Boil It, a new restaurant focusing on crawfish, shrimp and other seafood boils, opens today on Old Liverpool Road.
It's the second, Louisiana-style seafood boil restaurant that's opened around Syracuse since late summer. Storming Crab, on Erie Boulevard East, opened in August.
Boil It's owners plan to serve only Louisiana crawfish, flown in fresh, says co-owner Kenny Lui. His brother, Jason Lei, is the restaurant's other owner. Lei has about a decade of experience working in similar restaurants in Louisiana and Alabama.
A seafood boil is a one-pot dish built on a broth cooked with corn, potatoes, sausage and shellfish. The food is served communally, usually drained and spread out directly on the table for everyone to share. The tradition has various versions from the northern East Coast to Lowcountry Carolinas and, of course, Louisiana.
More recently, the seafood boil is a type of restaurant growing in popularity. Claw Daddy's has a couple of New York City locations. Juicy Seafood recently opened in its fourth state, Massachusetts. Cincy Crab has set up on Ohio, Lowcountry in Chicago. Crackin' Crab is spreading through the Southwest.
At Boil It, the flavor options range from classic garlic butter to spicy Cajun. The shellfish options include shrimp, crawfish, various types of crab, lobster, clams or mussels.
The seafood will be at market price; crawfish will be flown in fresh when available, Lui said.
Lui was born in Hong Kong and his brother in China (which is why their names are spelled slightly differently). Lui came to Syracuse about a decade ago to study engineering. He's a mechanical engineer, but with Boil It he hopes to create a place that will appeal to both college students and Syracuse-area families. He said he's been working on the idea for about a year.
"My personal wish is to bring cooler stuff here, into the suburbs" he said. He also hopes that their version of a seafood boil restaurant will spread to other locations.
Other menu items include po' boy sandwiches, fried seafood, catfish, wings and gumbo.
Boil It is at 702 Old Liverpool Road, just south of the village of Liverpool. The owners plan to serve lunch and dinner daily. Lui said he plans to apply for a liquor license; for now, no alcoholic beverages are available.