Release the Craycken joins Taste of Annandale

Release the Craycken is in Seoul Plaza.

Release the Craycken, a restaurant specializing in crayfish and chicken, is the first restaurant to sign up for the fourth annual Taste of Annandale.

The Taste of Annandale is a community festival on Oct. 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with food, live entertainment, a 5K race, children’s programming, a chili cook-off, pet contest, and more. It’s happening along Tom Davis Drive in the center of Annandale.

Blue crabs

Release the Craycken, at 4231-R Markham Street in Annandale, has become a popular dining spot since it opened in February and has gotten excellent reviews on Yelp. The menu also offers easy-to-peel shrimp, fried shrimp, crab, lobster, cod, clam strips, wings, chicken burgers, curly fries, hush puppies, and more.

Owner Juong Choi spent a couple of weeks trying to come up with a catchy name for his restaurant, then “‘Release the Craycken’ just hit me while I was on the phone,” he says. It perfectly captures what this place is all about, while conjuring up an image of the mythical sea monster and the catchphrase, “Release the Kraken!” from the 1981 movie “Clash of the Titans.”

In other Taste of Annandale news, the Annandale United Methodist Church has signed on as a Gold-level sponsor, and Fairfax Radiological Consultants is a Silver sponsor.

The Taste of Annandale reflects the broad diversity of the Annandale community. Proceeds from the event will benefit youth-led projects aimed at enhancing the quality of civic life.

Anyone interested in learning more about participating in the 2018 Taste of Annandale – as a sponsor, food vendor, other vendor, or entertainer – should contact Taste of Annandale Planning Committee Chair Bob Kahane, [email protected].