![]() ![]() In early 2023, he grew it into a food truck. Lopez, a single dad and teacher by day, started Shrimp’n in 2020 after his DJ work dried up, selling from home, then pop-ups. To Lopez, shrimping, or any hustle, isn’t easy it’s a universal message of staying determined.ĭetermination plays key roles in hip-hop and both of the chef’s rise in the food industry. The name is a reference to Bay Area rapper Too Short, whose music often refers to the pimp lifestyle, a common trope of 2000s hip-hop. Meanwhile, Lopez uses hip-hop to engage his audience. Gian Lopez is the owner of food truck Shrimp'n Ain't Eazy. Artists are so moved by his food that it appears in their art. They especially love his all-star Dungeness crab. It’s no wonder it attracts hungry rappers.īay Area rappers like E-40 and Iamsu!, as well as others like New York’s J-Live, didn’t just eat at Chef Smelly’s: They championed his ascension on social media from pop-up to restaurant residency inside Uptown Oakland nightclub Au Lounge. Wooley’s food is decadent, distinct and luxurious. The craggy, fried prawns are plump and seasoned with a sharp blend of Cajun spices. The springy, buttery noodles are on the sweeter side but served in abundance, providing a luscious carby backdrop to the shellfish. (Otherwise the crab is market price, which can be costly when Dungeness isn’t in season locally.) The lovely pairing with garlic noodles is adapted from his mother’s recipe, which was inspired by the Bay Area’s many Vietnamese crab houses, such as Thanh Long. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicleįor a comprehensive sampling of Wooley’s talents, try the $60 Holla, a value-packed special that includes a whole Dungeness crab, prawns and a heap of garlic noodles. The $60 deal at Smelly's Creole and Soul Food features a whole Dungeness crab, prawns and garlic noodles. ![]() His crab is marked by an abundance of chopped garlic and peppery Creole seasonings, which complement the crabs' delicacy. It’s a prime example of the high-low blend that the truck excels at.īut if you want a full-blown crab feast, you’ll want to visit Oakland’s undisputed crustacean king, chef Wooley. It has all the aforementioned, winning trappings of the vampiro - crisp cheese perimeter, bold spicing - only slightly more restraint so as to not muddle the crab’s sweetness. The most baller item is a taco crowned with shrimp and crab meat ($10). In a toasted roll go layers of ground beef, copiously seasoned shrimp and a smoky-sweet sauce, all held together with gooey cheese. It’s in Lopez’s phenomenal breakfast burrito ($18) and a well-executed chopped cheese ($18), another popular rap food. All the indulgent flavors and textures converge: crackly cheese crust, richly spiced chorizo-flavored shrimp, bright pickled onions and the fiery tang of mango habanero salsa.Ī shrimp and crab taco from Shrimp'n Ain't Eazy, a food truck in San Jose. His nontraditional take on the dish swaps out the tostada for a tortilla with a sturdy cheese skirt, made by putting cheese on both sides of the tortilla. Lopez tucks this stellar combination into chubby quesadillas ($16) and shatteringly crunchy vampiros ($8). ![]() Instead he reached for chile-stained chorizo, based on his grandmother’s recipe, and paired it with succulent shrimp. Surf and turf, the steak and shellfish pairing that rappers cite as a stand-in for their lavish living (see Timbaland and Jay-Z’s “Lobster & Scrimp”), was, admittedly, a little played out. Like any emcee worth their salt, Lopez quickly realized he needed a hook. Shrimp-chorizo tacos and quesadillas sizzle on the grill at San Jose food truck Shrimp'n Ain't Eazy. Shrimp’n is where you go to experience rap’s lavish food on the street, at a slightly more affordable rate, whereas Smelly’s is a momentous place of celebration, like a rap-friendly crab house. They both make food for the hip-hop community, though chefs Lopez and Edward “Smelly” Wooley operate in two different tiers. But the truck joins the wildly popular pop-up Smelly’s Creole and Soul Food in having a particular specialty - crab and shrimp - that Bay Area rappers prize. Shrimp’n is far from the first Bay Area restaurant with ties to hip-hop. ![]()
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