garlic, two cheeses, and crab meat. If this was an indication of what was to come, we were in for a real treat.
Their main fare is a Cajun seafood boil. You can create your own combo, which means you pick any two or more seafood items and three sides. The side options you can pick from are sausage, red potatoes, corn on the cob, boiled egg, or broccoli. They also have pre-arranged dinner combos. These dinner combos include three seafood items, with sausage, red potatoes, and corn on the cob as sides. Did we mention that all seafood items are served in one-pound portions? Meaning if you order two seafood items, you get two pounds of seafood.
Next you get to pick your boil flavors, they offer five. Then you can pick your level of heat from mild to Sam’s Special which is hotter than their “super hot.” I hate to think what can be hotter than super hot. If Jim chose this, he would be sweating like the pilot in the movie Airplane.
Jim was totally confused with the menu so he let me pick out our meal. We shared the create your own combo with King Crab Legs ($39.99) and Dungeness Crab Legs ($26.99) with sausage, red potatoes, and corn on the cob. I also chose the garlic butter for the boil flavor and went with the medium heat. I was being nice to the moron’s sweat head, but not so much with the garlic!!!
The waitress brought out a giant metal pan with a plastic bag full of our dinner items and dumped it into the pan. Along with this, she brought over a plastic bag lined bucket for the debris. With this came a fork, various crab dissecting tools, a bib, and plastic gloves. The waitress said “have at it.” The plastic gloves were a good idea but Nancy almost choked on a glove when she tried to suck the garlic off her fingers. We both decided to take off our gloves and go au naturel. What followed was not a pretty sight. Bits of crab, shells, butter, and garlic were flying everywhere. It truly was a “crab”-nado!!!
Seriously, this restaurant offers fantastic food at market prices in a fun and lively atmosphere. If you plan on going with friends, make sure you know them very well because all manners are left at the door. Just dive in and enjoy.
FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.
The price for a fun filled afternoon was $78.34, getting Nancy “un-crabby”, priceless…
Jim’s take: They offer fun and great food at a reasonable price. It is a totally unique experience.
Nancy’s take: I’m going back on a weekday for their Monday to Friday lunch combo’s which are half-pound sized items. Loved, loved, loved the garlic!!!
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at: thediningduo@gmail.com
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