First Bite: Grand Catch

Check out Sameh Wadi's new seafood spot on Grand Avenue.

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Like a stealth mudbug, Grand Catch opened in St. Paul this week.

Sameh and Saed Wadi, of World Street Kitchen/Milkjam Creamery fame, have partnered up with Thien Ly of Brooklyn Park's Cajun Deli, which has a cult following among foodists and seafood boil diehards. Grand Catch, which took over the Grand Central Cafe spot near Macalester College, is a collaboration that brings a lot of international pop to the seafood boil tradition. Sameh told me, "I became addicted to Thien's food at Cajun Deli, I couldn't stop thinking about it. We had to do something together."

They've opened and freshened up the space, giving it distinct areas without jamming it up too much. The front window seating is bright, with a few long tables for groups. There's both bar and kitchen counter seating. The main dining area has both tables and a long banquette, but everything is open to the action. It's casual and breezy, with some good cheeky photo bits.

The back patio, not open yet (HA!) will add more seats and another satellite bar. Speaking of which, the drinks are being crafted by Isaac Ramon who left Spoon and Stable to come to this project. He's got a great sense of how cocktails might go with this seafood, and he's got a wicked sense of humor with drinks names. I sipped the Naked Horseback Ride (Or Whatever You're Into) but next time, maybe it'll be Can I Pet Your Dog? or Susan? Susan? Hi. 

The menu isn't huge, but the idea here is complexly-flavored seafood with simple preps. I tried a few starters, and since shrimp toast is still having a moment, I went there first ... and will go back for that again. So many layers of flavor on that simple snack. Also fun was the snow crab dip. "We wanted to take Maryland-style crab dip and give it an upgrade, but keep it familiar." Take out some mayo, keep some cream cheese, jam pack that sucker with snow crab meat and hit it with some subtle Asian spices, while serving it in a cute mason jar (makes everything awesome) with saltines on the side? Yes, crab dippers will be happy. 

But really, this place is about boil. And if you watched the shrimp & crawfish episode of David Chang's Ugly Delicious, you will be ready for this. In that episode, they deal with the cultural mashup of Houston's particular Vietnamese crawfish dish. Not for nothing, they name-check Minnesota as a place where they wonder if people would ever accept those flavors. BOOM! I want to send Chang a pic of the Wadi-Ly boil, because it's bangin'. You choose your shellfish, choose your sauce (from garlic butter to spicy isaan), and you can choose your heat level. I went with medium+ and it was a fun spicy. I also asked to dip into the insane ghost pepper sauce, and was pleasantly kicked in the jaw with heat, while STILL experiencing the flavors of the dish. 

If you're not into boil, know that I coveted a grilled cheese and crispy fried chicken sandwich on my way out. For dessert? They've brought over Betty Lou, the soft-serve ice cream machine from WSK, so she's cranking. 

Grand Catch is open now for lunch and dinner every day, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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