If it were physically possible, seafood would show up in Louie Lipps’ blood. Without a doubt, it is in his upbringing. Those unfamiliar with his Crab Trap in Frenier may know of or have heard tales about Frank and Rita’s Mama Lou’s Seafood Restaurant in Little Woods. Lipps’ dad owned the place from 1962 to 1965. It was over the water, about 250 feet from the railroad tracks, and it was notorious as much for its food as for its party rentals.

Louie Lipps caught the seafood bug back in those days and it has stuck with him since, culminating in the February 2007 opening of the Crab Trap. He has taken his passion and knowledge about seafood and poured it into a menu that is available on weekends beginning the first week before Lent, lasting until late October. The handwritten menu includes boiled crab, boiled crawfish, boiled shrimp, barbecue crab, barbecue shrimp, boiled corn, potatoes, garlic, sausage, potato salad, and coleslaw. Though the menu may change based on seasonal offerings, there are certainties: You will taste the difference and you should really wear an apron.

One difference? Cleanliness. Lipps purges his crabs and crawfish with such attention you could eat off of them. In a maze of filtration beds and tanks, all of his crabs are purged overnight, and his crawfish spend a minimum of 12 to 24 hours in water, being cleaned with a little bit of salt to be rid of grit, mud, sand, and anything else you really do not want to taste.

“Since they’re clean, you don’t have to overpower them with seasoning to cover up the dirt,” he says. “They’re not hot where they burn your lips for 40 minutes after you eat them.”

Another difference? That “true” shell. Lipps sells “true” fresh soft shell crabs when available, taking them out of the water within 15 or 20 minutes after they come out of the shell.

As for the aprons, they are not just part of the self-serve, picnic table, crawfish sack-lined décor. If you order the barbecue crab or barbecue shrimp, wear an apron. The barbecue part was the idea of Sharon Blanchard, Lipps’ girlfriend. One day Lipps was preparing barbecue shrimp and Blanchard suggested putting some crabs in the sauce. It was done and it was good, but messy.

“It’s sloppy, like a sloppy roast beef,” Lipps says.

Lipps does not travel far for his seafood supply. His crabs come from Lake Pontchartrain and his crawfish from Lafayette. But his patrons are willing to make the trek from Westwego, Covington, Mandeville, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge to experience his seafood expertise. The drive is worth tasting the difference. Driving home with clean clothes, however, depends. ✦