White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

The restaurant formerly known as Be’s Restaurant at 9826 16th Ave SW has undergone a major expansion over the past few months, if you’ve noticed the new signs outside, and is now Be’s Crawfish Grill.

Inside, the spruced-up restaurant, after working out all of the first-month kinks with a new partner and an added dinner menu, continues offering the same breakfast menu as always (and also as the 4509 California Avenue location where Be Nguyen and her kids have been serving the West Seattle community for 22 years).

But only White Center’s new Mardi Gras-themed location is offering a full dinner menu (3:00 pm till closing) of traditional Cajun-influenced, Louisiana-style seafood dishes developed by Brandon Vo, a family friend who grew up in New Orleans and also owns the popular Crawfish Grill near the Renton IKEA store.

The sharing of Be’s large White Center space with Vo has expanded the offerings to include seafood boils and happy hour beer specials (Monday through Friday 3-6 pm), featuring a pound of fresh crawfish which the Vo brothers pick up daily at Sea-Tac Airport (flown in from approved Louisiana farms) . The market price for fresh crawfish varies by season, and though the season began late this year due to poor weather in Louisiana, March into April is usually considered mid-season and the per pound price is currently $7.99. Other boils feature more local seafood also set at market price and include Dungeness and king crab, as well as shrimp.

Large, casual family-style crawfish feeds are frequent in the restaurant where patrons gather round the paper-wrapped tables for a juicy, messy meal of the fresh crustaceans, sausage and corn-on-the-cob informally dumped on the tables, where bottles of Tabasco stand by along with ample rolls of paper towels.

The entrée list features a number of baskets, including fried shrimp, oyster, catfish and softshell crab. New Orleans barbecue shrimp and smothered catfish (with house-made etoufee sauce) are the most expensive entrée items at $16.99 and $12.99. The appetizers and lagniappes (French Cajun for sides, or little extras) range from $3.99 for french fries to $7.99 for fried calamari. Additional sides include fried mushrooms, fried gizzards, yam fries, onion rings and Cajun wings. Be and Brandon also have their own take on Po Boys: fresh french bread sandwiches which include fried shrimp, oyster, catfish or softshell crab.

Be’s Crawfish currently has a beer and wine license, but is awaiting approval of a liquor license, which they think will come through soon. A stage and dance floor in the large bar area are separated from the all-ages, TV-free dining area by a wall of heavy dark curtains, behind which beers (Blue Moon, Abita Amber and Abita Purple Haze, Corona, Bud, Bud Light and Heineken) and seafood can be enjoyed while watching karaoke or television. They are discussing the possibility of adding Vietnamese-type appetizers down the road.

Be’s Crawfish Grill, 9826 16th Ave SW, 206-588-1613, online here; on Facebook at Crawfish Grill (for current market price postings and specials)

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