JACKSON HEIGHTS — The sign went up in late 2014 in a former gift shop at 84-20 37th Ave.: Oceanic Boil, coming soon.
Owner Kenny Tran thought it would take three to four months to get his Cajun seafood restaurant up and running — but after a number of roadblocks extended that to years, he was almost ready to throw in the towel.
"There were problems with the gas, there were problems with the electricity," said Tran, 42, who finally opened for business April 27. "We were waiting for the sign because it's a landmarked neighborhood."
"I almost lost my feeling on this place," he said on a recent weeknight, with nearly every table in the restaurant full. "I lost momentum.""
Kenny Tran inside Oceanic Boil, his new seafood restaurant in Jackson Heights. (DNAinfo/Katie Honan)
The first-time restaurateur — who also runs a seafood business — had dreamed of opening a crawfish restaurant after visiting Houston, Texas, with his brother-in-law in 2007. They went to a simple cafeteria-style restaurant that served up crawfish by the pound, with a variety of sauces on the side.
"I ate 10 pounds," he said.
Oceanic Boil has brown paper on the tables, and the food is wrapped in a plastic bag once it comes out. Eaters are given plastic gloves to dig into their buckets of crawfish, clams, shrimp and more.
"Everything is eaten by hand," Tran said.
Lobster rolls served on an Asian-style bun. (DNAinfo/Katie Honan)
The menu also includes two kinds of lobster rolls, fried seafood baskets, crab cakes, and a raw bar serving oysters, clams, shrimp and lobster.
Everything is served with the option of four sauces — a spicy house sauce, a lemon pepper, garlic butter and Old Bay. They also serve wine and beer.
Tran, who lives in Bensonhurst with his wife and three daughters, said he wanted to bring something different to Jackson Heights.
"I want people to hang out, and have a good time," he said.
