Killer Shrimp

Dah... duh... dah... duh... da... du... da... du... da... du... da... du... da... du... da... du... da... du... da... du

No, this is not a recent horror movie we watched but a new restaurant that we tried last night. That's right. Not only did I NOT cook last night, but we even went out to a dining establishment and paid other people to cook for us. It was such a nice splurge, something we haven't done in a long time as we have been trying to save money. But even so, despite the gourmet dinner, our pocket book was less than smoking by the time we left the restuarant. Between the four of us (Jeremy and Katy included) we spent an even $100 and that included beverages, a huge dessert split four ways, tax and a tip.

At Killer Shrimp your options are... (a) Killer Shrimp with Bread; (b) Killer Shrimp with Pasta; or (c) Killer Shrimp with Rice. And that is it. If you don't like Killer Shrimp you are screwed. (It says so right on the menu.) I am always impressed, in a culture that values choices and options so much, by a restaurant that can succeed on such a limited selection. You know that if they specialize in one thing and one thing only, that that one thing better be prettty darn magnificently spectacular.

And surely enough it was. The killer shrimp comes out in this giant bowl of the most incredibly developed broth with layers upon layers of flavor - spicy, garlicky, sweetness - with an entire basket of of fresh baguette slices to soak up all that lovely goodness. Kinda looks like the picture here only the broth was not tomato based but instead had this gorgeous golden hugh that swirled around and changed colors when you dipped your bread in it.

My only complaint was that they do not peel and de-vein the shrimp for you. Apparently it preserves the flavor quite a bit more, but I seemed to be the only one at our table who was completely disgusted by having to pull off the tiny little row of legs with my bare fingers before I could peel and eat them. The funny thing is I have seen more dead deer in my life than I know what to do with and they don't bother me a bit, but there's something about those little insect like legs that had me completely creeped out. At least they cut the heads off for us. But I dealt with my phobia and enjoyed the meal nonetheless. It truly was amazing.

And of course, going with the limited selection theme, when it came time for dessert they only had two options: Sweet Potato Pie or Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce. What do you know, that just happens to be the way Don and I like our Chocolate Cake. However, we are pretty tough critics when it comes to cake. We don't like regular flour cakes but this one ended up to be more of a rich ganache and was again, dare I say, perfect. Even the hand whipped cream on the side was delectable. I only wish that it would get colder in California. On the first winter night where it drops below 50 (if that EVER happens here) I want to be back there lapping up that amazing broth and letting it warm my tummy and awaken my senses.