Justin's Seafood opened in 2013 in Friendswood and serves crawfish bought from Louisiana fishermen in an attempt to incorporate a true New Orleans flavor from the mudbugs to the seasoning.
"Being from New Orleans my family is avid crawfish connoisseurs," Tolliber said. "If you really know someone from New Orleans, they know crawfish. They will skip over three spots to go find that one good crawfish place."
Justin's Seafood utilizes different Louisiana techniques when cooking crawfish, including blending seven herbs and spices in the water before boiling each batch. This style is contrary to the Texas-based swamp dust technique in which the crawfish is seasoned after being boiled.
"There is a recipe for the water and then you boil the crawfish in the water, and you allow it to soak and the seasoning gets inside the tail meat and the claw meat," Tolliber said. "It is much more flavorful that way."
Justin's Seafood also sells live crawfish—in 27- to 34-pound sacks—to customers for use in home crawfish cookouts. Tolliber said the restaurant sold approximately 70 sacks of crawfish in 2014 and has become a local vendor for the Friendswood community.
Although known for its crawfish, Justin's Seafood has garnered growing popularity for its fried catfish and fried shrimp. Tolliber said his mother's fried catfish recipe has become a mainstay on the menu and has drawn praise from customers from throughout the country.
"Mississippi is the place known for catfish," he said. "I get a lot of folks who come in here from Mississippi who say this is the best catfish they have had. It is something my mother has been doing since I was a little kid."
When Joyce Tolliber partnered with her son to open the restaurant in 2013, she brought her cookbook of family recipes to build the menu. Justin said each item is a dish he grew up with. Such dishes include the customer favorite Half and Half Plate of fried catfish and shrimp served with a side of red beans and rice or fried okra.
Because of his mother's experience working in the restaurant industry as well as her experience in the kitchen, Justin said she has helped him grow as a business owner and has helped build the success of Justin's Seafood through her homemade recipes.
"It is so funny watching this restaurant grow organically," he said. "I am not a cook myself, but it is just so funny watching these little items I grew up eating at the dinner table, and folks are coming back over and over again for the things my mom would whip up at the house."
In the future Justin said he wants to expand the restaurant's catering service to become the primary source of revenue. Justin's Seafood offers different catering options, such as party platters, pasta and desserts, for residents and businesses in Friendswood. Justin said he emphasizes working with businesses on a case-by-case basis to help personalize and tailor the menu.
"You have to be really creative in this industry, especially in a bedroom community," he said. "We are still young, and we are still learning. We do not have everything mapped out and running correctly, but I think we are running on the right path."
From the menu
Crawfish empanadas: pastry dough stuffed with sauteed crawfish, tomatoes, marinara and shredded Parmesan cheese. ($7.45)
Gumbo: chicken, shrimp and sausage served with white rice. Cup ($5.49), bowl ($8.49)
Baskets: lightly battered catfish, shrimp, crawfish or oysters served with tartar sauce and cocktail sauce. Lunch ($7.99), dinner ($10.99)
Justin's Seafood
607 S. Friendswood Drive, Ste. 11, Friendswood,
281-482-5100
www.justinsseafood.com
Hours: Tue.Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.,
Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
